Deadlifts Explained: Back Exercise or Leg Exercise?

Do deadlifts work your back? Yes. As a compound lift, the deadlift works the muscles in your back and a lot more besides.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that deadlifts should be done on back day. Nor does it mean that deadlifts can replace exercises like rows, pulldowns or pull-ups.

Today, I want to explain which of the back muscles are worked by the deadlift, and why I think most people are better off doing deadlifts as part of a lower body workout.

What is the Deadlift?

The deadlift is a compound exercise that involves lifting a barbell off the floor then putting it back down again.

To do the conventional deadlift, stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, bend at your knees and hips to reach down and grab the barbell, then stand up. Then you reverse the movement and return the barbell to its starting position.

There are several different variations of the deadlift , with each one emphasizing a different group of muscles. Here are some of the most popular variations:

Sumo Deadlift

To do the sumo deadlift, you stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointed out at an angle. Compared to the conventional deadlift, the wider stance and upright torso puts more emphasis on the thighs, and less on the spinal erectors.

Romanian Deadlift

The Romanian deadlift, which you can do with dumbbells, kettlebells or a barbell, involves less of the quadriceps and more of the hamstrings than a conventional deadlift. The movement ends when the bar reaches the midpoint of the shins (or slightly below the knee if you’re not particularly flexible), while the traditional deadlift involves bringing the barbell all the way down to the floor. 

Trap Bar Deadlift

This variation uses a trap bar, which is a hexagonal-shaped bar that allows you to stand inside it. Compared to deadlifting with a straight bar, studies show that using a hex bar tends to involve less of the hamstrings and more of the quads [1, 2].

What Muscles Do Deadlifts Work?

You’ll often see the deadlift referred to as a posterior chain exercise.

What does that mean exactly?

The posterior chain refers to the muscles found on the posterior of your body, from the back of your neck down to your calves.

The main posterior chain muscle groups worked by the deadlift are the hamstrings, glutes and erector spinae, a group of cable-like back muscles that run up either side of your spine [1, 2].

Do Deadlifts Work Lats?

Deadlifts do work the lats. But they don’t work them to the extent that you can get away without doing any other work for your back.

That is, while the lats are activated during deadlifts, they’re not activated to the same extent as they are during exercises like rows, pulldowns or pull-ups.

Here’s what I mean.

During the deadlift, you want to keep the bar close to your body. As you stand, the barbell should move straight up and down, rather than drifting back and forth.

And it’s your lats that help to keep the bar in that position throughout the lift.

However, the deadlift alone isn’t going to stimulate a great deal of growth in the lats, and doesn’t take the place of exercises like rows, pulldowns and pull-ups.

Here’s why.

For one, the lats are only being worked isometrically, which means they’re generating force without changing length.

While isometric training can stimulate some growth, it doesn’t work as well as training that involves both concentric and eccentric muscle actions (lifting and lowering a weight).

Second, the deadlift doesn’t work the lats through a full range of motion. As a result, they’re not being loaded while in a stretched position.

Why is that important?

One of the things that stimulates growth in a muscle is subjecting it to high levels of tension at long muscle lengths, a phenomenon known as stretch-mediated hypertrophy.

By that, I mean you want an exercise that challenges your muscles in a stretched position. You get that with exercises like pulldowns and pull-ups, but not so much with deadlifts. 

Should You Deadlift On Back Or Leg Day?

Personally, I like to do deadlifts on leg day. While deadlifts do hit muscles in the back, they also work the quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings, which are all lower body muscle groups.

Erector spinae is heavily involved in both squats and deadlifts, and you need to be mindful of the amount of work your lower back is doing over the course of a training week.

That is, if you’re doing squats on leg day and deadlifts on back day, the lower back muscles don’t get much of a chance to recover, which is going to hinder their ability to adapt and grow.

If you’re doing exercises that hit the spinal erectors on both leg days and back days, it’s easy to end up overworking the area if you’re not careful.

Deadlifting on back day is certainly an option, but it depends on how often you’re training, where your rest days are, and what leg exercises you’re doing on leg day.

For example, if your leg day workout consists of the leg extension, leg curl and leg press, the spinal erectors aren’t seeing much action. 

In which case, you could get away with a deadlift variation like rack pulls (which don’t involve the lower body to the same degree as regular deadlifts) on back day.

Likewise, if your training split is set up in such a way that you have a rest day between back day and leg day, doing deadlifts on pull day is a viable option.

There are also high frequency training programs that involve squatting and deadlifting 5-6 days a week, meaning that the same muscle groups are being trained on consecutive days. 

However, this type of training program is typically designed for more advanced lifters, with the volume, intensity and reps in reserve carefully managed from one workout to the next.

If you do want to follow a high frequency routine, make sure to choose one specifically designed for that purpose. That is, don’t take a training program designed to be performed 3 times a week, and simply double up on the frequency.

To sum up, there are times when deadlifts on back day are a viable option. But in most cases, I think you’re better off doing them on leg day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are deadlifts necessary?

