The deadlift, fixed: five cues that protect your back

The deadlift is the most honest lift in the gym: the bar is on the floor, you pick it up, and either it moves or it doesn't. It's also the lift new members are most nervous about, usually because someone once told them it will hurt their back.

1. Bar over mid-foot

Stand so the bar cuts your shoelaces in half. Too far forward and the bar swings away from you as it leaves the floor.

2. Push the floor away

Think of the lift as a leg press, not a pull. Your legs start the bar moving; your hips finish it.

If your hips shoot up first, the weight is too heavy for today. That's information, not failure.

3. Take the slack out

Before the bar leaves the floor, pull up just enough to hear it click against the plates. That tension keeps your spine long.

4. Breathe and brace

A big breath into your belly, then brace like someone is about to poke you in the stomach. Hold it for the whole rep.

5. Stand tall, don't lean back

Finish with glutes squeezed and ribs down. Leaning back at the top adds nothing but stress on the lower back.