Once reserved for powerlifters and weight-room addicts, the deadlift has gone mainstream. It targets the glutes鈥攖he body鈥檚 biggest, strongest muscles鈥攁nd the fitness it聽builds helps聽prevent聽injury, teaches functional movement, and boosts performance, explains , founder of聽Core聽Gym聽in Boston.听
It doesn't take long to see gains from your deadlifts in performance times. , endurance runners who integrated twice-weekly strength sessions鈥攊ncluding deadlifts鈥攊nto their running workouts for six weeks improved their 5K times by 45 seconds, while those who stuck with running alone saw no improvement.听
鈥淭he deadlift imitates real life,鈥 says Gentilcore. Any time you bend and extend at the waist鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e driving through your foot in an ultra, navigating a rocky trail on a thru-hike, or skinning up the mountain鈥攜ou鈥檙e performing a hip hinge. The body moves as one solid unit as you fire through your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back and brace your core. Just like you鈥檇 train to push a certain pace, training to master the deadlift will yield significant improvement in how you execute these motions in your sport.听
Doing a deadlift聽doesn't have to mean lifting a straight, heavy bar from the floor.
Plus, by focusing on the posterior chain鈥攖he muscles that聽form your entire backside鈥攄eadlifts go a long way toward preventing injury by making sure your quads, for example, aren鈥檛 bearing all your weight, says Gentilcore. Strength discrepancies between the posterior and anterior (front-side) chains can result in poor posture, muscular compensations, and, ultimately,聽injury.听
Deadlifts can be intimidating, but they don鈥檛 have to be. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to remember that doing a deadlift doesn鈥檛 have to mean lifting a straight, heavy bar from the floor,鈥 Gentilcore says. 鈥淭here are endless ways to tweak it聽to adjust for ability level and mobility.鈥澛
Here, Gentilcore shares three聽progressions, ending with聽the conventional deadlift. Start with the first variation, moving on once you can perform it consistently with proper form and no pain. For each, prioritize quality over quantity of reps.听
Cable Pull-Through
What You鈥檙e Learning: This move without loading the spine. Use it as a starting point or stick with it if you have back issues.听
How to Do It: Stand tall several feet in front of a cable station, back facing the machine and feet聽hip-width apart. Hold a rope attachment (connected to the station at its lowest setting) by both ends, palms facing each other and arms extended down in front of you so that the cable runs between your legs and is pulled taut. From there, slowly push your hips back and lean your torso forward so that your hands extend behind you. Allow a slight bend in your knees and focus on keeping your core tight, back flat, and shoulders back. Pause, then squeeze your glutes to thrust your hips forward and return to standing. That鈥檚 one rep. Perform three to five sets of three to five reps.
Romanian Deadlift
What You鈥檙e Learning: This variation , so you鈥檙e shifting the weight to the front of the body to increase the load on the glutes and hamstrings but maintaining a limited range of motion. You can use a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells.听
How to Do It: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold the barbell (or other weight) against your thighs, hands shoulder-width apart and palms facing your body. With your core tight, back flat, and shoulders back, push your hips back and, allowing a slight bend in your knees, slide the bar down your body until it鈥檚 just below your kneecaps or you feel a slight pull in your hamstrings. Pause, then squeeze your glutes to thrust your hips forward and return to start. Perform three to five sets of three to five reps.
Conventional Deadlift
What You鈥檙e Learning: This is it. taking your body through the greatest range of motion while placing most of the load on your posterior chain. Start with a lighter weight before scaling up.听
How to Do it: Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart. With back flat and chest up, push your hips back and allow a slight bend in your knees as you grab the barbell with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip, palms facing your body and arms fully extended. Your knees should be higher than your hips and shoulders higher than your knees. The bar should be situated about one inch in front of your shins and just slightly behind your shoulders. Keep your core tight, shoulders back, and back flat. From there, thrust your hips forward and straighten your knees until you're standing, hips extended in front of your body and against the bar. Pause, then slowly reverse the movement to return to start. Perform three to five sets of three to five reps.