The barbell deadlift is one of my favorite strength exercises.
I love the bench press and the squat, but the deadlift is the one that “clicked” for me first and that have always felt the most natural.
My best deadlift to date is 260 kg (573 lb), and here is the receipt:
I’m currently in a productive training period towards my goal of 300 kg (661 lb), and as such I’m thinking a lot about the deadlift right now.
With deadlifts on my mind and with a recent podcast episode out in which we talked about bench press mistakes, I can’t help but think about common deadlift mistakes.
– What are some deadlift mistakes that I’ve made?
– And what are the most common mistakes I often see other lifters do?
Loading the barbell up and lifting it consistently for months on end is the basis of all strength gain. But avoiding big (and small) mistakes can still make a big difference to your results.
Here are ten common deadlift mistakes you should avoid.
1. Deadlifting in Soft, Squishy Shoes
When I first started deadlifting, I did so in the same shoes I used for all of my training: my jogging shoes!
They were big, soft, and had great cushion that was excellent for absorbing force when running.
Which is precisely what you don’t want when you’re lifting heavy weights.
When lifting heavy weights, be it in squats or deadlifts, you want excellent force transfer into the ground.
All the force your muscles generate should be transferred to the floor as efficiently as possible with minimal losses.
In addition, you want stability. Not the feeling of wobbling around as if you’re standing on the thick mats from gym class.
Most shoes made for exercising are built to absorb force to make running and jumping easier on your joints. There is a time and place for those kinds of shoes, but it is not when you’re deadlifting.
Find a pair of shoes that have a thin, sturdy sole. This will allow you to get close to the floor (and barbell), with minimum force leak when deadlifting.
2. Not Using Chalk
The first time I tried chalk, I added 20% to my deadlift and my training weights jumped from 120 to 140 kg.
I couldn’t believe it!
You might feel like your grip is not holding you back, but trust me: after you’ve been training the deadlift for a few months or even just a few weeks, your hips, legs, and back will be able to lift far heavier weights than your grip can support.
Get some chalk (liquid or block doesn’t matter too much) and use it.
Oh, and read my article about how to grip the bar when deadlifting.
By the way: if your gym prohibits the use of chalk because they are in the wrong line of business, an alternative is to use lifting straps.
3. You’re Testing Instead of Training
Here’s what my deadlift workouts used to look like when I was first starting out:
- I warmed up (barely).
- Then quickly piled on the weights to see how much I could lift for a single.
- Then I was done with deadlifts and off to hit arms.
If you want to make big strength gains in the long term, you can’t just test your strength every time you’re in the gym. You need to train.
While pulling a heavy single probably is the best training (at least on a per set basis) for pulling a heavy single, the total training volume you can accumulate is very low.
Additionally, always lifting very challenging weights leave little room for conscious technique improvements, especially for a beginner.
I recommend doing more sets and reps, at a weight you can control.
Do 3 sets x 5 reps like in our beginner powerlifting program, for example. Then when you can do that with good form, you increase the weight by 2.5 kg (or 5 lb) and do 3 sets x 5 reps again.
Train, don’t test.
At least not always.
4. Not Keeping The Barbell REALLY Close
This is one of the most common mistakes that I see among both beginners and more advanced lifters, and it’s costing you a lot of weight on the bar.
Your main motor for lifting the barbell are the muscles surrounding your hips and lower back. The lever arm that you have to overcome is the distance between your hips and the barbell. The longer this lever arm is, the more force you have to produce at your hips to lift the same weight.
Let’s say that this distance is 30 cm (~one foot), and that you can normally lift 200 kg (441 lb).
Now say that if you were to press the barbell against your shins, you can shorten that lever arm by 2 cm (~1 inch) down to 28 cm. Now the same strength from your hip and back is enough to lift:
200 kg × (30/28) = 214 kg
Or in pounds:
441 lb × (30/28) = 473 lb
The amount of which you can shorten the lever arm might not be as large as in my example above, but the principle remains true: if you don’t keep the barbell close to your body, the lift gets heavy really fast.
Press the barbell against your shins and thighs throughout the lift and you’ll be able to lift much more weight.
5. Not Keeping Your Back Neutral. Or…?
If I would have written this ten years ago, I would have been adamant that you should deadlift with a neutral (“straight”) back.
Today, I know that there isn’t really any evidence showing that lifting with a neutral back position is any safer than lifting with a rounded back.
Some people seem to experience more pain when lifting with a rounded back, while others don’t. For some people, lifting with a straight back is more painful than rounding their back.
See this little collection of references for more information on this topic.
We should not, however, confuse absence of evidence with evidence of absence.
My general recommendation is this: begin by learning to deadlift with a fairly straight back, but don’t obsess over it. Then, as you get to know your body and learn the lift, you can be more open to experimenting with your back position to see what feels good to you.
6. Not Looking Straight Ahead. Or Down. Or Up?
While we’re at the topic of the spine, let’s quickly address your head and neck position.
I recommend that you begin learning to deadlift with your neck and head in a roughly neutral position.
That is, having your neck in it’s usual position in relation to your torso, as a natural extension of the spine.
Some of your back muscles have their origins high up on your neck (your trapezius muscle for example), and those are placed under heavy loads when you are lifting. It’s my guess that keeping your neck close to a neutral position will better enable you to handle these forces in a safe manner.
