Exercise Guide
How to do a dumbbell deadlift
Master setup, range of motion, and tempo with step-by-step instructions so every rep is more effective and safer.
About dumbbell deadlift
The dumbbell deadlift is a versatile compound exercise targeting the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. By holding weights at your sides, it allows for a more natural range of motion compared to a barbell. This movement builds foundational strength, improves posture, and enhances functional fitness by mimicking real-world lifting mechanics, making it ideal for both beginners and advanced lifters.
Stats
Instructions for Proper Form
Setup:
- Dumbbell Placement: Place a pair of dumbbells on the floor in front of you, slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart.
- Foot Position: Stand with your feet approximately hip-width apart, toes pointing slightly outward (if comfortable).
- Hip Hinge: Bend at your hips, pushing them back, until you can reach the dumbbells while maintaining a neutral spine.
- Grip: Grasp the dumbbells with an overhand grip, hands just outside your shins.
The Lift
- Initiate the Pull: With a tight core and neutral spine, drive through your heels to stand up, lifting the dumbbells with you in a smooth motion. Keep the dumbbells close to your body throughout.
- Engage Glutes and Hamstrings: As you pass your knees, focus on extending your hips, using your glutes and hamstrings to reach a fully upright position.
- Squeeze at the Top: Squeeze your glutes briefly at the top, ensuring your body is in a straight line from shoulders to ankles.
- Hinging Descent: Reverse the movement with control, maintaining tension. Hinge at your hips and lower the dumbbells in a controlled path back to the starting point.
- Reset: Briefly rest the dumbbells on the ground, then repeat the motion.
Tips:
- "Pull the slack out": Before initiating the lift, create slight tension on the dumbbells to optimize tightness.
- Bar path: The dumbbells should move in a near-vertical line, close to your shins and thighs.
- Don't round your back: Keep your back neutral throughout, focusing on hinging at the hips.
- Breathe: Exhale at the top of the lift and inhale as you descend.
Common mistakes: Rounding the back instead of maintaining a neutral spine, and letting the dumbbells drift too far away from the body during the movement.
Alternatives
seated leg curl
The seated leg curl is an isolation exercise performed on a machine to target the hamstrings. By sitting and curling the legs downward, you achieve a deep contraction in the back of the thighs. The seated position keeps the hips stable, allowing for a focused effort on the hamstring muscles. It is essential for balanced leg development and helps prevent knee injuries.
barbell deadlift
Often called the king of exercises, the barbell deadlift is a total body compound movement that builds massive strength in the posterior chain. It engages the legs, back, core, and grip. By lifting a loaded bar from the floor to a standing position, you develop functional power, bone density, and muscle mass, making it an essential component of any serious strength training program.
barbell romanian deadlift
The barbell Romanian deadlift is a cornerstone exercise for the posterior chain, specifically targeting the hamstrings and glutes. Unlike a traditional deadlift, the movement starts from a standing position and focuses on a deep hip hinge with a slight knee bend. This exercise is exceptional for building lower body power, improving flexibility, and strengthening the muscles that support the spine.
reverse hyper on bench
This exercise targets the posterior chain, specifically the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. By lying prone on a bench and lifting your legs upward, you provide a gentle decompression of the spine while strengthening the muscles responsible for hip extension. It is frequently used for rehabilitation and building a resilient lower back, offering a safe way to train without heavy axial loading.
good morning
The good morning is a posterior chain exercise that primarily targets the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. By placing a barbell on your shoulders and hinging at the hips while keeping the legs straight, you create a powerful stretch and contraction. It is an excellent movement for improving hip mobility and strengthening the back, which is essential for heavy lifting and health.
resistance band leg curl
This exercise provides a way to train the hamstrings without heavy machinery. By looping a band around an anchor and your ankles, you perform knee flexion to contract the back of the legs. The resistance increases as you curl, providing a peak contraction that is difficult to replicate with free weights. It is excellent for home workouts, rehabilitation, and improving muscle endurance.
