Training guide
A kettlebell deadlift is the deadlift's beginner version: stand with a kettlebell on the floor between your feet, push your hips back and bend your knees until you can reach the handle with a long back, then push the floor away to stand tall. Set it down every rep while you learn, start with 3 sets of 5, and build to 3 sets of 8 to 10 with a bell you could lift a few more times.
Nobody has measured muscle activity or the load on the back in the kettlebell deadlift itself, so this guide says what's borrowed. The bell sits close, between your feet, which the lab studies favour; rounding while lifting hasn't been linked to back pain, though heavy, repeated rounding damages discs in the lab; and kettlebell training has built strength and eased back pain a little in small trials.
This guide shows the lift and its single-leg version on the 3D figure, how to choose a bell, the sumo, double and suitcase versions, your lower back, how many to do and when to move on.
Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and a kettlebell on the floor between them, level with the middle of your feet. Push your hips back and bend your knees until both hands reach the handle, back long and chest up; brace, push the floor away and stand tall; then lower the bell the same way until it touches the floor. Set it down every rep while you learn.
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The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) calls it the deadlift's beginner version, and the American Council on Exercise (ACE) puts it straight after the bodyweight hinge. Because the bell sits between your feet, you stand over the weight, which you can't do with a barbell.
It's a hip hinge, so your glutes and hamstrings straighten your hips while your back muscles hold your shape and your grip holds the bell. We found no study of muscle activity in this exact lift; in related hinges the glutes and hamstrings work hard.
Where the weight sits in front of your spine matters more than lifting style, and a load lifted from between the feet was the one case where a bent-knee lift eased the load on the back. Rounding while lifting hasn't been linked to back pain in low-quality studies, but repeated loaded bending damaged discs in the lab, so set a long, braced back and keep that shape.
A bell you could lift 10 to 12 times, stopping with 2 or 3 reps to spare (3 or 4 in your first two weeks), as our plans advise. For scale, a workplace trial started women on 8 kg and men on 12 kg, but choose by how the reps feel, not by sex.
While you learn, 3 sets of 5, setting the bell down each rep (our deadlift technique workout). Then 3 sets of 8 to 10, 2 or 3 times a week, with 2 or 3 reps in reserve (our back pain plans; NASM gives 3 sets of 6 to 12). Move on at 3 sets of 10 with your heaviest bell and a steady back.
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You lift a kettlebell from the floor between your feet by hinging at your hips and standing tall, then lower it the same way. It starts on the floor, so your knees bend more than in a Romanian deadlift (which starts standing and stops where your hamstrings stop you) and less than in a squat. ACE's cue: "The strength to move the weight should come from your legs and hips, NOT your shoulders."
Your hips straighten (the glutes and hamstrings), your knees straighten a little (the front of the thighs), your back muscles hold your shape, and your grip and upper back keep the bell close. NASM lists the glutes, hamstrings and the long back muscles (erector spinae) first. Treat these as the joints that move, not measured muscle activity: nobody has measured it in this lift.
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Our move page asks for comfortable hip-hinge practice first, and ACE moves people on to a load after 10 to 15 good unloaded hinges with a steady back. Our hip hinge guide teaches it.
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With long legs, short arms or stiff hamstrings, the handle can sit too low to reach with a long back: raise the bell on a step or block rather than rounding to reach it, as a back pain programme did with the bar. Stiffer hamstrings went with more lower-back rounding in a stoop lift (49 adults).
In 24 lifters, men flattened their lower back's curve more than women at the start of a deadlift; small changes like this are normal and neither is wrong. Adults aged 59 to 79 trained this lift in supervised classes, building up from light bells.
From our move page, NASM and ACE, in our editorial wording. Breathing out as you lift is our breathing guide's advice.
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The movement on the figure: Kettlebell deadlift
We found no study of muscle activity or spinal load in the kettlebell deadlift, and none comparing it with barbell or trap bar deadlifts. A review of 99 kettlebell publications rated confidence in kettlebell research as low to very low. What follows is borrowed from studies of lifting, deadlifts and kettlebell training, and labelled as such.
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In 4 people with instrumented spinal implants, stoop and squat lifts differed by only 4% in the force measured on the spine; the authors concluded that where the weight sits in front of the spine "appears to be crucial". A wide-stance lift from high handles cut modelled compression by more than 20% in 11 men. A review of lab studies found a load lifted from between the feet was the one case where a bent-knee lift lowered the turning load on the back: exactly where a kettlebell deadlift starts.
