Any number of elements of my normal deadlift setup could have clearly been missing from that set. But without actually going through every step of the elevator in my head, it’s hard to pinpoint what caused a seemingly routine elevator to go catastrophically the other way.
That’s why having a deadlift pre-lift checklist can help you maximize every lift, while hopefully reducing your risk of injury. Deadlifting requires your entire body to be engaged as it can be the difference between a PR lower back injury and a PR. Because the deadlift, unlike the squat or bench, starts in a bottom loading position. This means that there is no stretch reflex. You need to create tension, stability and strength from the ground up.
That’s why a repeatable pre-lift checklist is a must. With help from Tasha ‘Iron Wolf’ Whelana world champion powerlifter and strong athlete with a personal best 515 pound deadlift, we guide you through a solid deadlift pre-lift checklist.
Your pre-checklist for deadlifts
There aren’t many exercises that come close to building the full-body strength of the deadlift, but because it’s a full-body movement, it’s imperative to have a routine before the pull.
Remark: Not every lifter will have the same setup. Limb length, mobility and training style will cause minor differences – that’s normal. This checklist covers the most important universal principles that apply to any conventional deadlifter.
Foot position and distance
Before your hands touch the bar, you need a rock-solid base. Deadlift mistakes, such as forward tilt, bar drift, and low back strain, start with poor foot placement.
- Stand with feet about hip-width apart.
- Toes are straight or slightly pointed outwards.
- The barbell lies directly above the midfoot, not over your toes and not against your shins.
Why your midfoot? That is your balance center. If the bar starts in front of the midfoot, it will swing away from you. If it starts too close, it will drag you forward as the plates leave the ground.
Internal cue: “Feel your whole foot.” External cue: “Bar over the laces.”
Tasha’s tip: There is no one “perfect” width. It depends on your body type, leverage and muscle dominance (quad versus hamstring dominant).
- Narrow stance: More emphasis on the hamstrings and posterior chain.
- Wider stance (still conventional): Allows for a little more quad involvement.
- General principle: Your feet should be about hip-width apart, toes turned slightly outward, then adjust based on how it feels and where you generate the most force.
Get grounded
Putting your feet in the right place is half the battle; now you need to turn them into anchors. Rooting your feet creates tension in the hips, glutes, and hamstrings before the pull. This action creates external rotation through the hips, allowing your knees to track properly.
- Grab the floor with your toes.
- Try to tear the ground in half with your feet.
- You should feel your arches rise and your hips engage.
Internal cue: “Screw your feet into the floor.” External signal: “Spread the floor apart.”
Tasha’s tip: Grasp the floor with your feet as if you were trying to ‘spread’ the floor apart. A stable base equals more power and fewer energy leaks.
Hip hinge and position
Deadlifts start and end with the hinge. If you first bend your knees and drop into a squat, the bar will tend to float forward. If you go too far on your hinge and lock your knees out, it’s now a stiff-legged deadlift. The sweet spot lies between the two.
- Set your hinge by first pushing your hips back and loading the hamstrings.
- Then bend your knees just enough so that your shins lightly touch the bar.
- Your hips should now be between your shoulders and knees.
Internal cue: “Hamstrings tight, spine long.” External cue: “Reach your butt toward the wall behind you.”
Tasha’s tip: Find your hip position:
- Too high: Your back becomes the dominant muscle group, with less leg strength.
- Too low: Now you’ve turned it into a squat. Your hips shoot up before the bar moves.
- Just right: Your hips are between the two extremes, about a 45-degree angle, with tension in your glutes and hamstrings.
Grip and hand placement
Once your feet and hips are locked in, it’s time to get your hands on the bar, but how you grip it mattersat. A weak or uneven grip can disrupt the steering path, waste energy and take power out of the pull before it begins.
- Hinge down with a neutral spine as above.
- Place your hands outside your knees.
- Choose your grip: double overhand, hook grip or mixed grip.
- Squeeze the bar hard to reach the forearms and upper back.
Internal cue: “Crush the rod in your hands.” External cue: “Bend the bar.”
Tasha’s tip: If your grip feels weird before you lift, it will feel worse once the bar moves. Reset and crush the beam.
Set your back and lats
A mighty deadlift gets better with a locked spine and rock-hard lats. If your back is rounded or your lats aren’t tight, the bar will drift away from you, your leverage disappears and your lower back takes the hit.
- Flatten your spine by pulling your shoulders down and back slightly.
- Grip the rod tighter and pull out the slack until you feel the plates tighten.
- Engage the lats to hold the bar to your body as it moves upward.
Internal cue: ‘Squeeze oranges under your armpits.’ External cue: “Bend the bar toward your shins.”
Tasha’s tip: Pull out the slack and lock everything in place before you start. Keep your arms long: Think about reaching through the floor as long as possible and think about “squeezing oranges under your armpits.”
Breathe and steady yourself
Don’t move a muscle until your abdomen is tightened. The deadlift requires full-body tension, which is enhanced with proper breathing and strengthening. This combination of breathing and bracing stabilizes your spine and increases the transfer of force from the floor to the lower body.
- Take a deep breath, filling 360 degrees around your core.
- Hold your ribs and tighten your torso as if preparing for a blow.
- Hold the bracket while the bar breaks off the floor and rises.
Internal cue: “Fill your torso with air.”
External signal: “Push your abs into your belt.”
Tasha’s tip: Take a deep breath, 360 degrees, and expand into your stomach, sides and back. This intra-abdominal pressure stabilizes your spine and protects it under load. Reset between reps as necessary; sloppy breathing destroys strong pulling movements.
The green light checklist
This final pause lasts about two seconds, but can save your lift. Before the bar leaves the floor, run through this quick system check:
- Metatarsal under the bar
- Feet rooted, spreading the floor
- Grip firmly and evenly
- Hips between knees and shoulders
- Shins hit the crossbar
- Lats locked, slack taken out
- Bracket firmly
- Eyes directed forward
Once all seven are locked up, you’re ready to pull.
Common mistakes when setting up the deadlift
Here, Whelan further explains how to clean up your deadlift setup for a stronger, smoother pull.
Bar too far away
- Problem: The bar starts over the toes instead of the midfoot.
- Result: The bar moves forward, pulling you out of position and straining your lower back.
- To repair: Place the bar over the center of your foot before gripping it. The bar should slide past your shins as it leaves the floor.
Rushing the installation
- Problem: Grasp the bar and pull before tension builds up.
- Result: Loss of spinal stiffness, hips shoot up, bar path becomes erratic.
- To repair: Tense before you pull: breathe, brace, brace your lats, then lift.
Rounded back
- Problem: Collapse the chest or drop the shoulders forward.
- Result: Shear stress on the lumbar spine, reduced leg drive.
- To repair: Keep your chest proud and tight with your lats – lead with your sternum, not your chin.
Hips too high or too low
- Problem: Too high equals back dominance, while too low makes your deadlift more of a squat.
- To repair: Find the middle ground where you feel tension in your hamstrings and glutes, and the bar remains tight against your shins.
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