Legs · Barbell · Compound · Intermediate

Conventional Deadlift

A hip hinge where you pull a loaded barbell from the floor to a locked-out stand, feet about hip-width and hands just outside the shins. It loads the glutes, hamstrings and spinal erectors hardest, and the upper back, traps and grip have to hold everything in place.

Conventional Deadlift, start position
Start
Conventional Deadlift, end position
End
FrontBack
PrimarySecondary
Also working
Quads, Traps, Lats, Forearms, Core

How to do it

  1. Stand with the bar over your midfoot, about an inch from your shins, feet roughly hip-width and toes turned out a little.
  2. Hinge down and take a grip just outside your legs, arms straight and hanging vertically.
  3. Bring your shins forward to touch the bar without moving it, then lift your chest until your back is flat.
  4. Take a big breath into your belly, brace, and pull your shoulders down so your lats pin the bar to your legs. Pull up just enough to take the slack out; you should hear the bar click against the plates.
  5. Push the floor away with your legs. Hips and shoulders rise at the same rate while the bar drags up your shins and thighs.
  6. Stand up straight with your glutes squeezed and ribs over hips, then lower the bar along the same path: hips back first, knees bend once the bar passes them.

Cues

Short phrases to think during a set.

  • “Push the floor away.”
  • “Keep the bar touching your legs the whole way.”
  • “Chest and hips rise together.”
  • “Stand tall at the top; don't lean back.”

Common mistakes

  • Hips shooting up before the bar moves, which turns the pull into a stiff-leg deadlift and puts the load on your lower back. Keep the chest up and think of leg-pressing the floor.
  • Letting the bar drift forward of the shins. Every inch it moves away from you lengthens the lever on your back. Set your lats and keep the bar in contact with your legs.
  • Lower back rounding under a heavy load. Some upper-back rounding is common among strong pullers, but lumbar flexion under a max attempt is where strains happen. Brace before you pull, and if you can't hold your lower back in position, take weight off.
  • Leaning back at lockout to finish the rep. Squeeze your glutes and stand straight; hyperextending adds nothing and compresses the lower back.
  • Yanking the bar off the floor with slack in your arms. Pull the slack out first, then drive.

The short version

Most strength programs include some form of floor pull, and the conventional deadlift is the usual default. It takes more weight than most other barbell lifts, it needs only a bar and plates, and it trains the hinge you use to pick things up off the ground. The cost is fatigue. A few heavy sets leave the lower back and legs tired for days, which is why many programs pull heavy once a week or less and fill in with Romanian deadlifts or rack pulls.

Coaches spend most of their time on the setup: bar over midfoot, slack out, brace set before anything moves. The linked sources agree that lower-back rounding under heavy load is the thing to avoid, and that a slightly rounded upper back is less of a concern. Filming a set from the side is the easiest way to see whether your hips rise early or the bar drifts forward.

Why people do it

  • Loads the glutes, hamstrings, erectors, traps and grip in one movement.
  • Takes more weight than most other barbell exercises, and progress tends to come quickly in the first year.
  • Needs only a bar and plates. No rack, no bench, and no spotter, because a missed rep just goes back to the floor.
  • Trains the hip hinge and brace you use whenever you lift something heavy off the ground.
  • Builds grip strength as a side effect, as long as you hold the bar double-overhand on lighter sets.

Drawbacks

  • Very fatiguing. Heavy sessions take days to recover from, and the lower-back fatigue can carry into your squat days.
  • Grip often gives out before the legs and back, especially on sets of more than five reps.
  • Lifters with long legs and short arms start from a deep, awkward position and pull the bar a long way.
  • Loading and unloading heavy plates from the floor takes time, and you need open floor space or a platform.

Sources

Questions

Is it bad to round your back when deadlifting?+

It depends where. A little upper-back rounding is common even among elite lifters. Rounding through the lower back under a heavy load is where most strains happen, so brace hard before the pull, and if your lower back flexes, the weight is too heavy for now.

Should I deadlift sumo or conventional?+

Coaches disagree on whether either style is easier; it mostly depends on your proportions and hip mobility. Conventional has a longer range of motion and works the lower back and hamstrings more, while sumo shortens the pull and puts more on the quads and adductors. Try both for a few weeks and keep the one you pull more with.

Which deadlift grip should I use?+

Double overhand until it fails, which builds grip. After that, mixed grip (one palm facing you, one away) or hook grip (thumb trapped under the fingers) both let you hold more. If you use mixed, alternate which hand faces you so you don't build a lopsided habit. Straps are fine for back and leg volume work.

How often should I deadlift?+

Once a week is enough heavy pulling for most people. Plenty of strong lifters pull heavy even less often and use Romanian deadlifts or rack pulls on other days.

Is lower back soreness after deadlifts normal?+

Dull, even soreness across both sides of the lower back after a hard session is normal, especially when you are new or have added volume. Sharp, one-sided or localized pain, pain that lasts for days, or anything that changes how you move is a reason to stop pulling and get it looked at.

Swaps on other equipment

Each has the glutes as its main muscle and is also a pull, on a different piece of equipment.

Variations

Sumo Deadlift · Romanian Deadlift · Deficit Deadlift · Trap Bar Deadlift · Snatch-Grip Deadlift · Block Pull / Rack Pull

Other glute exercises

Written for this site from the sources listed above. Last reviewed October 20, 2026. How this site is put together · Report a mistake