Deficit Deadlift
A conventional deadlift pulled while standing on a raised platform, adding range at the bottom of the lift.
How to do it
- Stand on a stable platform roughly four to eight inches high with the bar over your midfoot.
- Set your feet hip width apart and grip the bar just outside your shins.
- Drop your hips until your shoulders sit over the bar with the shins near vertical.
- Brace your abdominals hard and pull the slack out of the bar.
- Drive through the whole foot and extend the hips and knees together to lockout.
- Lower the bar under control back to the platform and reset before the next rep.
Key technique cue
Lock the back flat before the pull; if the lower back rounds, the platform is too high.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Rounding the lower back to reach the bar, which the added range makes far more likely.
- ✕ Letting the bar drift forward off the midfoot, which lengthens the lever on the spine.
- ✕ Standing on a platform that is too high for your current hip and ankle range.
- ✕ Keeping the same load as a floor pull, which forces the hips to shoot up first.
Benefits
- ✓ Adds range at the hardest part of the pull to build strength off the floor.
- ✓ Increases the leg drive demand compared with a deadlift from the floor.
- ✓ May improve the hamstring to quadriceps strength balance.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 -
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Step 3 -
Step 4 You are here - Deficit Deadlift
- Snatch-Grip Deadlift
About the exercise
The deficit deadlift is a conventional pull performed from a platform roughly four to eight inches high, so the bar starts lower relative to the shins. The extra range forces a deeper hip and knee position off the floor and increases the leg drive needed to break the bar away. The glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps produce the lift while the erectors, lats, traps and grip hold the bar path.
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