WhatWorksWhat.
Hamstrings

Conventional Deadlift

Whole-body brace. Hamstrings, glutes, and back all firing at once.

Complexity · Highstrengthadvanced+Barbell
Check Your Form
  • Forearms
  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Hamstrings - Inner hamstring
  • Hamstrings - Outer hamstring
  • Lats
  • Lower back
  • Quads
  • Traps
  • Outer hamstring
  • Inner hamstring
  • Deep inner hamstring

PrimarySecondary

What it hits

Parts of the target muscle.

  • Outer hamstring

    Hit

    Biceps femoris.

  • Inner hamstring

    Hit

    Semitendinosus.

  • Deep inner hamstring

    Not hit

    Semimembranosus - sits underneath the inner hamstring.

The movement

Get it right, not roughly right.

Optimal form

8:55· Jeff Nippard

Build A Bigger Deadlift With Perfect Technique (Conventional Form)

Hinge bottom

Lockout

Bar over mid-foot, shins close. Hips back, chest up, lats tight (squeeze armpits). Push the floor away - don't 'lift' the bar. Lockout = stand up tall, not lean back.

Common mistakes

  • Rounding the lower back at any point in the lift.
  • Yanking the bar off the floor with no tension.
  • Hyperextending the lower back at lockout.

Where you should feel it

Whole-body brace. Hamstrings, glutes, and back all firing at once.

Injury risk · 8/10

SafetyIf your back rounds before the bar leaves the floor, the weight is too heavy - strip the bar and rebuild. Lockout is standing tall, not leaning back.

Progression

Step back, or step up.

Same movement family, different rung. Harder versions sit above, easier versions below — tap a rung to land there.

  1. Progress toSnatch-grip deadliftWider grip extends ROM and recruits the upper back hard.
  2. Progress toDeficit deadliftAdds 1–2 inches of hamstring stretch at the bottom.
  3. You're hereConventional Deadlift
  4. Step back toRomanian deadliftSame hinge, no floor - easier to keep a flat back while you learn the pattern.
  5. Step back toHip thrustSame posterior chain target, spine fully supported.

Variations

Same movement, moved emphasis.

Ranked by how directly each variation still trains hamstrings. 80%+ means the target barely changes. Below 60%, the emphasis has meaningfully shifted — useful for variety, but less precise for the specific part. The label calls it at a glance.

  • Deficit deadlift

    Standing on a 1–2 inch platform.

    95% on target

    On target

    Bigger hamstring stretch.

  • Sumo deadlift

    Wide stance, hands inside legs.

    80% on target

    On target

    More glutes and adductors, shorter ROM.

  • Trap-bar deadlift

    Hex bar, neutral grip.

    70% on target

    Slight shift

    Quad-dominant - hamstring shift away.

Compare with another exercise

Cool-down

Worked it. Walk it back down.

A couple of minutes here pays back in soreness avoided tomorrow. Browse the full library.

  • Couch Stretch

    Rear foot up on a bench, front leg in a 90/90 lunge. Squeeze the glute of the rear leg, tall torso. 60s per side.

    QuadsGlutes

  • Lat Hang

    Dead hang from a bar, fully relaxed shoulders. 30–60s. Decompresses everything pulling-related.

    LatsRhomboids

  • Child's Pose

    Knees wide, big toes together. Sit hips back to the heels, arms long overhead, forehead to the floor. 60s. Walk the hands one direction to bias one side.

    LatsLower backRhomboids

Evidence