Training guide
A deficit deadlift is a deadlift standing on a low platform, a few centimetres high, so the bar starts lower and you pull it further. Lifters use it to get stronger off the floor, the point where the deadlift is weakest, and it's a lift for people whose floor deadlift is already solid.
No study has tested deficit deadlifts themselves, so this guide shows what the evidence around them says: force is lowest at the floor, strength builds mostly in the range you train, and a lower start costs weight. Whether they raise your deadlift is untested.
It covers the steps on the 3D figure, how high to stand, how much weight, sumo, trap bar and Romanian versions, deficit deadlifts against rack pulls and pause deadlifts, your back, and how many.
You stand on a low, stable platform and pull the bar from the floor, so it starts a few centimetres lower and travels further. A technique column for strength coaches calls it an advanced variation of the standard deadlift.
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Start with 2 to 5 cm (about 1 to 2 inches) and stay within about 8 cm. That's our editorial starting point from coaching practice: no study has tested deficit heights. Big deficits make the back's shape hard to hold.
To get stronger off the floor, where the deadlift is weakest: in 14 powerlifters, force was lowest with the bar at floor height, about 21% higher just above the knee and about 45% higher near lockout. Strength gains are largest in the range and the task you train, so a lower start trains the start.
We found no study of deficit deadlifts, so whether they raise your deadlift is untested, as our increase your deadlift guide says. Starting higher lets lifters lift more, so starting lower costs weight, by an amount nobody has measured. Start at about 80% of your deadlift (our editorial starting point).
2 or 3 sets of 3 to 5 at about 80% of your deadlift, stopping 2 reps short (our increase your deadlift guide's editorial starting point), or 2 sets of 3 to 5 after your heavy deadlifts, as in our deadlift strength workout. Rest 2 to 3 minutes, 3 to 5 when heavy, and do them once a week.
Deadlifts aren't bad for backs: supervised deadlift training helped recurring back pain about as much as gentler exercise in a trial of 70 people, and rounding while lifting wasn't a risk factor for back pain in low-quality studies. After back pain, deficits come last, after the floor deadlift.
A conventional deadlift standing on a low, stable platform: a weight plate, two plates side by side, a low box or a raised section of a lifting platform. The bar's plates stay on the floor, so the bar starts lower than usual and travels further.
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To reach the lower bar, your knees and hips bend more at the start and your trunk tips further forward, so holding the back shape you set is harder (coaching practice; nobody has measured it). It trains the part of the deadlift where lifters are weakest: in 14 powerlifters, force was lowest with the bar at floor height.
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The same as the deadlift: the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, the muscles along your spine, your upper back and your grip, as our deadlift guide explains. No study has measured muscle activity in a deficit deadlift.
A solid barbell deadlift from the floor (the move page's prerequisite), with a set-up that looks the same every rep. Our deadlift guide and deadlift technique workout get you there.
Tall lifters usually need a lower platform, while shorter lifters and those with longer arms can often use a higher one (coaching practice). Stiff hamstrings or hips make the low start harder to reach with a long back.
From the move page and our deadlift guide's set-up steps. The starting height is editorial (coaching practice); no study has tested heights.
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The movement on the figure: Deficit deadlift
2 to 5 cm (about 1 to 2 inches) to start, and within about 8 cm. That's our editorial starting point from coaching practice: coaches commonly use 1 to 2 inches and rarely more than 4, and no study has tested which height works best.
If your back's shape changes before the bar leaves the floor, the platform is too high for now. A lower platform with good positions beats a higher one without them (our suggestion).
Flat, stable and wide enough for both feet: a weight plate lying flat, two plates side by side or a low box. Not a bumper plate on its edge or a soft mat (our suggestion).
We found no study of the deficit deadlift's mechanics, training effects or injuries. A technique column describes it and suggests it may help power, sprinting and jumping, but that's untested. Everything below is indirect.
In 14 powerlifters with a deadlift of about 249 kg, pulling against a fixed bar produced 3,380 newtons at floor height, 4,093 just above the kneecap, 4,910 a few centimetres short of lockout and 5,829 at mid-thigh. Force rose with bar height.
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In 25 powerlifting competitors, the deadlift's sticking point came with the thigh at about 57 degrees, after the bar had left the floor; the lift goes knee straightening first, then hip extension. A review points out that the weakest position isn't where lifters usually fail, and in 31 lifters most showed no clear sticking region at all. So a deficit helps most if you are genuinely slow off the floor.
