Deficit Deadlift

How to perform

1. 01Begin by having a platform or weight plates that you can stand on, usually 1-3 inches in height. Approach the bar so that it is centered over your feet. You feet should be about hip width apart. Bend at the hip to grip the bar at shoulder width, allowing your shoulder blades to protract. Typically, you would use an overhand grip or an over/under grip on heavier sets.
2. 02With your feet, and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and bend the knees until your shins contact the bar. Look forward with your head, keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward. After the bar passes the knees, aggressively pull the bar back, pulling your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward into the bar.
3. 03Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor.

Form cues

• —Brace your core before the first rep and keep it braced.
• —Lead with the elbows and finish by squeezing the target muscle.
• —Set the bar path over mid-foot and keep it there.
• —Keep a neutral spine; stop the set if it rounds.
• —Control the lowering phase — that is where most of the growth stimulus lives.

Common mistakes

• —Using momentum instead of the target muscle.
• —Cutting the range of motion short to add load.
• —Adding weight before the movement pattern is clean.