Thread: Which type of Deadlift is the best

Here are a few -

1. Romanian Deadlift - From the lower position, lift the bar back up by bringing the hips forward while squeezing the glutes. To maximize hamstrings recruitment, make sure to really bring those hips back. The more a muscle is being stretched prior to being contracted, the more it's recruited.
To further increase hamstrings activation, you can perform the exercise with the front of your feet elevated, with the toes on a five or ten-pound plate.

2. Conventional Powerlifting Deadlift - the best known of all, everything is designed technique-wise to maximize the amount of weight lifted. The hips start higher than the knees (basically putting the knees at the same angle as a quarter squat) and the shoulders are slightly behind the bar in the starting position. This allows you to make maximum use of the lower back, glutes, and quads.

3. Clean-Style Deadlift - This is the type of deadlift used by Olympic lifters to strengthen their pulling strength while transferring these gains to the competitive clean and jerk. To the untrained eye, it does resemble a conventional powerlifting deadlift, however, there are differences, which do change the muscle emphasis.The first difference is hip height. The hips are lower in the Olympic (clean-style) deadlift. This means that the knees are more bent; closer to a half squat than a quarter squat. The torso is also more upright. Finally, the shoulders are either above the bar or slightly in front of it.

4. Snatch-Grip Deadlift - This is another movement used by Olympic lifters. The main difference between the clean-grip deadlift and the snatch-grip deadlift is the grip width. The snatch-grip is noticeably wider. The width of the grip should be from the tip of the fingers of your extended arm to the tip of the opposite shoulder. The extreme grip forces you to squat down even lower than in a clean-grip deadlift, almost into a full squat position. This obviously means an even steeper torso angle. Remember that the torso angle should not change during the first pull! Imagine pushing yourself into the ground, instead of lifting the bar.

5. Snatch-Grip Deadlift from a Deficit - Everything is performed exactly the same way as the snatch-grip deadlift. The only difference is that you're doing the exercise while standing on a podium (or a pair of 25-pound plates). You could also just load the bar with smaller plates.

6. Sumo Deadlift - Take a wide stance (around twice as wide as in the five deadlift variations listed above) and grip the bar inside your legs, with a grip that is shoulder-width or slightly narrower. The width of your feet will have much of the same impact as the width of the grip in a snatch-grip deadlift: it forces you to squat down lower to take a proper and safe pulling position.

7. Curl-Grip Deadlift - This variation of the deadlift is essentially the same as a clean-grip deadlift, but you hold the bar with a ''curl'' grip (supinated). In the starting position, the palms of your hands will be facing forward.

8. Duck-Feet Clean-Grip Deadlift - This one is a staple of Chinese Olympic lifters — the strongest lifters in the smaller weight classes and women's lifting. It's mostly because this is the way they do their cleans and snatches. The heels are together (or close to together) in the starting position, with the feet turned out 45 degrees.

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Please share your experiences and progresses doing either or why you chose one over the other. FYI, I currently do the powerlift deadlift. Its the most tiring exercise period.

Thanks.

I definitely agree with the others and feel a mixture of the deads you mentioned are great... some good info! Heck I never thought I would do smith machine deads cause I love free deads but every once in a while I implemented them and my back has definitely improved.