Partial lifts build strength mostly within about 10 to 20 degrees of the range you train, in a narrative review. Across 43 studies of 1,660 people, training a lift raised that lift about twice as much as an untrained strength test. A deficit trains a longer pull from a lower start, so it most directly trains the start (our reading).
Full-range training built more strength and more lower-body muscle than partial-range training across 16 studies, and training at long muscle lengths favoured growth in some muscles in a review of 11. No study has tested going beyond a normal floor start, so 'more range builds more muscle' is a reasonable guess for a deficit, not a finding.
In a survey of 548 powerlifters, nearly all used barbell variations, about 1.3 times a week for the deadlift, usually 4 to 7 reps at a moderate to hard effort. That's what lifters do, not proof that it works.
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Opposite tools. A deficit lengthens the pull to train the start; a rack pull shortens it to train the top. Use the one that matches where you struggle, and keep the full deadlift as your main lift; neither has been tested for raising it. Our rack pull guide covers the other one.
A pause just off the floor or below the knee holds you in the position you find hardest; a deficit makes the start longer. We found no study of either, so choose the one you can do with good positions (our suggestion).
Different lifts. The Romanian deadlift from a deficit starts standing and lowers the bar as far as your hamstrings allow; our Romanian deadlift guide covers it, and says to use a step only once the bar reaches mid-shin with your back still long.
The floor deadlift, as your main lift: strength gains are largest on the exact lift you train. A deficit is one tool for a specific weak point, used for a few weeks at a time.
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The deficit deadlift: 2 or 3 sets of 3 to 5 at about 80% of your deadlift, stopping 2 reps short (our increase your deadlift guide's editorial starting point). The sumo deadlift: 2 or 3 lighter sets, then 3 sets of 5 (our sumo deadlift workout); for a deficit sumo, stand on a low platform and keep it small, as the sumo start is already short (no 3D demo; our suggestion). The trap bar deadlift: 3 sets of 5 to 8 (our lower body gym workout); for a deficit, stand on plates inside the bar with the low handles (no 3D demo). The snatch-grip deadlift lengthens the pull with a wide grip: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5, stopping 2 or 3 reps short (the move page's dose). The Romanian deadlift from a deficit belongs to our Romanian deadlift guide.
3D demoDeficit deadliftAdvanced · A barbell + Weight plates
3D demoSumo deadliftAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoTrap bar (hex bar) deadliftIntermediate · Other / check instructions
3D demoSnatch deadlift (snatch-grip deadlift)Intermediate · A barbell
3D demoRomanian deadlift from a deficitAdvanced · A barbell + A stepThe move page's steps. The wide grip lengthens the pull without a platform; straps or a hook grip help you hold the bar, as the move page says.
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The movement on the figure: Snatch deadlift (snatch-grip deadlift)
Your back loses its shape before the bar moves. Lower the platform.
Your legs stop helping and your back does it all. Lower the weight and push the floor away, hips and shoulders rising together.
Keep it against your shins and thighs, as the deadlift move page cues.
Use something flat and solid, wide enough for both feet.
It's harder: start at about 80% of your deadlift, as our increase your deadlift guide suggests.
Set the bar down and reset your brace every rep, as our deadlift strength workout says.
2 or 3 sets of 3 to 5 at about 80% of your deadlift, stopping 2 reps short, with 2 to 3 minutes' rest and 3 to 5 when sets are heavy: our increase your deadlift guide's editorial starting point, with our deadlift guide's rest.
2 sets of 3 to 5 at about 80% of that day's heavy weight, stopping 2 reps short, with 3 minutes' rest, as in our deadlift strength workout.
Once a week, as your second lift or in place of some heavy sets, for 4 to 8 weeks, then back to the floor and test (our editorial starting point). Powerlifters typically deadlift once a week, as our increase your deadlift guide notes.
Stop 2 reps short and never grind out a heavy single. Strength gains came from heavier loads, 2 to 3 sets and lifting early in the session in the ACSM's overview, training to failure gave a trivial growth advantage at most, and most people misjudge the reps they have left by about one.
Add about 2.5 kg only when every rep looks the same, as our deadlift guide says, and lower the platform rather than adding weight if your positions slip (our suggestion).
3 to 5 minutes of easy movement, cat-cows and glute bridges, a few hip hinges, then 2 or 3 lighter sets building to your working weight, as our plans and deadlift strength workout do.
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In 70 people with recurring back pain, 12 supervised sessions of deadlift training with pain education over 8 weeks matched gentler motor-control exercise for pain; the motor-control group improved more for daily activity, and the groups didn't differ at 1 and 2 years. Between 50 and 80% reported less pain and disability. Those with less pain and better back-muscle endurance at the start did best.