Deadlifts are often referred to as the king of all exercises. But unless you’re a powerlifter who needs to deadlift because it’s one of the exercises used in competition, there’s no rule that says you have to do it.

The same holds true for squats, the bench press and every other compound movement that you’re told is critical to your progress.

Yes, the deadlift is an effective compound movement that works a large number of muscle groups. But there’s nothing magical about it, and no good reason why you can’t replace it with something else. There are plenty of other exercises you can do in the gym to work the same muscles.

Should your back hurt after deadlifts?

You are going to feel deadlifts in your lower back, both during the workout itself and sometimes for a day or so later.

Upper back soreness is also fairly common, especially around the traps, as they’re being loaded in a stretched position with a lot more weight than they’re used to.

Given that the back muscles are working hard during the deadlift, it would be unusual if you didn’t experience some level of muscle soreness, especially if you’re new to the exercise.

But that’s because your back muscles are being challenged in a way they’re not accustomed to. Delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS for short, is normal. It’s a sign that you did something your body wasn’t used to, rather than injuring something.

Are deadlifts actually that important for a wide and thick back?

Deadlifts aren’t going to do much for the width of your back. That’s because the appearance of back width is determined mainly by the size of your lats and your waist circumference. A small waist and well-developed lats will make your back look wider.

While your lats are involved in the deadlift, they’re not activated to the same extent as they are during exercises like rows, pulldowns or pull-ups.

However, because they challenge your spinal erectors, exercises like rows and deadlifts can certainly make your back look thicker.

Are deadlifts good for getting ripped?

Deadlifts can certainly form part of a workout routine designed to help you lose fat and get ripped. However, your ability to lose fat depends on you being in a calorie deficit, not on the inclusion or exclusion of a singe exercise in your workout routine.

You can get ripped with a strength training program that does or doesn’t include deadlifts. It’s not going to make much difference one way or the other.

Should you squat and deadlift on the same day or different day?

You can squat and deadlift on the same day. However, I don’t think it’s a great idea to do a lot of squatting and a lot of deadlifting on the same day. That’s mainly because there’s significant amount of overlap in terms of the muscles worked by both exercises.

That is, if you’re starting a workout with 4-5 sets of heavy squats, don’t follow that up with 4-5 sets of heavy deadlifts.

The first phase of Starting Strength Novice Program, for example, has you squatting and deadlifting on the same day. However, the overall volume for the deadlift (1 work set of 5 reps) is less than it is for the squat (3 work sets of 5 reps).

For example, let’s say you’re following a 4-day upper body/lower body split, where squats and deadlifts are performed on the same day. Here’s what both leg workouts might look like.

Lower Body Workout A

• Squat 5 sets x 3-5 reps
• Romanian Deadlift 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Leg Press 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Standing Calf Raise 4 sets x 8-12 reps

Lower Body Workout B

• Deadlift 5 sets x 3-5 reps
• Front Squat 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Leg Curl 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Seated Calf Raise 4 sets x 12-15 reps

However, if you want to squat and deadlift on different days, your leg workouts might look something like this:

Lower Body Workout A

• Squat 4 sets x 5-8 reps
• Leg Extension 4 sets x 12-15 reps
• Leg Curl 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Standing Calf Raise 4 sets x 8-12 reps

Lower Body Workout B

• Deadlift 4 sets x 5-8 reps
• Leg Curl 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Leg Press 4 sets x 8-12 reps
• Seated Calf Raise 4 sets x 12-15 reps

Should I be able to squat and deadlift the same?

Most people will be able to deadlift more weight than they can squat. Reaching the point where you’re able to squat double your bodyweight for a single repetition, using good form, is a solid achievement.

However, chances are that a double bodyweight deadlift will come a lot sooner in your lifting career. You’d need to deadlift around 2.5 times your bodyweight for it to constitute an equally impressive feat of strength as a double bodyweight squat.

Can I use lifting straps during the deadlift?

There are two basic ways to grip the bar. The first is to use a double overhand grip, where your palms face you. The second is to use a mixed grip, with an underhand grip on one side and and an overhand grip on the other.

The mixed grip is the stronger grip, and will typically allow you to lift the most weight.

However, you also have the option of using lifting straps.

The argument against the use of straps is that you’re missing out on an opportunity to strengthen your grip. Which is true. If grip strength takes priority ahead of developing the muscles involved in the deadlift, then by all means avoid the use of lifting straps.

The deadlift is an exercise that works a large number of muscle groups in the legs, hips and back. And the relatively small muscles in the forearm are not necessarily going to adapt at the same rate as those larger muscles.

If grip strength is limiting the amount of weight you can use in the deadlift, the muscle-building stimulus delivered to the leg, back and hip muscles is going to be less than it otherwise could have been while you’re waiting for your grip to catch up.

If you save lifting straps for the final heavy set or two when your grip fails, you’ll still be building some grip strength during those first few sets, but without limiting the amount of weight you’re able to lift.