Intermediate

Dumbbell Deadlift to High Pull

This movement chains a hip hinge into a powerful upward pull, training the posterior chain and the upper back in one ballistic rep. The deadlift builds the glutes and hamstrings, and the high pull hands the momentum off to the traps and delts, making it a superb conditioning and power-endurance tool. It hits hard with light weight, so it fits circuits and metabolic finishers well.

Equipment
Dumbbell
Body part
Glutes, Traps
Type
Functional, Strength
Browse by movement
Hinge, Shoulder Raise
Muscles worked
Target
Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, Trapezius Upper, Deltoid Middle
Secondary
Semitendinosus, Erector Spinae, Deltoid Posterior, Deltoid Anterior
Tertiary
Trapezius Middle, Trapezius Lower, Brachioradialis, Vastus Lateralis, Rectus Femoris

How to do it

  1. 1

    Stand with a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, feet hip-width apart.

  2. 2

    Hinge at the hips and push your hips back, letting the dumbbells lower toward the floor with a flat back.

  3. 3

    Drive your hips forward explosively to stand tall and generate upward momentum.

  4. 4

    Let that momentum carry the dumbbells up as you pull the elbows high and wide toward your chin.

  5. 5

    Lower the dumbbells back to your thighs, then re-hinge for the next rep.

  6. 6

    Exhale sharply through the pull and keep the core braced.

Tips

  • Lead the pull with your elbows, keeping them above your wrists.
  • Keep the dumbbells close to your body on the way up to protect the shoulders.
  • Power the pull from the hips, not by yanking with the arms.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The low back rounds at the bottom of the hinge when the dumbbells get heavy, exactly the moment the spine most needs to stay flat.
  • Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears at the top of the pull replaces the wide elbow drive with a trap shrug that does not train the same thing.
  • The hips finish extending well before the arms start pulling, so the two phases run one after another instead of one continuous whip of momentum.
  • Rushing the re-hinge into the next rep before the dumbbells settle back at the thighs turns the lift into a series of small bounces instead of a full hinge each time.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the dumbbell deadlift to high pull should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Three sets of 8 to 10 reps with light dumbbells is a sensible start, since the explosive pull is easy to rush before the hinge pattern is solid. Add reps up to 15 for a conditioning-style set before you reach for heavier dumbbells.
What can I do instead of the dumbbell deadlift to high pull without dumbbells?
A kettlebell swing trains a similar hip-hinge-to-explosive-pull pattern, or a light barbell high pull if one is available. With no weight at all, a bodyweight hip hinge into a jump shrug still trains the same explosive hip extension.
What is the dumbbell deadlift to high pull good for?
It combines posterior-chain strength work with an explosive upper-back pull, making it an efficient conditioning and power-endurance tool for circuits and finishers. It is a poor choice for anyone still learning to hinge with a flat back under load, since the explosive speed here makes a rounding low back harder to catch than in a slow deadlift.

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