Across 8 trials of 408 people, strength training for the back of the body did better than general exercise for disability, and probably for pain, though that result could have been no difference. In a 30-man pilot, adding deadlifts to core work gave no extra benefit. Deadlifts are one option, not the best one.
Across 11 low-quality studies, how much people bent their lower backs while lifting wasn't a risk factor for back pain, and a review of 41 reviews found no consensus that postures cause back pain. In 24 trained lifters, the lower back's shape changed little from rep to rep. A narrative review argues that sudden jumps in training load predict injury more than posture does. Our deadlift guide's middle path applies: set a long, braced back, accept small changes, and put the bar down if it changes a lot.
Across 22 studies of experienced lifters, heavier loads and fatigue slowed the bar and made joint angles more variable, especially near the sticking point, though only 2 studies looked at the deadlift. A deficit makes the start harder, so keep it lighter and stop sets 2 reps short.
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In national powerlifting competitors, modelled compression at the lowest lumbar joint reached 17,192 newtons, and sumo lifts loaded it a little less than conventional ones. No study has linked this to injury, but it's a reason to build up gradually.
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Powerlifting has about 1 to 4.4 injuries per 1,000 hours of training, similar to other non-contact strength sports and lower than contact sports, most often the lower back, shoulder and elbow, in mostly low-quality studies.
Pain you'd call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10, that settles within an hour or so, with your back no worse the next morning, is acceptable; if it is worse, do less next time (fewer reps, a smaller range, a lighter load), not nothing. Stop or shrink any movement that sends pain, pins and needles or numbness further down your leg. That's our back pain guides' rule.
The hip hinge, 2 sets of 8; kettlebell deadlifts, 3 sets of 5 (both our deadlift technique workout); the trap bar deadlift, 3 sets of 5 to 8 (our lower body gym workout); the barbell deadlift, 2 or 3 warm-up sets then 3 sets of 3 to 5, stopping 1 to 3 short (our deadlift strength workout); then the deficit deadlift at about 80% for a few weeks (our increase your deadlift guide).
Warm up with cat-cow, 8 slow rounds, and glute bridges, 12 reps (our deadlift strength workout). Then back extensions on a 45-degree bench, 2 sets of 10 to 12; bent-over barbell rows, 3 sets of 6 to 10; farmer's carries, 3 walks of 30 m (all our deadlift strength workout); hip thrusts, 3 sets of 8 to 12 (our posterior chain workout); and dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, 3 sets of 8 to 10 (our full-body dumbbell workout). Cool down with the strap hamstring stretch, 30 seconds each leg.
3D demoCat-cowBeginner · No equipment
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoBack extension on a 45-degree benchIntermediate · A bench or box
3D demoBent-over barbell rowAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoFarmer's carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell
3D demoBarbell hip thrustIntermediate · A barbell + A bench or box
3D demoDumbbell Romanian deadliftIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoSupine hamstring stretch with a strapBeginner · No equipmentOur deadlift strength workout has heavy deadlifts, then deficit deadlifts at about 80%, back extensions, rows and carries. The deadlift technique workout is the route to a solid floor deadlift first; the sumo and beginner powerlifting workouts build the main lift.
A heavy deadlift session for lifters past the beginner stage: heavy sets of 3 to 5, deficit deadlifts, back extensions, rows and farmer's carries.
55 minIntermediate9 movesA barbell, Weight platesA 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 40-minute sumo deadlift session: open your hips, learn the wide stance with a dumbbell, then sumo deadlifts in sets of 5, a wide-stance hinge and a carry.
40 minIntermediate11 movesA dumbbell, A kettlebellA 75-minute beginner session for the three powerlifting lifts: squats to depth, paused bench presses and deadlifts in sets of 5, then rows and trunk work.
75 minBeginner12 movesCardio machine, A wallBuild your floor deadlift first with our beginner strength programme; deficits come once that's solid.
Not yet. Build a floor deadlift that looks the same every rep first; the move page lists a solid floor deadlift as the prerequisite.
Come back through our lower back pain after deadlifts guide's stages first: shorter pulls such as rack pulls or a trap bar, then the floor deadlift, with heavy singles last. A deficit, the longest pull, comes after that.
The low start stretches the hamstrings under load. Use a smaller deficit or none until our hamstring strain or high hamstring tendinopathy guide's plan says heavier hinges are fine.
Keep your back long and avoid rounding under load, as the UK consensus advises; with spinal fractures, get a physiotherapist's advice before any heavy pulls.
