The deadlift is a great compound exercise for building muscle mass and strength.
It’s the third most logged exercise in our workout log app, both among female and male lifters. While the traditional deadlift is a cornerstone exercise for many, there are plenty of reasons why someone might look for alternatives.
Maybe you’ve reached a plateau in deadlifts and need to change things up. Maybe you’re struggling with an injury but want to train around it. Or maybe you’re having a motivational dip and want to try something new.
In this article, we’ll go through nine alternatives for the deadlift, and hopefully, you’ll find one or several that suit your needs.
Deadlift Alternatives
- Sumo Deadlift
- Romanian Deadlift
- Trap Bar Deadlift
- Kettlebell Swings
- Good Mornings
- Hip Thrusts
- Cable Pull-Through
- Bulgarian Split Squat
- Reverse Hyper Extension
1. Sumo Deadlift
Sumo deadlifts are slightly easier on your lower back than conventional deadlifts, so they might be a good alternative if your lower back is stopping you from progressing in your deadlifts.
However, if your goal with the deadlift is to build your back muscles, the conventional deadlift is probably a better choice. But if your goal is to lift as much weight as possible, then you might benefit from trying both for a while to find out which one suits you the best.
2. Romanian Deadlift
The Romanian deadlift starts from a standing position. It focuses on hinging at the hips while keeping the knees still in a slightly bent position, which targets the hamstrings and glutes more intensely than the traditional deadlift.
By keeping your knees almost completely extended throughout the exercise, you shift almost all of the work to the muscles on the back of your body while unloading your quadriceps.
3. Trap Bar Deadlift
The trap bar deadlift is often easier to learn than the straight bar deadlift, which could make it a good alternative for beginners.
Two reasons for this are the neutral grip and the design that places the center of gravity in line with your feet instead of in front of your body. Both of these will help place you in a better position to lift with proper form and make it easier to keep a neutral spine.
It also moves some of the load away from your back and hips and instead onto your legs, so it might be easier on your lower back than the traditional deadlift as well.
The high handles make it even easier for a beginner or a tall person to get into a good starting position. However, shorter people might struggle with the trap bar and find that the handles are spaced too wide, almost turning it into a snatch-grip deadlift position.
Most people find they can deadlift heavier loads with a trap bar than a straight barbell. After getting used to it, the difference usually amounts to something like 5–10% heavier weight with the trap bar.
Read more: 13 Benefits of the Trap Bar Deadlift vs. Barbell Deadlift
4. Kettlebell Swings
Kettlebell swings target the same muscle groups as traditional deadlifts but are more explosive and dynamic. You swing the kettlebell between your legs and drive it up to shoulder height using a hip hinge motion. While the traditional deadlift builds raw strength, kettlebell swings are great for enhancing athletic performance and endurance.
One perk of the kettlebell swing is that it requires less equipment. You only need a kettlebell, and then you’re good to go. However, it has some limitations when it comes to lifting really heavy, and if that’s the goal, deadlifts might be the better option.
5. Good Mornings
Both good mornings and deadlifts are hip hinge movements, which means they primarily target the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.
Good mornings, however, start from a standing position with the barbell placed on the back of the shoulders. This makes the exercise effective for improving hamstring flexibility and lower back endurance.
6. Hip Thrusts
Hip thrusts are a more isolated exercise than deadlifts, primarily targeting the glutes.
They can be a good alternative to deadlifts if you want to target your glutes without putting a lot of stress on your lower back.
Hip thrusts are also good for improving the strength of your hip extension, which could help improve athletic performance in activities like sprinting and jumping.
7. Cable Pull-Through
The cable pull-through is an exercise that focuses more on the glutes and hamstrings with less stress on the lower back compared to deadlifts.
Cable pull-throughs can, therefore, be a good alternative to deadlifts if you want to reduce the loading on your lower back, improve your hip hinge mechanics, or are in need of a more isolating exercise for the glutes and hamstrings.
8. Bulgarian Split Squat
The Bulgarian split squat is a unilateral exercise that targets the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings of the working leg while also improving balance and stability.
They can be a good alternative to deadlifts for those looking to address muscle imbalances, improve single-leg strength, and reduce spinal loading.
9. Reverse Hyper Extension
The reverse hyperextension is performed in a machine where you focus specifically on the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings while putting minimal strain on the spine.
Therefore, they can be a good alternative to deadlifts for those looking to strengthen the lower back and glutes with reduced spinal loading.
Incorporating Deadlift Alternatives into Your Routine
If you’re looking to replace deadlifts in your current workout routine, it’s important to first consider their role in your program. Recognizing the initial reasons for including deadlifts will help you choose an appropriate substitute.
If your goal is to increase your 1RM strength in the deadlift, you might benefit from other exercises than if your goal is to add muscle mass to your glutes, for instance.
If you need to replace the deadlift due to an injury, you might want to consider which alternative will take most of the load off the injured area.
Summary
I hope that you’ve gotten some inspiration from this article and that you found a good alternative for the deadlift to incorporate into your workout routine. Even if you want to keep deadlifts in your routine, the alternative exercises above could be a good complement as well.
If you want to grow bigger and stronger, the key to fast and consistent gains in strength and muscle is to increase the weight you use in your training or to do more reps, regardless of which exercises you’re doing.
To help with this, you might want to track your workout progress in our workout log app Strengthlog.
It’s almost impossible to keep track of your progress without a workout log. Our app StrengthLog is 100% free to download and use as a workout tracker and general strength training app. All the basic functionality is free – forever.
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