What Muscles Do Deadlifts Work?

Mar 10th, 2025 - 9 mins

If you don’t know; the deadlift is the king of exercises, that’s because the answer to the question; what muscles do deadlifts work? Is; most of them! Whether you appreciate them or not, deadlifts work more muscle groups than any other exercise in one single movement.

Focused largely, but not entirely, on the posterior chain muscles, deadlift muscles include your largest and fastest growing muscle groups, as well as other smaller yet equally important muscle groups.

While all deadlifts work all the muscles mentioned below, it's worth taking the time to understand that each deadlift variation puts its emphasis on a different set of muscle groups.

What Muscles Do Deadlifts Work? Contents

Muscles Worked With Deadlifts

Benefits of Deadlifts

What Muscles Do Deadlift Variations Work?

Muscles Worked In A Conventional Deadlift

Muscles Worked In A Sumo Deadlift

Muscles Worked In A Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

Muscles Worked In A Trap Bar Deadlift (Hex Bar Deadlift)

Muscles Worked In A Stiff Leg Deadlift

Why Deadlift Variations Are Key to Progression

Tips For Perfect Deadlift Form

Learn More About The Romanian Deadlift

Muscles Worked Barbell vs Dumbbell Deadlifts

Get A Grip

Muscles Worked With Deadlifts

Deadlifts are a staple for anyone serious about building muscle and strength. Here are all the muscles that are activated during a standard deadlift:

Quads: Located at the front of the thighs your quads play a huge part in your deadlift. Moreso when you pull a conventional deadlift. You can learn about the three main types of deadlift here.

Hamstrings: Your hamstrings (at the back of your thighs) are heavily recruited as you deadlift, in fact, this is one of a few muscle groups that you will really feel working, again, moreso if you pull conventional.

Glutes: Deadlifting sumo places additional emphasis on the glutes, but regardless of which deadlift variation you pull, your glutes are essential from start to finish.

Trapezius: Your traps are engaged as you pull your Deadlift, and because you’re pulling more weight than you would with any other exercise, your traps are going to be getting quite the workout.

Rhomboids: The rhomboids, at the upper central part of your back are also engaged during this exercise.

Adductors & Abductors: The adductors on the outer thigh are also engaged as you deadlift. And the abductors on your inner thigh are emphasised when you Deadlift with a sumo stance. A wider leg and foot position will naturally place more emphasis on the abductors as you pull.

Abs, Obliques & Core: It would be impossible for you to pull so much weight and not engage your entire core. The Deadlift is a wonderful exercise for building a strong core, because there is no other core exercise that could see you use as much resistance.

Erector Spinae: This muscle group that runs down your entire spinal cord is also recruited to help you deadlift. Strength in these muscles is beneficial for good posture and everyday functional strength.

Levator Scapulae: These muscles run down the back side of the neck and are fully engaged throughout the Deadlift.

Calves: Your calves are engaged from a secondary perspective.

Forearms: Although you don’t Deadlift with any upper body strength (it’s a hip hinge exercise, more details below), you still recruit the help of your forearms simply by gripping the bar and keeping a firm grip of it throughout the exercise.

Hands: Like the forearms, your hand muscles are also developed naturally as you Deadlift, because without these muscles you wouldn’t be able to grip the bar. As a result, deadlifting helps to develop your grip strength.

To put that on an illustration in terms of your entire body:

Deadlift Muscles Worked

Benefits of Deadlifts

If you’re not deadlifting, you should be. You don’t need to go as far as a powerlifter's strength. But this simple hip hinge movement, loaded with as much weight as you can safely manage, really does benefit you in more ways than you may be able to imagine right now.

The benefits of deadlifts are evident in all the muscles worked, as illustrated above. You get to work all of these in one fluid movement.

With deadlifts you will enhance your overall strength and explosive power, this is transferable to all other exercises you perform in the gym, as well as your everyday life.

You will be on a fast track towards ultimate core stability, which will contribute towards improved posture, better athletic performance and functional strength.

What Muscles Do Deadlift Variations Work?

To get more specific about the muscles worked when you deadlift, it’s essential to understand that not all deadlifts are created equal.

Each deadlift variation shifts the load onto different muscle groups, this information is crucial in allowing you to tailor your deadlift workout based on your long term goals.

Muscles Worked In A Conventional Deadlift

Deadlift Muscles Worked

This has already been covered above, but to quickly recap…

Quads

Hamstrings

Glutes

Trapezius

Rhomboids

Adductors & Abductors

Abs, Obliques & Core

Erector Spinae

Levator Scapulae

Calves

Forearms

Hands

Ideal For: Building overall strength and power. Suitable for anyone looking to develop full-body strength.