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Heavy pulls raise blood pressure a lot for a few seconds, more with a held breath: in 5 bodybuilders, pressure in the artery averaged 320/250 mmHg during a heavy double-leg press to failure. The American Heart Association calls low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe when blood pressure is controlled. Breathe out through the effort and leave heavy deficits until you've had advice.
No maximal pulls or breath-holding until it's repaired; keep loads light enough to breathe out through the effort, as our hernia guide says.
Don't start deficit deadlifts in pregnancy: the NHS doesn't recommend starting new vigorous activity and advises against activities with a risk of bumping your tummy. If you already lift, Tommy's says pregnancy isn't the time to try your heaviest weights, as our increase your deadlift guide notes.
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Half of women in weightlifting and powerlifting surveys reported pelvic floor problems such as leaking. Leaking when you lift is a reason to see our pelvic floor guide and a pelvic health physiotherapist, not to stop lifting; see a GP about any leaking, as the NHS advises.
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; severe difficulty breathing; 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, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
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.
Call 999 or go to A&E: back pain with chest pain, or back pain that started after a serious accident, such as a car crash.
Same day (GP or NHS 111): back pain and you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or severe pain that starts suddenly or is getting worse quickly.
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Pain in your bottom and down the back of one leg: see a GP if it isn't better after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, or numbness around or under your genitals or around your bottom, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
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A sudden sharp pain at the back of your thigh, sometimes with a pop, then swelling and bruising. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful or getting worse, badly swollen or bruised, or hurts to walk or stand on; our hamstring strain guide has the rehab.
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Stop, sit or lie down until it passes, and get up slowly. See a GP if it keeps happening, or for dizziness that won't go away or keeps coming back.
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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.
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 heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, 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.
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No trial has tested it. They train the start, where force is lowest, and strength is specific to the range you train; but lifters usually fail higher up, and many have no clear sticking point. Practise the floor deadlift first; a deficit is one tool.
No height has been tested. Coaches keep deficits small because big ones change the lift and make the back's shape hard to hold.
Supervised deadlift training helped recurring back pain about as much as gentler exercise, back-of-the-body strength training did a little better than general exercise for disability, and powerlifting injury rates are similar to other non-contact strength sports. Like any lift, it needs sensible loads and gradual progress.
Bending the lower back while lifting wasn't a risk factor for back pain in low-quality studies, and there's no consensus that postures cause back pain. Heavy, tired reps with a back that changes shape a lot are where the risk is argued to sit, and no trial has tested it. With osteoporosis, the advice is different: avoid loaded bending.
Longer-range training tends to build more lower-body muscle in other lifts, but no study has tested a deficit deadlift for growth.
A deadlift standing on a low platform, so the bar starts a few centimetres lower and you pull it further. It's an advanced variation of the conventional deadlift, for people whose floor deadlift is already solid.
Start with 2 to 5 cm, about 1 to 2 inches, and stay within about 8 cm. No study has tested heights; coaches keep deficits small because big ones make your back's shape hard to hold.
Lifters use them to get stronger off the floor, where the deadlift is weakest. No trial has tested whether they raise your deadlift, so treat them as one tool, not a fix.
Start at about 80% of your deadlift for sets of 3 to 5, stopping 2 reps short, as our increase your deadlift guide suggests. Starting lower always costs some weight; nobody has measured exactly how much.
2 or 3 sets of 3 to 5, once a week, with 2 to 3 minutes' rest, or 3 to 5 when heavy. In our deadlift strength workout they come after your heavy deadlifts: 2 sets of 3 to 5.
Opposite tools: a deficit trains the start of the pull and a rack pull the top. Use the one that matches where you struggle, and keep the full deadlift as your main lift; neither has been tested for raising it.
Both make the hardest part of the pull harder: a deficit by lengthening it, a pause by holding you in it. We found no study of either, so choose the one you can do with good positions.
Maybe a little more, as longer-range training tends to build more lower-body muscle in other lifts. But no study has tested deficit deadlifts for growth, so treat that as a reasonable guess, not a finding.
Yes: stand on a low platform for either and keep the deficit small; we found no studies of either. The Romanian deadlift from a deficit is a different lift, covered in our Romanian deadlift guide.
Not inherently: deadlift training helped recurring back pain as much as gentler exercise in one trial. But the lower start makes your back's shape harder to hold, so start small and light, and after back pain, deficits come last.
No. Build a deadlift from the floor that looks the same every rep first; the move page lists a solid floor deadlift as the prerequisite.
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.
