How to Deadlift Properly: Beginner’s Guide to Muscle Growth

The deadlift is one of the most fundamental exercises in strength training. It targets multiple muscle groups, including the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, core, and grip, making it a cornerstone of any effective training program.

Mastering how to do deadlifts properly the deadlift begins with learning to perform it safely by understanding and applying correct technique. This ensures the right muscles are engaged while minimizing undue stress on the spine and other joints.

This article will cover:

• The three stages of barbell deadlift form and technique.

• Considerations for height and mobility constraints.

• Programming tips to get started.

4 Benefits of Deadlift and How it Builds Muscle

The deadlift is a strength exercise and a powerhouse for muscle growth. By engaging multiple muscle groups simultaneously, it triggers significant hypertrophy (muscle building) in a way few exercises can match. Here’s how it works and why it’s so effective:

1. Full-Body Muscle Activation: The deadlift targets major muscle groups like the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, lower back, and core. It also strengthens secondary muscles, such as the lats, traps, and forearms, through grip and stabilization. This compound movement maximizes muscle fiber recruitment, laying the foundation for growth.

2. Hormonal Boost: Lifting heavy during deadlifts spikes testosterone and growth hormone levels—key drivers of muscle repair and development. This hormonal response amplifies the impact on muscle gains over time.

3. Progressive Overload Made Easy: The deadlift allows you to gradually increase weight as your strength improves, a principle called progressive overload. This consistent challenge forces your deadlift muscle groups to adapt and grow stronger and larger.

4. Functional Strength Bonus: Beyond aesthetics, the deadlift builds functional muscle that enhances everyday movements like lifting, bending, and standing tall.

Deadlift Form and Technique The Deadlift Technique

Protecting Your Lower Back

Regardless of individual differences in anatomy, one principle remains clear: to deadlift properly and consistently without back pain, you must maintain a neutral spine. 

The first step in protecting your lower back whilst deadlifting is to determine whether you can flex your hips while keeping your spine neutral.

Test Your Mobility:

 Use a broomstick to check your ability to hinge at the hips while maintaining a neutral spine. The stick should stay in contact with your back throughout the movement. 

(Insert video on broomstick test)

If the stick loses contact with your back, you likely have a mobility restriction in your hips or hamstrings. Solutions for this are provided in the mobility section at the end of this article.

(Insert pictures of stick hinge next to deadlift setup)

Deadlift Step 1: Start Position

1. Shins on the Bar: Start with your shins touching the bar. This ensures the barbell travels in a straight line. If the bar drifts forward during the lift, you will increase stress on your lower back.

2. Engage Your Lats: Take a breath and tighten your lats as if holding something under your armpits. This will screw your shoulders into place. Allowing your shoulders to be “dragged” down by the bar can lead to excessive pressure on the neck and shoulder joints.

3. Hip Hinge: Just as in the broomstick test, sit back to flex your hips, slightly bend your knees, and grip the bar. This is your start position.

Deadlift Step 2: Getting the Bar Off the Ground

1. Maintain Tension: Beginners often lose tension during the lift. Keep your breath held, grip tight, and lats engaged. This creates the neuromuscular coordination and stiffness needed for strength. 

(Show example of bar drifting forward and back rounding due to lost tension.)

2. Use Your Quads: Instead of pulling the bar, think of “driving” through your quads while keeping your chest up. Gradually exhale as you complete the lift.

Deadlift Step 3: Locking Out the Lift

1. Engage Glutes and Chest: Tense your glutes hard and drive your chest forward in one fluid motion.

2. Stand Tall: Aim to hit your thighs against the bar as you fully extend your hips.

Deadlift Step 4: Returning the Bar to the Floor

1. Hinge at the Hips: Push your hips back to lower the bar, just as you did to lift it.

2. Keep Lats Tight: Avoid letting the bar drift forward.

3. Unload at the Knees: Once the bar passes your knees, you can quat down with. Controlling the bar beyond this point is challenging and not worth the risk.

Performing Multiple Reps

• Reset Each Rep: Ensure every repetition starts from a proper set-up position  to reinforce how to do deadlifts correctly..

Deadlift Checklist

1. Shins on the bar.

2. Tighten lats and take a breath.

3. Hinge at the hips to grip the bar.

4. Take up the tension.

5. Press through your quads and squeeze the bar off the floor.

6. Drive hips and chest through to lock out.

7. Hinge back to lower the bar.

8. Unload the bar at the knees.

9. Reset for the next rep.

Considerations: Height, Flexibility, and Blocks

We all have different body proportions and mobility levels. While the deadlift is generally easier to learn than the squat, taller individuals or those with tight hamstrings may struggle to achieve the ideal start position.

• Elevate the Bar: If you can’t maintain a neutral spine, place the barbell on blocks or plates to raise its height.

• Mobility Drills: For tight hamstrings or ankles limiting your movement, try these warm-up exercises:

  • Ankle Dorsiflexion

  • Band Lockouts

  • Inchworm

  • Spiderman Stretch

  • Lateral Hamstring StretchPerform 30 seconds of each for 2 rounds.

Programming the Deadlift

For Beginners

• Use low reps with high sets to focus on learning technique and tension without too much fatigue interfering.

• Start with 5 sets of 3 reps at a moderate weight, once per week. 

• Rest 90-120 seconds between sets to maintain consistent effort and form.

• As your technique improves, increase the weight and volume. For example, progressing to 10 sets of 2 reps with 60-90 seconds rest, provides 20 high-quality reps with a moderately challenging weight.

For Intermediates

• Day 1 (Monday): Use 5-7 progressively heavier sets to establish one set of 1-3 reps. For example:

  • 50kg x 3, 60kg x 3, 70kg x 3, 80kg x 2, 90kg x 2, 100kg x 1 (personal record).

  • Rest 1-2 minutes on warm-up sets and 2-3 minutes on heavier sets.

• Day 2 (Thursday): Focus on speed and technique using 60-70% of your personal record for a total of 10-15 reps (e.g., 10x1, 5x2, or 4x3). Rest 60-90 seconds between sets.