What you'll gain

• Adds range at the hardest part of the pull to build strength off the floor.

• Increases the leg drive demand compared with a deadlift from the floor.

• May improve the hamstring to quadriceps strength balance.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Stand on a stable platform roughly four to eight inches high with the bar over your midfoot.

2. 2

   Set your feet hip width apart and grip the bar just outside your shins.

3. 3

   Drop your hips until your shoulders sit over the bar with the shins near vertical.

4. 4

   Brace your abdominals hard and pull the slack out of the bar.

5. 5

   Drive through the whole foot and extend the hips and knees together to lockout.

6. 6

   Lower the bar under control back to the platform and reset before the next rep.

Common Mistakes

• Rounding the lower back to reach the bar, which the added range makes far more likely.

• Letting the bar drift forward off the midfoot, which lengthens the lever on the spine.

• Standing on a platform that is too high for your current hip and ankle range.

• Keeping the same load as a floor pull, which forces the hips to shoot up first.

About This Exercise

The deficit deadlift is a conventional pull performed from a platform roughly four to eight inches high, so the bar starts lower relative to the shins. The extra range forces a deeper hip and knee position off the floor and increases the leg drive needed to break the bar away. The glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps produce the lift while the erectors, lats, traps and grip hold the bar path. In a library this is the advanced deadlift variation that separates a serious barbell collection from a basic one. It fits barbell filters, powerlifting accessory blocks, and coaching content explaining how to fix a weak position off the floor.

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