In 12 young men, splitting 20 kg into two loads beside the body cut peak compression on the lower back by 8 to 32% against one load in front, "roughly comparable to halving the load mass". That's the double kettlebell deadlift's set-up, though nobody has tested it with bells.
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Six weeks of swings with 12 or 16 kg bells raised half-squat strength by 9.8% in 21 men aged 18 to 27. In 32 adults aged 59 to 79, 12 weeks of supervised kettlebell classes raised predicted kettlebell deadlift strength by 16.2 kg (not a randomised trial). Six weeks of weightlifting raised back squat strength more than kettlebell training in 30 young men, though only the barbell group practised the test. The trials are small and confidence is low.
In 40 workers in jobs with high rates of pain, mostly women, 8 weeks of kettlebell training 3 times a week, using the kettlebell deadlift as the step before swings, reduced low back pain by 1.4 points out of 10 and neck and shoulder pain by 2.1 points against no training. Their pain was mild to start with, there were no lasting or major complications, and the deadlift's share can't be separated from the swings.
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Muscle activity measured over a few reps shows effort, not what a muscle will build over weeks, so "what it works" studies are a guide, not proof.
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Across 11 low-quality studies, how much people bent their lower backs while lifting wasn't a risk factor for back pain, and in 7 of them people with back pain bent about 6 degrees less, not more. Lifters' lower backs flatten from their standing curve at the start of a deadlift and round a little more as the load rises, and a rounded back made more back-muscle force for less effort in 26 pain-free people.
The other side: repeated bending under modest compression herniated pig discs in the lab, and a 2026 review of 10 workplace studies called the direction the lower back moves "an important modifiable risk factor". Another 2026 review argues that sudden jumps in training load matter more than shape. So: set a long, braced back, accept small changes, and lower the bell if your back changes shape a lot, as our deadlift guide says.
In 70 people with recurring back pain, barbell deadlift training (12 sessions over 8 weeks, with pain education) eased pain as much as gentler motor control exercise but improved daily activity less at 2 months, and the groups were similar at 1 and 2 years. People whose pain was milder and whose back muscles had more endurance did best.
Strength programmes for the back of the body did better than general exercise for disability over 12 to 16 weeks, and possibly for pain, in 8 trials of 408 people. Only one of those trials used deadlifts, and the benefit came mostly from general gym programmes, so this isn't evidence for deadlifts in particular.
In a 16-week free-weight programme for 30 adults with chronic back pain, people who couldn't keep their back from rounding when lifting from the floor lifted from a raised start instead; pain fell by about 72%. There was no comparison group, so this shows the method was workable, not that it caused the improvement.
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For back pain, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) suggests a group exercise programme of any type, and doesn't recommend belts. It gives no lifting technique.
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Aim for discomfort you'd call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10. It should settle within an hour or so, and your back should be no worse the next morning, as our back pain guides say. Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down a leg are the exception: stop, and see our sciatica guide.
Our back pain plans bring the kettlebell deadlift in as the first loaded hinge, at 3 sets of 8 to 10, light to start, adding weight while it stays within the back rule. Move on to the dumbbell Romanian deadlift once it's comfortable. Our back pain after deadlifts guide takes over if you lift heavy.
Warm up, then pick a bell you think you could lift about 10 to 12 times, do your set, and ask how many more you could have done: 2 or 3 is right. Most people misjudge the reps they have left by about one, and in your first two weeks leave 3 or 4. The American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) beginner range is a load you can lift 8 to 12 times.
A workplace trial started women on 8 kg and men on 12 kg; a trial in young men used 12 kg below 70 kg of body weight and 16 kg above; older adults chose bells from 4 to 80 kg at an effort of 5 to 7 out of 10. No trial has compared starting weights.
One kettlebell maker suggests 8, 12 and 16 kg for an average-strength woman and 16 and 24 kg for an average-strength man. That's buying guidance, not a test: choose your deadlift bell by the reps you have left.
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Not at first: kettlebell training raised strength in young men and older adults. But heavier loads build more maximal strength, so when your heaviest bell feels easy for 10 or more, move on to two bells, the single-leg version, the Romanian deadlift, or a trap bar or barbell.
