Deadlift

About the movement

The king of compound lifts. Deadlifts train your entire posterior chain and teach you how to pick heavy things up safely. Form comes first, always.

How to do it

1. 1

   Stand with the bar over mid-foot, feet hip-width apart. Hinge down and grip the bar just outside your legs.

2. 2

   Brace your core, flatten your back, and pull the slack out of the bar until your arms are tight.

3. 3

   Drive through the floor, pushing your hips forward as the bar travels up your legs.

4. 4

   Lock out with hips and knees straight, then lower the bar under control the same way.

Form tips

• •Think push-the-floor-away, not pull-the-bar-up.
• •Keep the bar close to your body; the closer the bar, the stronger your leverage.
• •If your back rounds under load, drop the weight. Ego is the most common injury cause.