Five Steps to a Perfect Deadlift: Follow These Five Simple Coaching Cues to Pull Heavy Deadlifts with Perfect Form and Total Confidence

In 2016, I pulled a 270kg raw deadlift — no wraps, no straps and no drugs.

Since then, I’ve coached hundreds of novice, intermediate and advanced lifters on how to perform the deadlift with perfect form and total confidence.

I use the five steps every single time:

1. Stance: Position your feet hip-width apart with your toes turned out at 11 and 1 o’clock. Position the barbell so that it is directly over the middle of your foot, roughly an inch away from your shins.
2. Grip: Take a double-overhand grip at the edge of the knurling. Bend your knees until your shins touch the bar, without moving it in front of the mid-foot. Push your knees out into the ‘pit’ of your elbows.
3. Posture: Arch your lower back, lift your chest and pull against the shaft of the barbell so that it touches the inside of the collars to engage the lats.
4. Lift: Take a deep breath, trap it against the glottis and brace your abs. Pull the bar up the shins, up the thighs until you reach lockout, ensuring the barbell remains in contact with your body the whole time.
5. Lower: Keeping your chest up and your lower back locked in extension, drive the hips back, slide the bar down the thighs and down the shins, and return it to the mid-foot, ready for the next rep.

That’s it.

Congratulations — you just pulled the perfect deadlift!