sliding floor bridge curl on towel
The sliding floor bridge curl on a towel is a challenging bodyweight exercise that intensely targets the hamstrings and glutes. By performing a bridge and then sliding your feet away and back, you create a powerful eccentric and concentric load. This exercise improves posterior chain stability and is highly effective for injury prevention, particularly for athletes who require strong, resilient hamstrings for sprinting and jumping.
landmine romanian deadlift
The landmine Romanian deadlift is a variation of the traditional hinge movement that uses a landmine attachment for a guided path. This setup provides more stability and allows for a more natural arc of motion, which can be easier on the lower back. It is an excellent tool for teaching proper hinge mechanics while building strength in the hamstrings and glutes.
kettlebell deadlift
The kettlebell deadlift is a fundamental lower body movement that teaches proper hip hinge mechanics while strengthening the glutes, hamstrings, and core. Because the weight is centered between the feet, it is often more accessible for beginners than a barbell deadlift. It builds functional strength, improves posture, and serves as a great foundation for more complex lifting and explosive power movements.
dumbbell deadlift
The dumbbell deadlift is a versatile compound exercise targeting the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. By holding weights at your sides, it allows for a more natural range of motion compared to a barbell. This movement builds foundational strength, improves posture, and enhances functional fitness by mimicking real world lifting mechanics, making it ideal for both beginners and advanced lifters.
kettlebell one arm legged deadlift
The kettlebell one arm single leg deadlift is a complex functional movement that challenges your balance, core stability, and posterior chain strength. By hinging at the hips on one leg while holding a kettlebell, you engage the hamstrings and glutes intensely. This exercise is perfect for athletes looking to improve unilateral coordination and build resilience against injuries in the lower body and back.
kettlebell suitcase deadlift
The kettlebell suitcase deadlift is a functional unilateral exercise that challenges the core, grip strength, and lower body. By lifting a kettlebell on one side of the body, you force your obliques to work hard to prevent leaning. This movement mimics real life activities like carrying heavy bags and is excellent for building functional strength, improving posture, and enhancing overall stability through the hips and torso.
machine lying leg curl
This isolation exercise specifically targets the hamstrings by providing constant tension throughout the range of motion. Lying prone on the machine ensures stability, allowing you to focus entirely on the knee flexion movement. It is excellent for building muscle hypertrophy in the back of the legs and improving knee joint health by balancing the strength of the quadriceps and hamstrings.
dumbbell romanian deadlift
The dumbbell Romanian deadlift is a fundamental posterior chain exercise that emphasizes the hamstrings and glutes. Unlike a standard deadlift, the movement starts from a standing position and focuses on a controlled hinge at the hips. Using dumbbells allows for a more natural range of motion and helps improve grip strength and hip hinge mechanics, making it vital for athletic performance and aesthetics.
barbell sumo deadlift
The barbell sumo deadlift is a powerful compound lift characterized by a wide stance and hands positioned inside the knees. This variation reduces the distance the bar travels and places a greater emphasis on the quads, adductors, and glutes compared to the conventional deadlift. It is a favorite among powerlifters for moving heavy loads while minimizing lower back strain through improved leverage and vertical torso positioning.
barbell stiff-leg deadlift
The barbell stiff leg deadlift is a potent posterior chain exercise focusing on the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Unlike the traditional deadlift, this variation keeps the legs relatively straight to maximize the stretch and tension on the hamstrings. It is widely used by athletes and lifters to develop explosive power, improve flexibility, and build a strong, resilient lower body through a controlled range of motion.
barbell sumo romanian deadlift
The barbell sumo Romanian deadlift is a lower body compound movement that emphasizes the hamstrings, glutes, and inner thighs. By adopting a wide stance and keeping the legs relatively straight, you place significant tension on the posterior chain. This variation allows for a different range of motion compared to the standard RDL, focusing heavily on hip hinge mechanics and improving power.