Hip-hinge practice, 2 or 3 sets of 8 tapping a wall, until 10 to 15 good hinges in a row (our deadlift guide; ACE). Kettlebell deadlifts, 3 sets of 5 while you learn (our deadlift technique workout), then 3 sets of 8 to 10 (our back pain plans). Then the single-leg kettlebell deadlift, 3 sets of 6 to 8 each side (our kettlebell workout B), the kettlebell swing (our swing guide), the dumbbell Romanian deadlift, 3 sets of 8 to 10 lowering for 3 seconds (our Romanian deadlift guide, editorial), and the trap bar or barbell deadlift (our deadlift guide). None of these moves' pages gives a dose.
3D demoHip-hinge practiceBeginner · No equipment
3D demoKettlebell deadliftBeginner · A kettlebell
3D demoSingle-leg kettlebell deadliftIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoKettlebell swingIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoDumbbell Romanian deadliftIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoTrap bar (hex bar) deadliftIntermediate · Other / check instructions
3D demoBarbell deadliftAdvanced · A barbellLearn it first without a bell, fingertips on a wall, as our single-leg deadlift guide does. Its move page asks for a steady two-leg Romanian deadlift and single-leg balance first. Start at 3 sets of 6 to 8 each side (our kettlebell workout B).
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The movement on the figure: Single-leg kettlebell deadlift
The single-leg deadlift worked the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius (the side of the hip) at 59% of their maximum in 21 active people. Against a two-leg deadlift at an 8-rep maximum, it worked the gluteus medius harder (77.6% against 59.3%) and one side's back muscles less (67.2% against 82.7%) in 15 trained men. Holding the weight in the hand opposite the standing leg raised glute activity in 12 trained men. These are dumbbell and barbell studies; nobody has tested the kettlebell version.
Feet wide, toes turned out, knees pushed out in line with your toes, the bell between your feet, and a more upright trunk. In barbell lifters, sumo shortened the bar's path by 25 to 40%, put about 10% less turning load on the lower back in models of 57 powerlifters, and worked the front of the thighs more, while conventional deadlifts worked the hips more. We found no kettlebell sumo study, and sumo isn't proven safer. Our kettlebell deadlift and plié squat demos show the hinge and the stance.
A bell beside each foot, handles in line with your ankles; hinge and stand as before. Two loads beside the body loaded the back less than one in front in the lab, and two bells let you lift more in total. Start at 3 sets of 6 to 10 (our editorial starting point).
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One bell beside one foot; stand tall without leaning towards it, then change sides. The barbell suitcase deadlift's move page shows the same one-sided lift with a bar, at 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 8 each side (the move page's dose), and our suitcase carry guide covers the side of the trunk.
One foot forward taking most of the weight, the back foot's toes touching down for balance: a step between two legs and one (coaching practice, our editorial description).
3 sets of 5, setting the bell down and resetting your brace each rep, with 90 seconds' rest (our deadlift technique and swing technique workouts).
3 sets of 8 to 10, the dose in our back pain plans and our deadlift and Romanian deadlift guides. NASM gives 3 sets of 6 to 12, ACE asks for 8 to 12 easily controlled reps before going heavier, and ACSM's beginner range is 8 to 12 reps, 2 or 3 days a week.
Stop with 2 or 3 reps in reserve (RIR: how many more reps you could have done), or 3 or 4 in your first two weeks, and end the set if your back starts to change shape. Training to failure isn't needed for muscle growth.
About 90 seconds to 2 minutes between sets, as our plans suggest for compound lifts of 8 to 12 reps.
2 or 3 times a week, with a day between. Strength rose most with 2 or more sessions a week in ACSM's overview, and the NHS asks adults for strengthening activities on at least 2 days a week.
Add reps until every set reaches 10, then go up a bell, usually 4 kg (our swing guide). Or slow the lowering to 3 seconds, or switch to a harder version. Move on from the kettlebell deadlift at 3 sets of 10 with your heaviest bell and a steady back (our deadlift guide).
It drags you forward and rounds your back. Start with the handle level with the middle of your feet, as our move page says.
Hips too low and knees forward turn it into a squat, which NASM lists as a common mistake. Hips back first, shins nearly vertical.
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Raise the bell on a step until your hamstrings allow more range.
Your arms are hooks; your hips and legs do the work.
Stand tall and squeeze your glutes, as our deadlift guide says.
Take the slack out, push the floor away, and set the bell down each rep while you learn.
In the older adults' trial, one woman's long-standing back pain flared after a large volume of deadlifts. Build up steadily.
