DB Deadlift

The DB deadlift is a hinge strength exercise performed with a dumbbell in each hand. It trains your posterior chain - the muscles along the back of your body - including your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back, while also challenging your grip and core control.

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, toes pointing forward or slightly outward. Place a dumbbell on the floor just outside each foot. Hinge at your hips and bend your knees until you can grip the dumbbells with your palms facing your body. Keep your back flat, chest up, and shoulders over or slightly in front of the weights.

Brace your core, then push the floor away through your heels as you stand up tall. Keep the dumbbells close to your legs as they travel upward. Squeeze your glutes at the top, but do not lean back or overarch your lower back. Lower the weights back to the floor with control by hinging at your hips and bending your knees, resetting your position before each rep if needed.

Take a breath in and tighten your midsection before you lift. Exhale after you finish the rep or at the top. To make it easier, raise the dumbbells onto blocks or low plates so you do not have to reach as far down. To make it harder, slow down the lowering phase or use a deficit by standing on a low, stable platform.

Fault: Rounding the lower back during the setup or lift. Fix: Pull your shoulder blades down and back, keep your chest facing forward, and only lower as far as you can while maintaining a neutral spine.

Fault: Letting the dumbbells drift forward away from the legs. Fix: Keep the weights brushing close to your shins and thighs on the way up and down; this keeps the load over your base of support.

Fault: Squatting the weight up instead of hinging. Fix: Push your hips back first so you feel tension in your hamstrings and glutes; your knees should bend only enough to let you reach the weights.