Easy methods to Do the Dumbbell Deadlift Without Wrecking Your Lower Back

Deadlifting is a classic exercise for a reason: It’s incredibly functional, and it hits an entire bunch of muscles without delay. You don’t need a barbell, either: The dumbbell deadlift is definitely a more accessible method to ease into this movement pattern—and it still fires up your glutes, hamstrings, back, and core just as effectively.

Not acquainted with this strength training staple? It involves standing tall with a dumbbell in each hand after which pushing your butt back (a movement referred to as the hip hinge) as you retain your back straight and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel with the bottom. Bracing your core, you push through your heels to return to standing.

Now that we’re clear on what the dumbbell deadlift exercise looks like, let’s chat about all the opposite necessary intel, like which specific muscle it really works, why it might feel so rattling hard, common mistakes to avoid, suggestions for weaving it into your weekly workout plan, and step-by-step instructions for nailing the move. Then grab a pair of dumbbells and provides it a try yourself!

What muscles do dumbbell deadlifts work?

The dumbbell deadlift really hones in in your posterior chain, or the backside of your body. The exercise primarily works your hamstrings and glutes, Evan Williams, CSCS, CPT, founding father of E2G Performance, tells SELF, making it great for lower-body activation. But it also incorporates upper-body and core work too. Deadlifting fires up your latissimus dorsi (lats, your broadest back muscles), rhomboids (upper back muscles), and trapezius (upper back and neck muscles), in addition to your rectus abdominis (abs), obliques (side torso muscles), and erector spinae (a set of lower back muscles), as SELF previously reported. Since the move concurrently engages muscle groups across your body, it’s considered a compound exercise.

Why are dumbbell deadlifts so hard?

Numerous gym-goers feel the struggle: They’ll pull a barbell from the ground relatively easily, but doing the identical move holding dumbbells seems way harder. If that seems like you, it’s not only your imagination—there’s a legit reason for that.

If you do barbell deadlifts, you regularly load up with big, wide plates (whether or not they’re lighter bumper plates or the OG cast-iron ones), which generally have a way greater diameter than dumbbells. Because of this, you don’t must hinge down quite as far to finish the move, because the plates hitting the ground prevent you from going further. Which means, depending in your stature and stance, you’ll likely use less range of motion in a barbell versus dumbbell deadlift, explains Williams. And when you may have a greater range of motion, the move can feel harder since your muscles might be under tension longer.