Deficit Deadlift
Deadlift from a deficit for a larger ROM and a stronger pull off the floor. 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 Deficit Deadlift
- Stand on a plate or a low block with the bar over the middle of your feet, so the bar starts lower than usual.
- Drop the hips a little deeper than in a normal deadlift, lift the chest, flatten the back and grip just outside the shins.
- Push the floor away and stand up in one motion, keeping the bar against the legs; finish tall with the glutes squeezed.
- Lower with control until the plates touch the floor; use less weight than a regular deadlift, the extra range makes the start much harder.
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 Deficit 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 Deficit 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.
Similar exercises
Questions
What muscles does Deficit 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 Deficit Deadlift?
Stand on a plate or a low block with the bar over the middle of your feet, so the bar starts lower than usual. Drop the hips a little deeper than in a normal deadlift, lift the chest, flatten the back and grip just outside the shins. Push the floor away and stand up in one motion, keeping the bar against the legs; finish tall with the glutes squeezed. Lower with control until the plates touch the floor; use less weight than a regular deadlift, the extra range makes the start much harder.
What is a good Deficit 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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