But, considering the previous point about there being no evidence that lifting with a rounded back is more dangerous than a neutral spine, I expect a similar case regarding the neck.
Still, my reasoning and recommendation is the same: learn the lift by sticking close to a neutral position with your spine, and then be open to experimenting and finding your own strongest and most comfortable lifting style as you get more experienced.
7. Not Using Standard-Sized Plates
In the sport of powerlifting, the deadlift is performed with standardized weight plates that has a diameter of 450 millimeters across, or 17.7 inches. This puts the center of the barbell at a height of half that.
This is the most common size for the large weight plates weighing 10, 15, 20, and 25 kg, and they are the ones that you’ll probably find at your gym.
If you want to perform the standard deadlift and compare yourself to others (like in our deadlift strength standards), I recommend finding and using standard-sized plates.
Even if you don’t care about standardization and comparison, the standard size is a pretty good height to start at for most people.
The main mistake I want you to avoid is this: because you are (hopefully) going to start learning how to deadlift by using very light weights, you might be tempted to use the smaller (2.5 or 5 kg) weight plates. This is fine, except that their diameter is really small, which puts the barbell very close to the floor. This makes the lift harder than it has to be, especially for someone just starting out.
Use standard-size weight plates if you can. If you don’t have access to them or need to use smaller plates, consider placing the barbell on blocks or in a rack.
Then, when you’ve learned the basics of the standard deadlift, you can move on to deadlift variations where you play with the bar position, such as deficit deadlifts or rack pulls.
8. Not Keeping Your Arms Straight
When you deadlift, your arms should be almost completely straight.
If you bend them, two things happen:
- You increase your risk of a bicep tear.
- You have to lift the barbell from a lower height.
Similar to the previous point about using smaller than standard-size plates, when you bend your arms, you have to reach lower to grasp the barbell.
And we are weaker when pulling from a low position, which means that you won’t be able to lift as heavy as otherwise.1
In the first image below, I have my arms straight, making them as long as possible. In the second image, my arms are bent, forcing me to lean forward and squat down more.
9. Not Being Consistent With Your Setup
To get the best results from your deadlift training, you need to be consistent with your technique. And your technique starts with how you set up and initiate the pull.
One way to standardize your setup and form is to follow the five step deadlift setup.
It goes like this:
- Step up to the bar so that the middle of your foot is below the barbell, as seen from above.
- Bend over and grip the bar with your arms just outside your legs.
- Bend your legs until your shins touch the barbell, without moving the barbell.
- Squeeze your chest up so that your back flattens and your arms straighten.
- Drag the bar along your body until you’re standing straight. Lower the barbell back to the floor with control.
Here is a video where I demonstrate the steps.
If you’re just starting out and need some kind of ritual to standardize your form, this is an excellent place to start. As you’re getting more experienced, you can develop your own ritual and setup.
10. Bouncing the Barbell on the Floor
Speaking of consistency, I generally recommend you to begin each rep with a dead start off of the floor.
The opposite is when you drop the bar quickly from the top position, let it bang down on the floor, and “catch the bounce” to begin the next rep.
There are three main reasons for why I advise against bouncing:
- Less control. By bouncing, you introduce an element of chaos into the lift as you have less control over the barbell. This will make it more difficult for you to develop a consistent technique.
- Less strength. The hardest part of the deadlift is the beginning, at least for most people. When you bounce, you rob yourself of the training in this crucial range of the lift. If you want to be strong in the deadlift, you need a lot of practice off the floor.
- Less muscle. Both concentric and especially eccentric contractions seem important for muscle growth. When you bounce the barbell between reps, you greatly limit the eccentric muscle action and decrease the time under tension in general. To develop big and strong deadlift muscles, I advise you to retain at least some control over the barbell in the eccentric portion.
If you want to get really freaky in regards to the last point above, try doing a training period in which you really focus on controlling the eccentric portion, and especially in the last (=hardest) few inches above the floor.
A great tip for ensuring you do so is to try setting the barbell down without making a sound!
Bonus Mistake 11: Never Filming Yourself
Alright, here’s one last tip: put your phone to some use in the gym (well, except using our workout tracker) and record yourself when you deadlift.
What are you looking for?
Anything!
Recording yourself can be an eye-opening experience, as your form might look very different to what you expected.
Check your form according to the tips in this post, and also according to our deadlift guide.
You might also notice that your lifts look much easier than they feel, which might be a hint that you’re not training as hard as you could or should.
Speaking of training hard …
Deadlift Training Programs for a Big Back and a Huge 1RM
Want to follow a structured deadlift program?
We’ve got you covered.
- Beginner Deadlift Program. 2x/week. A simple yet effective beginner deadlift program that will give you quick gains and a great start to your deadlift career.
- Intermediate Deadlift Program. 2x/week. A deadlift program for the intermediate lifter who has left the beginner phase behind but is not yet ready for advanced deadlift training. The weights increase every week, and you’ll alternate between heavier and lighter workouts.
- Deadlift Disco. 2x/week. Our deadlift specialization program. Increase your deadlift 1RM and build bigger back muscles. Six weeks long, but possible to cycle through several times. Thousands of lifters have used this program to hit new PRs.
Or check out all of our deadlift training programs here.
Thanks for reading, and good luck with your training!
