Deadlift
The deadlift. Builds total-body strength from the heels to the traps. It works mainly the glutes, hamstrings and lower back, with help from the quads, adductors, trapezius and forearm flexors.
In Flawless, a man aged 23–39 reaches Gold, the third of eight ranks, at 1.9× bodyweight (152.5 kg at 80 kg). For a woman it is 1.35× (80 kg at 60 kg).
How to do Deadlift
- Stand with the bar over the middle of your feet, feet hip width, and grip it just outside your shins with straight arms.
- Drop the hips until the shins touch the bar, lift the chest, flatten the back and take a big breath into your belly.
- Push the floor away and stand up in one motion, keeping the bar against your legs the whole way; finish tall with the glutes squeezed.
- Lower by pushing the hips back first, then bending the knees once the bar passes them; the plates return to the floor every rep.
These are the same steps you see in the exercise guide in the Flawless app.
Muscles worked
| Role | Muscle | Anatomical name |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Glutes | Gluteus maximus |
| Primary | Hamstrings | Biceps femoris |
| Primary | Lower back | Erector spinae |
| Secondary | Quads | Quadriceps femoris |
| Secondary | Adductors | Adductores |
| Secondary | Trapezius | Trapezius |
| Secondary | Forearm flexors | Flexores antebrachii |
Muscle data from StrengthLog.
Why do it
- The most weight your body will ever move
- Back, hips and legs in a single lift
- Grip and bracing that hold up everywhere else
Strength standards for Deadlift
| Rank | Men | Women | Man, 80 kg | Woman, 60 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | start | start | – | – |
| Silver | 1.3× | 0.9× | 105 kg | 55 kg |
| Gold | 1.9× | 1.35× | 152.5 kg | 80 kg |
| Platinum | 2.55× | 1.8× | 205 kg | 107.5 kg |
| Diamond | 3.2× | 2.25× | 255 kg | 135 kg |
| Obsidian | 4× | 2.8× | 320 kg | 167.5 kg |
| Painite | 4.8× | 3.35× | 385 kg | 200 kg |
| Antimatter | 6.4× | 4.5× | 512.5 kg | 270 kg |
Ratios are one-rep max ÷ bodyweight for ages 23–39; kilograms are rounded to 2.5 kg.
Flawless takes your best set of Deadlift, estimates your one-rep max with the Brzycki formula (reps are capped at 12) and divides it by the bodyweight in your profile, so you never have to test a true max. Women’s limits are 30 % lower than men’s. For other ages the app lowers every limit: by 8 % under 23 and from 40 to 49, by 18 % in your 50s, 28 % in your 60s and 38 % from 70.
See also: strength rank calculator and deadlift standards.
Similar exercises
Questions
What muscles does Deadlift work?
It works mainly the glutes, hamstrings and lower back, with help from the quads, adductors, trapezius and forearm flexors.
How do you do Deadlift?
Stand with the bar over the middle of your feet, feet hip width, and grip it just outside your shins with straight arms. Drop the hips until the shins touch the bar, lift the chest, flatten the back and take a big breath into your belly. Push the floor away and stand up in one motion, keeping the bar against your legs the whole way; finish tall with the glutes squeezed. Lower by pushing the hips back first, then bending the knees once the bar passes them; the plates return to the floor every rep.
What is a good Deadlift for my bodyweight?
In Flawless, Gold starts at 1.9× bodyweight for men aged 23–39 and 1.35× for women, Diamond at 3.2× and 2.25×. For an 80 kg man that is a 152.5 kg and a 255 kg one-rep max.
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