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Deadlift

Gym (women) / Popular

Conventional and sumo deadlift technique.

What coaches agree on

  • Think of the deadlift as pushing the floor away with your legs rather than pulling the bar up - that shift in focus moves the effort into your legs instead of your arms and back.
  • Keep the bar traveling in a straight line right against your shins and thighs for the whole lift.
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  • Brace your core before the bar leaves the floor - take a breath that expands your ribcage in all directions and lock your lats tight, then hold that tension through the pull.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips shoot up before the bar actually leaves the floor, or starting so low the hips are jammed under you, instead of having the hips and shoulders rise together.
  • Rounding the back as the bar comes up, or leaning back into hyperextension once standing, instead of finishing in a straight line with hips and knees locked.