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Cat-cow to warm up, 8 waves, slower than feels natural (the move page's dose). Glute bridges, 12 reps (our workouts), as ACE suggests before you load the hinge. Suitcase carries, 2 walks of 20 to 30 metres each side (our workouts), and farmer's carries for grip. The kettlebell sumo high pull starts as a sumo kettlebell deadlift, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (the move page's dose), and the plié dumbbell squat shows the sumo stance, 2 sets of 8 (our sumo deadlift guide, editorial).
3D demoCat-cowBeginner · No equipment
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSuitcase carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell
3D demoFarmer's carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell
3D demoKettlebell sumo high pullIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoPlié dumbbell squat (sumo squat)Intermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebellThe two technique workouts teach the hinge and then the kettlebell deadlift at 3 sets of 5; the kettlebell workouts use it in the warm-up, and workout B adds the single-leg version. Our hip hinge workout is the no-equipment start.
A 30-minute session from the hip hinge to your first deadlift: hinge practice, kettlebell deadlifts, slow Romanian deadlifts, a light bar and a carry.
30 minBeginner9 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellA 25-minute practice session for your first kettlebell swings: hip hinge drills, kettlebell deadlifts, then short sets of swings with a park after each.
25 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A kettlebellLearn the hip hinge at home: the wall tap, the dowel drill and a held hinge, then single-leg hinges and bird dogs, with an optional kettlebell deadlift.
15 minBeginner9 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 30-minute full-body kettlebell workout: deadlifts, swings, cleans, presses, rows, halos and carries.
30 minIntermediate9 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellKettlebell workout B: Turkish get-ups, goblet squats, single-leg deadlifts, floor presses, one-arm rows and an overhead carry, with one or two bells.
40 minIntermediate10 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellA 20-minute kettlebell swing workout: 30 seconds of swings, 30 seconds of rest, building to the 12 rounds a training trial used, then carries.
20 minIntermediate7 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellA 25-minute carry workout with dumbbells or kettlebells: farmer's carries, suitcase carries on each side and an overhead carry, with a safe pick-up first.
25 minBeginner7 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellA 25-minute strength workout from about 6 weeks after birth: sit-to-stands, deadlift practice, push-ups, rows, bridges and tummy work, with the knack.
25 minBeginner14 movesA bench or box, A kettlebellOur kettlebell plan uses kettlebell deadlifts in place of swings until your hinge is solid.
An 8-week kettlebell plan for beginners: two strength sessions and a swing-interval day each week, with how to choose a bell and swing safely.
3 training days35 minBeginner5 days a weekA postpartum workout plan from the first days after birth to running and lifting again, week by week, with a caesarean track and readiness checks.
5 training days25 minBeginnerLight, within the back rule, as our back pain plans bring it in. Pain, pins and needles or numbness down a leg means a smaller range and our sciatica guide.
While symptoms are irritable, reduce the weight and range, then rebuild, as our herniated disc guide explains.
Strength training is recommended, building towards weights you can lift 8 to 12 times, with good technique first. The UK consensus advises modifying or avoiding "Any exercise that causes the back to curve excessively especially with an added load", so keep your back long. The Royal Osteoporosis Society names kettlebells among the weights you can use and says "It is how you lift rather than how much you lift that matters." In one trial of 101 women with low bone mass, closely supervised heavy lifting raised spine bone density; learn heavier lifts with a physiotherapist or coach.
The NHS says strength training at a gym is fine "if you do this already", but not to start a new vigorous activity. Pelvic girdle pain can be worse standing on one leg and lifting heavy objects, so with it skip the single-leg and wide-stance versions and keep the bell light.
The NHS says to avoid heavy lifting at first. After a caesarean, lift nothing heavier than your baby for about 6 weeks, then build up, as our move page says; our postnatal strength workout starts the kettlebell deadlift no heavier than your baby in a car seat. With a prolapse, get advice from a pelvic health physiotherapist before heavy lifts, and ease off if you feel heaviness, dragging or a bulge.
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Use moderate bells and breathe out as you lift, as our breathing guide advises, and see the checks below.
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If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; arm pain that comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest; severe difficulty breathing, or a chest that feels tight or heavy; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
See a GP if pain spreading down a leg hasn't improved after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, or weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the joint or limb has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb or tingling, or the skin looks blue or grey or feels cold. Get help from NHS 111 (in the US, urgent care) if it's very painful, very swollen or bruised, very stiff, or you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps.
