Deadlift Foundational Exercises

Authors
Affiliations

Nate Yomogida, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.S. in Kinesiology

Chloë Kerstein, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.A. in Neuroscience

Keywords

Foundational exercise

Load transfer

During a deadlift the load transfers from:

  1. Barbell
  2. Grip contact
  3. Arms
  4. Shoulders
  5. Trunk
  6. Pelvis
  7. Lower extremity

Shoulder

A common compensation at the shoulder occurs when the patient is overly focused on depth and lacks hip mobility. This patient will protract their shoulders in order to create the allusion of depth1. Shoulder protraction places the shoulder in an unstable position. Full shoulder protraction places the retractor muscles in their most stretched position, causing them to be weaker than at midrange1.

Stance

Stance varies based on the individual, but it should be somewhere between hip and shoulder width apart.

Tip

A wider stance can help to better expose asymmetries in range of motion or stability1.

Assessment

  • Bar path

Bar path

The bar should follow a perfectly vertical path during the movement.

Progressions

  • Modified deadlift (MDL)
    • No knee/hip sequencing
    • Hip focused
  • Romanian deadlift (RDL)
    • Asynchronous hip and knee sequencing
    • Hip focused
    • More extreme knee ROM than MDL
  • Balance-assisted deadlift
  • Deadlift (DL)
  • Barbell deadlift

Modified Deadlift

Deadlift (BW)

Single leg Modified deadlift

Single Leg Deadlift

Barbell Deadlift

Setup

Bar in line with shoe laces Arms straight with lats engaged Neutral spine

Action

Engage lats and press thru feet

Key Points

  • Stand up w bar
  • Neutral spine
  • Arms straight
  • Hips and shoulders move at same time
  • Heels down

Faults

  • Lose neutral spine
  • Early Arm bend
  • Hips/shoulder out of sync
  • Heels up (Make sure to keep heelds down)

Treatment Principles

  • Cueing HUGE
  • Regression;
  • Top down (if someone has a hard time building tension at the bottom, start them at the top then eccentrically lower then lift up again)
  • Elevate starting position
  • Inc lat engagement

References

1.
Jones B. B Project Physical Therapy Curriculum. b Project; 2025.

Citation

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