To get better at the deadlift, you need to deadlift more because sometimes it pays to state the obvious. But lifting hard and heavy all the time in a bilateral stance is tough on the body and also weak points like lockout strength and strength imbalances between sides can creep up on you. That’s why we’ve reached out to these six expert trainers to share their favorite deadlift accessory exercises so that you can break the monotony of having to do the same deadlift day after day.
Better to Work Smarter, Not Harder
This is where accessory exercises are your best friend. Trained after your big strength movement for the day, accessory exercises strengthen strengths and strengthen weaknesses for a safer and stronger pull. Here we will go into what’s needed for a strong pull and 5 accessory exercises to help you bust through plateaus.
What’s Needed for Good Deadlift Technique
There are many different deadlift variations from regular, sumo, to pulling from blocks. But the following requirements for a good deadlift are nonnegotiable:
Good hip-hinge technique: Obviously if you cannot keep a neutral spine under heavy load, hello back problems.
Hip mobility: This goes hand-in-hand with good hip hinge technique. Hip mobility can be trained around but it always pays to work on it.
Upper-back strength: A strong upper back keeps the bar close as your pull and helps keep the spine neutral.
Core strength: For everything else to work as it should while deadlifting you need adequate core strength to keep your spine neutral so the larger muscles can do their job.
The following deadlift accessory exercises below work on these attributes and weak points such as lockout strength and keeping a neutral spine, etc. that will stop you from progressing. These 5 coaches and all their knowledge and experience share their 5 favorite exercises for a stronger pull.
Joel Seedman Ph.D. is a strength coach and owner at Advanced Human Performance.
Why I like it: Single-leg Romanian deadlifts and single-leg hip hinges will you spare your joints from heavy loading and are very low back and hip friendly. Many of my clients find they create a very strong muscle mind connection with their hips, particularly their glutes. Besides preventing low back issues this transfers incredibly well when it comes to teaching individuals how to initiate the movement with their glutes rather than their back.
How it helps: This exposes and eliminates imbalances, asymmetries, and misalignment issues while simultaneously improving motor control. Additionally, there’s a significant eccentric portion involved that’s necessary in order to maintain control and balance. As a result, they not only improve muscle function but also improve functional strength & hypertrophy in the glutes, hamstrings, spinal erectors, and more which pay dividends for boosting your deadlifts
Form tips:
Bend the back leg/elevated leg to 90 degrees and maintain that throughout.
Set the posture by pinning the shoulders down and back while keeping the core tight & braced.
Hinge over at the hip joint and drive the heel of the elevated/back leg towards the ceiling as if you’re intentionally trying to squeeze the glute of that rear leg.
Make sure both hips are perfectly square and straight.
Pause at the bottom for 3-5 seconds.
Initiate the concentric/upward-lifting phase by firing the glutes
Finish with hip flexion/knee drive position with the front hip and knee at 90 degrees.
Programming suggestions: Aim for three sets of three to five slow and controlled eccentric isometric reps. Once you get to the point that you’re able to use close to your whole body weight (a 200-pound person would use 100-pound dumbbells) you’ll likely have significantly boosted your deadlift as well as improved your overall body mechanics.
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B-Stance Deadlift
Mike T. Nelson Ph.D., is a netabolism fitness professional, strength coach, and educator.
Why I like it: It’s a good accessory lift to hit your weaker side. I like accessory exercise since it will emphasize your weaker side, but you can work up to heavier loads in time and it is specific to your deadlift.
How it helps: Since you are moving one side to the ball of your foot as the contact, your leg that remains flat on the ground will have more load since it has higher stability. This allows you to directly target your weaker leg.
Form tips:
Set up like a normal deadlift. Slide your stronger leg back so that the ball of your foot lines up with your other heel, the heel will stay up during the lift.
Make sure your knees line up and perform your deadlift like you normally would.
From the knees up, it should look like your normal deadlift.
Programming suggestions: Add this in as an accessory lift on your non-main deadlift day. Since the loads are lighter you can add more volume and get a bit more deadlift work in during the week. If you are pressed for time and typically take a long time to recover from the deadlift, you can add it in as an accessory lift on your deadlift day. Start with an easy load and progress up to a higher RPE over many weeks. There is no need to rush into heavier loads with this lift. Rep range is typically the five to eight range, but you can go higher if you like.
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Dimel Deadlift
Allan Bacon, Ph.D. is a former dental surgeon now an online personal trainer who specializes in training powerlifters and body composition clients.
Why I like it: The Dimel deadlift is a partial, ballistic deadlift designed to increase power in the glutes and hamstrings, and therefore the lockout portion of the deadlift.
How it helps: This movement allows you to really slam those big lifts like the squat and deadlift home with authority. Using a lighter weight, you’re really focusing on increasing the power at the top of your lift
Form tips:
Start in the top position of your typical conventional deadlift form.
Begin by pushing your hips back, allowing the bar to descend until it is just below your knees.
