Conventional Deadlift

How to perform it

1. Stand with mid-foot under the bar, shins about an inch away, feet hip-width.
2. Hinge down and grip just outside your knees. Drop your hips until your shins touch the bar.
3. Take the slack out of the bar, brace, and push the floor away while keeping the bar against your legs.
4. Lock out by standing tall with hips and knees extended; lower under control by hinging first.

Common mistakes

• Jerking the bar off the floor instead of building tension first.
• Letting the hips shoot up before the chest, turning it into a stiff-leg pull.
• Rounding the upper back excessively under heavy load.

Sets & reps

3–5 sets of 1–5 reps for strength; 3–4 sets of 6–10 for hypertrophy.

Variations

• Sumo Deadlift
• Romanian Deadlift
• Trap Bar Deadlift
• Deficit Deadlift