How to do the Conventional Deadlift
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and the bar over the middle of your foot.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees to grip the bar outside your legs.
- Tighten your stomach and push through your feet to stand up.
- Lower the bar by pushing your hips back first, then bending your knees.
- Keep the bar close to your legs throughout the movement.
Full technique — 8 steps
- Stand with feet about hip width apart and the bar positioned over the middle of your foot.
- Hinge down and take a grip just outside your legs with straight arms.
- Bring your shins to the bar and flatten your back.
- Take a breath and tighten your stomach hard, pull slack out of the bar, and keep your shoulders over it.
- Push through your feet and drive the bar upward with hips and knees extending together.
- Keep the bar in contact with your legs as it passes the shins and thighs.
- Stand tall with hips fully extended and knees straight without leaning back.
- Return the bar by hinging first, then bending the knees once it passes them.
Common mistakes
- Bar drifting away from legs
- Hips shooting up before bar breaks
- Yanking the bar off floor
- Overextending at the top
- Bending knees too early descending
Form cues
- Bar over middle of foot
- Pull the slack out
- Push through your feet
- Drag bar up legs
- Stand tall, don't lean
