Conventional Deadlift

How to perform it

1. 1Preparation and positioning. Bar over mid-foot, hips back/down, grip just outside the knees. Shin to the bar, set your torso/pelvis, engage the lats ("lock the armpits"), and take the slack out of the bar without yanking it off the floor.
2. 2Starting position. Shoulders roughly over or slightly in front of the bar, hips at an anthropometrically appropriate height, the whole foot loaded. Arms straight, braced 360°, bar calm.
3. 3Concentric phase. Push the floor away; extend the knees and hips, keeping the bar close on a near-vertical path. Hips and shoulders rise together until the bar clears the knee, then drive the hips powerfully but under control to lockout.
4. 4End position / lockout. Upright, knees/hips extended, shoulders neutral over the hips. Don't lean back, shrug the shoulders, or rest the bar on your thighs.
5. 5Eccentric phase. Push the hips back, guide the bar down the thighs to the knee, then bend the knees and set it down on the platform under control. Fully reset every rep — this entry doesn't use an uncontrolled touch-and-go.
6. 6Breathing and bracing. Inhale deeply/brace before pulling, hold through lockout, exhale at the top and reset before the next rep. Respect your individual cardiovascular clearance.
7. 7Valid rep. A full stop on the floor, a controlled start with no jerk, a complete lockout without hitching, and a controlled return. Load and plate height documented.

Common mistakes

• Yanking the bar off the floor

  Fix: "Take the slack out, then push the floor away."

• Hips too low (a squat-style start)

  Fix: Raise the hips to an appropriate height so the knees don't block the bar.

• Hips too high

  Fix: Shin to the bar, set the chest — reduces excess torso moment.

• Leaning back at lockout

  Fix: "Stand tall" instead of hyperextending.

• Bouncing a touch-and-go

  Fix: Dead-stop reset between reps instead.

Safety

• Older adults: floor start, grip, and recovery demand review — consider a raised starting position or an alternative.
• Spine and hip: high torso moment and loaded flexion/extension — use a cleared load/range corridor.
• Elbow/wrist: mixed-grip or heavy grip load — review double-overhand, hook, or straps individually.
• Balance: heavy free load — needs a stable platform and clear space.
• Cardiovascular concerns: heavy breath-holding and system load — get medical clearance.
• Reduced bone density: heavy load can be beneficial or risky — needs individual professional dosing.

Progressions & alternatives

• regressionRomanian Deadlift— A hinge pattern without the floor start, if that position isn't controllable yet.
• progressionConventional Deadlift with more load in the same standard— The next step is more load in a technically identical rep.
• alternative45-degree Leg Press— A leg compound movement with a lower grip/hinge demand, depending on your goal or fatigue budget.