Deadlifts are a key part of any lower-body workout. They don’t just work your lower body, either; this exercise, which involves lifting a heavy weight off the floor using a hip hinge, then standing back up, targets many different muscles in the body. Deadlifts are pretty much a great all-rounder, which is why they’re an essential exercise to be included in your workout routine.
As a personal trainer, I encourage clients to add deadlifts to their workout routine, whether that’s using adjustable dumbbells, kettlebells, or barbells. Although it can take a while to figure out proper form, when done correctly, deadlifts are brilliant at strengthening your muscles, improving your posture and your performance in other sports.
Plus, to save you from having to do the same move again and again, there are also different varieties of deadlifts, with each one offering up multiple benefits. Here are three of my favorites.
What are deadlifts good for?
As a compound exercise, deadlifts work multiple joints and muscles, making them ideal for a full-body workout. You’ll be targeting your entire posterior chain, which includes your glutes, hamstrings and lower back muscles, plus the quads and your upper back will also be engaged.
It’s worth adding that deadlifts are great at working your hip extensors, which are the group of muscles that assist in moving your leg backwards. Having strong hip extensors can boost your running performance, improve posture and make day-to-day movement more comfortable.
Strength training in general, where you work against resistance, is fantastic for muscle building, which in turn helps protect your bones, joints, muscles and even your metabolism. All ages benefit here, but menopausal women experiencing hormonal changes, which can negatively impact the bones, will benefit a lot. Research has found that strength training can reverse bone mineral density loss.
Plus, more muscle, more shape. If you want to ‘tone’ up, forget doing endless cardio. You need to lift weights consistently to build muscle and burn the fat that sits on top; this can be achieved without hours of cardio and simply by managing your energy output (more energy out versus in) and staying active. It’s exactly what I tell any client of mine who tells me they want to ‘tone.’
And there’s another benefit. If you’re doing deadlifts correctly and without ego lifting (essentially, going heavier than you should), more research has shown deadlifts may reverse mild lower back pain.
Below, I’m focusing on using a barbell. To me, barbells are the gold standard for deadlifts; you can continually add more weight as you progress, and they feel more stable than, say, dumbbells.
Ready to shape up, get strong and feel like an absolute deadlifting hero?
1. Conventional deadlift
Getting to grips with a conventional deadlift is a great starting point as it sets the groundwork for the other two deadlifts below. Ensure you have bumper-style plates on your barbell so that the bar is at a good height for you to grip. You can learn more about how to deadlift in the conventional way here.
- Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, with your barbell over the middle of your feet
- Hinge at your hips and bend your knees until your shins touch the bar
- Grip the bar just outside your knees with palms facing towards you
- Keep your back flat and chest up with your shoulders slightly in front of the bar, but pulled back
- Drive through your feet and extend your hips and knees together to lift the bar, keeping it close to your body throughout
- Finish with your hips fully extended, standing upright
- Finally, lower the bar with control by hinging at the hips first.
2. Sumo deadlift
Once you’ve nailed the regular deadlift, give the sumo deadlifts a go. These are actually great for working the inner thighs and glutes, and if you have a long body, studies have shown that these can be a little easier, especially if you’re planning on lifting really heavy.
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width, toes slightly turned out. Your stance will feel unnaturally wide
- Grip the barbell inside your knees
- Keep your chest tall and your hips close to the bar. Push your knees out and drive through your feet as you stand with the bar
- Keep the bar close to your shins throughout. Finish the exercise standing tall with hips and knees locked out
- Hinge your hips, bend your knees and lower the bar down.
3. Romanian deadlift (RDL)
RDLs really hit the hamstrings, as well as the glutes. In fact, tight hamstrings will hate this move, so make sure you have a good stretch before you get going on RDLs. I also find them a lot kinder on the spine compared to a regular deadlift.
- Hold a barbell at thigh level with an overhand grip, so your palms face toward you
- Position your feet hip-width apart with your hands just wider than your knees
- Keep a soft bend in your knees, then hinge forward at the hips and push your butt back
- Slowly lower the bar down your thighs. Imagine you’re pushing a car door closed behind you with your butt
- As the bar lowers, keep your back flat and core engaged
- Lower until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, roughly at shin level, then pause
- Drive your hips forward to stand tall and return to your start position.
More from Tom’s Guide
Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
Back to Trainers