Quickly change direction by driving your hips forward forcefully, and make sure to squeeze your glutes to finish this off.
This movement is all about building hip drive speed and power, so let those reps fly under control!
Programming suggestions: Choose a weight that is 30 to 50% of your conventional deadlift 1 rep max. Perform 2-3 sets of 15 to 20 reps after your main strength movement for the day.
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Ab Wheel Rollout
Travis Pollen, Ph.D. is an Exercise Science Professor, personal trainer, and co-creator of the Strength For Yoga program and cofounder of 3M Athletic Performance gym.
Why I like it: If you’re failing just shy of lockout and feeling excessive effort coming from your low back, there’s a good chance you need to increase your strength and control in a posterior pelvic tilt. The best ab exercise for targeting the abs in a posterior tilt is the classic ab wheel rollout.
How it helps: When done correctly, the ab wheel rollout puts a crazy amount of tension on the abs to maintain the posterior tilt, which precisely mimics the deadlift lockout position. It also hits the lats in shoulder extension, which further replicates the muscle actions required in the deadlift.
Form tips:
The key to the ab wheel rollout is to contract your abs and glutes violently throughout the rollout and in.
Imagine you’re about to get punched in the stomach and you’re trying to “eat your shorts.” Visually, this will look like a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
If your hips sag or pike up, it means you’ve lost that engagement.
Programming tips: The best part about the ab wheel rollout is that it’s scalable to both newbie and seasoned lifters. Newbies can perform their rollouts kneeling on an incline (wheel higher than knees), and/or through a reduced range of motion. Seasoned lifters can perform their rollouts standing or on a decline (knees higher than wheel). Whichever variation you choose, three sets of 8 to 10 reps, one or two days per week, will do the trick.
Why I like it: This exercise is a great way to explosive, total body power. It can help improve your weightlifting performance and your deadlift performance.
How it helps: The wider hand position forces you into a lower starting position. It is like doing deadlifts from a deficit without having to worry about what to use for the deficit. This makes the starting height of regular deadlifts much higher. The wider hand position helps you to learn to really lock in your lats. This adds extra tightness which is critical for deadlifting.
Plus, It teaches you to accelerate the weight. The lighter weight and faster speeds give you a nice break from slow, heavy deadlifts. It lets you do dynamic effort training without the hassle of bands and chains.
Form tips:
Start with the bar over the middle of your foot and take a wider grip on the bar. Note: make sure your grip is not going too wide if you have shorter arms. Do not start with a rounded back! Because of the arm angle, you will want to use a hook grip or lifting straps
Squat down and spread your knees – do not bump the bar forward.
Push your chest out, get a big breath of air and tighten your core and lats Then push your mid food into the ground to break the bar off the floor. Get the bar up above your knees (mid to upper thighs depending on your body proportions) and then explode!
Get your whole body as tall as you can – think full extension with your hips, knees, and ankles. Keep your elbows straight if doing the low pull and move your elbows out to the side if doing the high pull and let the bar come out to mid-chest. Break at the hips and sit back slightly as you come down. Then lower the bar to the floor.
Programming suggestions: Because this lift is higher skilled and less taxing than a deadlift, you can train it more often. In fact, to learn this movement, you can use a lightweight (e.g., PVC pipe, wooden dowel, or empty barbell) and practice it as part of your warm-up each time you train. Once you are proficient with the lift, use is it 1-2 times per week, evenly spaced from your deadlift. For example, deadlift on Mondays, High or Low Pulls on Thursdays.
Because of the complexity and speed of this lift, it is best to use lower reps and higher sets. While many combinations can work well, I like 5-8 sets of 3 reps with 3-minute rest between sets
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Russian ‘Hardstyle’ Swings
Dr. Bo Babenko, is a physical therapist and strength coach who specializes in strengthening the mind, body, and soul.
Why I like it: Russian “hardstyle” kettlebell swings help prepare for any barbell pull because it really gets the nervous system primed for power production. As we age especially, that higher speed is vital to maintain or continue to push otherwise we slowly will deteriorate.
How it helps: The snap at the hips for the hardstyle swing is the same snap that we should be utilizing with a barbell between the knees and the hips. I also find that for more novice lifters, this cue to finish with the ribs crunching toward the hips is a fantastic correction for a lack of extension and “finish.”
Form tips:
The bell should be as close to your glutes on the swing back and the bell moving forward should be initiated from the squeezing of the glutes.
The arms should do as little work as possible “hands like hooks, arms like ropes” (unless intentionally driving the bell back toward your crotch for more powerful reps).
At the finish position with the bell at chest height, your knees should also be locked out (a common fault is not locking out your knees, therefore losing some power)
Programming suggestions: I like to build in weight in my warmup with no more than 4-6 reps at each weight to “prime the system”. During the warmup choose 1-2 additional complements to the swing such as scorpions or the world’s greatest stretch to get the biggest bang for your buck.
