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FitCi › Exercise Guide › Conventional Deadlift

How to do Conventional Deadlift

Primary muscle: Back · Secondary: Glutes, Legs, Forearms, Core

BackAdvancedBarbellCompound
Conventional Deadlift start and end positionConventional Deadlift start and end position

Conventional Deadlift is a compound exercise targeting the back: several joints work together, it takes heavy loading well and belongs at the start of a session. Secondary muscles: glutes, legs, forearms, core. Equipment: barbell. Difficulty: advanced, requires solid technique and training history. It takes 5 steps; the most common mistake is covered in the tip below.

Step-by-step

  1. Set your feet hip-width apart under the bar; the bar should sit over the middle of your feet.
  2. Hinge at the hips to grip the bar shoulder-width apart, keeping your back flat and your chest open.
  3. Position your shoulders slightly ahead of the bar and your hips above your knees.
  4. Drive through your heels and keep the bar close to your legs as you rise to a standing position.
  5. Squeeze your glutes at the top, then hinge back at the hips to lower the bar to the floor under control.

Coaching tip

Keep your back neutral, pull the bar close to your legs, and lock out by squeezing your glutes.

Caution

Skip this move or ask a professional first if you have pain or an injury in: lower back. FitCi filters it out of your program automatically based on the injuries in your profile.

How to program it

Sets × reps and rest by goal; load and long rest matter most on compound lifts. Start at the bottom of the range in week one; add 2.5–5% when you hit the top with clean form.

GoalSets × RepsRest
Strength4 × 4-6180 s
Muscle gain3 × 6-10150 s
Fat loss / conditioning3 × 10-1590 s

FitCi applies this table to your age and goal automatically and writes weekly progression.

Alternatives

More back exercises

Add this exercise to your program

Build your own program in FitCi, pick an expert template, or photograph the plan your coach gave you; the app tracks sets, reps and weight.