Wear shoes, and set the bell down rather than dropping it.
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A sudden sharp pain at the back of your thigh during a lift is likely a pulled hamstring: stop and see our hamstring strain guide. A deep ache at the sitting bone that's worse with deep bending and sitting suggests a high hamstring tendon problem: our tendinopathy guide leaves deep hinging out at first, then brings it back after the kettlebell deadlift.
See a GP if you think you have a hernia, a bulge or lump that may get bigger when you strain and smaller when you lie down. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel or are sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
The NHS lists lifting heavy weights among the causes of a femoral hernia. After an inguinal hernia repair, avoid heavy lifting or strenuous activity for at least 4 to 6 weeks.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before hard or straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled (140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home), or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
With controlled high blood pressure, the American Heart Association considers low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe. Breathe out as you lift, as our breathing guide advises.
Not for beginners and most home exercisers: kettlebell training raised strength in young men, workers and older adults. There is a ceiling: heavier loads build more maximal strength, and barbell training beat kettlebells for squat strength in one 6-week trial. When your heaviest bell is easy for 10, move on.
One coaching body calls the kettlebell deadlift "superior for lower back health compared to conventional deadlifts". It's plausible, because the load is closer and usually lighter, but we found no study comparing them.
Small changes in back shape under a load are normal, and rounding hasn't been linked to back pain in low-quality studies. But repeated loaded rounding damaged discs in the lab, so set a long, braced back and lower the bell if it changes a lot.
Some pages promise this; we found no study of it.
That's buying guidance from one maker, and a workplace trial started men on 12 kg. Choose by the reps you have left, not by sex.
Picking a kettlebell up from the floor between your feet by pushing your hips back, bending your knees a little and standing tall, then lowering it the same way. It's the beginner version of the deadlift and the first loaded step after learning the hip hinge.
Stand with the bell between your feet, level with the middle of your feet. Push your hips back and bend your knees until you can grip the handle with a long back, brace, then push the floor away to stand tall. Lower it the same way, and set it down every rep while you learn.
Mainly your glutes and hamstrings, which straighten your hips, with your back muscles holding your shape and your grip holding the bell. Nobody has measured muscle activity in this exact lift; in related hinges the glutes and hamstrings work hard.
Yes, for learning the hinge and building strength from a beginner level: kettlebell training raised strength in small trials, including kettlebell deadlift strength in older adults. Heavier loads build more maximal strength, so when your heaviest bell is easy, move to two bells, one leg or a bar.
One you could lift 10 to 12 times, stopping with 2 or 3 reps to spare, or 3 or 4 in your first two weeks. A workplace trial started women on 8 kg and men on 12 kg, but choose by how the reps feel, not by sex.
While you learn, 3 sets of 5, setting the bell down each rep. Then 3 sets of 8 to 10, 2 or 3 times a week, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve, and move on at 3 sets of 10 with your heaviest bell.
They're the first loaded lift in our back pain plans, at 3 sets of 8 to 10, light to start. Kettlebell training eased low back pain a little in a workplace trial, and deadlift training helped about as much as gentler exercise in people with recurring back pain. Keep the pain within our back rule and stop for pain down a leg.
A small change under load is normal, and rounding hasn't been linked to back pain in pooled studies, but repeated loaded rounding damaged discs in the lab. Set a long back and keep it; if you can't reach the bell without rounding, raise it on a step.
The kettlebell deadlift starts from the floor each rep, with more knee bend. The Romanian deadlift starts standing and lowers only until your hamstrings stop you, with soft, still knees. Learn the kettlebell deadlift first; our Romanian deadlift guide covers the rest.
The deadlift is slow and teaches the hinge; the swing is the same hinge done fast, with the bell floating to chest height. Learn the deadlift first, as ACE and our swing guide advise, and with back pain start with deadlifts only.
Stand on one leg with the bell in the opposite hand, hinge as your free leg reaches back with your hips square, then stand tall. Learn it without a bell at a wall first; holding the weight in the opposite hand raised glute activity in one study.
Stand with your feet wide and toes turned out, the bell between them, push your knees out in line with your toes and keep your trunk more upright. There's no 3D demo of it yet: our kettlebell deadlift and plié squat demos show the hinge and the stance. Sumo isn't proven safer for your back; it's a choice.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
