Deadlift: Test Your Strength
Find out how strong you are and how to get stronger
By CJ Murphy
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Strength is the foundation of performance. When all else is equal, a strong guy will run faster, hit harder, and last longer than a weakling. Find out how strong you are with the deadlift, which tests your legs, hips, back, and grip.
HOW IT'S DONE
Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, your toes facing straight ahead. Squat down and grab the bar with an outside-shoulder-width, palms-down grip [1]. Keep your lower back in its natural arch, and drive your heels into the fl oor and push your hips forward, lifting the bar as you rise until it's in front of your thighs [2]. Reverse the motion and return the bar to the fl oor. That's one rep.
THE TEST
Estimate your deadlift one-rep
max—the most weight you can
lift for one rep—and compare it
to the calculations below.
Your 1RM (one-rep max) is...
- Less than your body weight =
Damn, you're weak
- 1.25 x your body weight =
You're average
- 1.5 x body weight =
You're pretty strong
- 2 x body weight =
You're a beast!
A 200-pound guy who can
deadlift 300 pounds for one rep
is pretty strong. If your number
falls in the weak or average categories,
see below for tips on how to bring it up.
BRINGING UP YOUR LIFT
If you bombed out on our test, try these tips.
1) As you lift the bar on a rep, increase your speed. Start firmly from the floor and try to go faster as you approach the locked-out position.
2) Try the workout below. Make it your first session of the week each week.
Week 1: Deadlift standing on a 45-pound plate. Five sets of five reps, resting one to two minutes between sets. Use the same weight on all five sets.
Week 2: Deadlift standing on two 45-pound plates. Five sets of five reps, resting one to two minutes between sets. Use the heaviest weight possible for each set.
Week 3: Perform good mornings. Set up as you would for a squat but point your feet straight ahead. Now brace your abs and push your hips back as far as possible. Keep the arch in your lower back as you bend forward at the hips as far as you can—you must keep this arch at all times. Extend your hips to return to the starting position. That's one rep. Work up to one working set with a weight that allows you only three reps.
Week 4: Same as Week 3.
Week 5: Deadlift standing on two 45-pound plates. Three sets of three reps, resting one to two minutes between sets.
Week 6: After a thorough warm up, test your one-rep max. It should be significantly higher.
See Also:
Beginner Weight Training
Strength Training
Workout Routines
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