How many sets and reps of the deficit deadlift should I do?

Work at 60 to 75 percent of your floor deadlift for 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 5 reps, standing on one to two inches only, with three minutes of rest. Run it once a week inside a six to eight week block, then go back and test your floor pull. It is a build-up exercise, not something to max out on, and the load stays below your normal pull the whole time.

What can I do instead of a deficit deadlift if I have no barbell?

Stand on a low step with a pair of heavy dumbbells or a kettlebell held between the feet, which reproduces the longer range with the load you have. A Romanian deadlift performed from a step gives you the same extra stretch through the hamstrings, though it starts from the top rather than the floor.

What is the deficit deadlift good for?

It attacks weakness off the floor by making the hardest part of the pull longer, and it exposes any early rounding, which makes it a technique tool as much as a strength one. It suits experienced lifters in an off-season block. Beginners still learning to pull from the floor should leave it alone, and so should anyone whose lower back is already unhappy.

Advanced

Deficit Deadlift

Standing on a plate or block sinks your hips lower and forces the bar through several extra inches, which overloads the toughest part of the pull and builds a stronger start. The added range punishes any early back rounding, so treat it as a technique and strength tool rather than a max-out lift. Best reserved for experienced pullers chasing a bigger deadlift off the floor.

Equipment: Barbell
Body part: Glutes, Hamstring
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Erector Spinae
Browse by movement: Hinge

How to do it

1
Stand on a low platform or plate one to three inches high with the bar over mid-foot.
2
Hinge down and grip the bar just outside your knees with arms vertical.
3
Set a flat back, brace your abs, and pull the slack out of the bar.
4
Drive the floor away with your legs while dragging the bar up your shins.
5
Stand tall and squeeze the glutes at lockout without leaning back.
6
Push the hips back and lower the bar along the same path under control.

Tips

Start with a small deficit; even an inch adds serious range and difficulty.
Keep the chest up and hips down to hold position through the longer pull.
Cut the load compared with a floor pull, since the extra range is the point.

Variations

Common mistakes

The extra inches are exactly where the lower back tends to round. If your spine cannot stay flat at the new start height, the deficit is taller than your hips currently allow.
The bar gets stopped at old floor height on the way down instead of touching the platform you are standing on, which is a normal deadlift with extra setup.
Standing on a stack of bumpers or a mat that flexes wastes leg drive and shifts underfoot at the worst moment; use one solid platform that does not move.
Knees drift forward over the bar to reach the extra depth, which puts the shins in the bar path and forces the bar out around them on the way up.
Grip and lower back both fatigue faster over a longer pull, so the fifth rep of a heavy deficit set is nothing like the fifth rep off the floor. Keep the sets to three to five.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the deficit deadlift should I do?: Work at 60 to 75 percent of your floor deadlift for 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 5 reps, standing on one to two inches only, with three minutes of rest. Run it once a week inside a six to eight week block, then go back and test your floor pull. It is a build-up exercise, not something to max out on, and the load stays below your normal pull the whole time.
What can I do instead of a deficit deadlift if I have no barbell?: Stand on a low step with a pair of heavy dumbbells or a kettlebell held between the feet, which reproduces the longer range with the load you have. A Romanian deadlift performed from a step gives you the same extra stretch through the hamstrings, though it starts from the top rather than the floor.
What is the deficit deadlift good for?: It attacks weakness off the floor by making the hardest part of the pull longer, and it exposes any early rounding, which makes it a technique tool as much as a strength one. It suits experienced lifters in an off-season block. Beginners still learning to pull from the floor should leave it alone, and so should anyone whose lower back is already unhappy.

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