Muscles Worked In A Sumo Deadlift

Sumo Deadlift Muscles Worked

Remember, all deadlifts work all of the muscles outlined in the first two images. What we are illustrating now is how each variation places emphasis on different muscle groups.

Sumo Deadlift Muscle Emphasis:

Quads

Glutes

Hamstrings

Adductors (inner thighs)

Trapezius

Forearms

Ideal For: Those looking to emphasise leg strength and reduce strain on the lower back. The wider stance allows for more quad, glute and inner thigh activation.

Tip: Keep your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, with toes pointing slightly outwards. Push through your heels as you lift.

Muscles Worked In A Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

Romanian Deadlift Muscles Worked

Romanian Deadlift Muscle Emphasis:

Focuses on the posterior chain, including:

Glutes

Hamstrings

Erector spinae, with emphasis on the lower back

Trapezius

Forearms

Ideal For: Developing strong hamstrings and glutes. Great for improving hip hinge mechanics and flexibility.

Tip: Unlike the traditional deadlift, the RDL begins from an upright position with a slight bend in the knee. Lower the weight down by hinging at your hips, keeping your spine neutral.

Not to be mistaken for the stiff leg deadlift, which is very similar to the Romanian deadlift, except without the slight bend in the knees. The stiff leg deadlift is a straight leg deadlift which puts its additional emphasis more so on the hamstrings and less so on the glutes.

Muscles Worked In A Trap Bar Deadlift (Hex Bar Deadlift)

Deadlift Muscles Worked

Muscle Emphasis: Similar to traditional deadlifts but with less strain on the lower back. Engages quads, glutes, and hamstrings.

Ideal For: Beginners or those with lower back issues. The trap bar reduces the strain on the spine, making it easier to maintain proper form.

Tip: Stand inside the hex bar, grip the handles, and push through your feet & hips to lift. Keep your back straight and core engaged.

Muscles Worked In A Stiff Leg Deadlift

Stiff Leg Deadlift Muscles Worked

This variation is similar to the Romanian deadlift, except in this instance the knees/legs are in a more straight position, but not locked out. The Romanian deadlift, on the other hand, is performed with a slight bend in the knees.

Muscles Emphasis: Hamstrings & erector spinae, with emphasis on the lower back

Ideal For: Isolating the hamstrings and building strength in the posterior chain.

Tip: Keep your legs almost straight (but not locked) as you lower and lift the weight. Focus on the stretch in your hamstrings.

Why Deadlift Variations Are Key to Progression

Each deadlift variation shifts the focus to different muscle groups, allowing you more control over your workout. The Romanian and stiff leg deadlift help you to build up your overall power on your conventional deadlift.

For example:

Sumo Deadlifts: Will help you develop more quad and glute strength.

Romanian Deadlifts: Will help you improve hip hinge mechanics and strengthen the posterior chain.

Trap Bar Deadlifts: Are safer, for more lower back-friendly lifting.

Tips For Perfect Deadlift Form

Mastering the deadlift is imperative for all lifters. Again, you don’t need to go as far as a seasoned powerlifter, but you should know how to perform this key exercise with good form. Then you can start working with the various deadlift variations and weight load types.

For example, if you’re not a fan of the barbell deadlift, you can still benefit from all the muscles worked when you perform a dumbbell or kettlebell deadlift instead.

We’ve already covered the deadlift exercise in detail in our exercises pages, you can learn more about the deadlift, more about the muscles worked and how to perfect this power move here.

Learn More About The Romanian Deadlift

The Romanian deadlift is one of the more powerful deadlift variations, it is primarily a posterior chain exercise and was invented to help build even more strength and power in the entire posterior chain. For that reason we felt it deserved an entire article of its own.

You can learn more about the Romanian deadlift here.

Muscles Worked Barbell vs Dumbbell Deadlifts

If it hasn’t been said enough, the deadlift is a power move, one that everybody should include at least some variation of in their routine.

The muscles worked when you deadlift with a barbell vs dumbbells are largely the same, the difference between the two weight types is that you can load much more weight onto a barbell than you can with a set of dumbbells.

Also note that with a barbell you will put the entire weight down on the floor with every single rep, this isn’t usually the case with dumbbell deadlifts.

The weight type you use is entirely down to your own preference.

Your posterior chain will thank you for performing any deadlift variation. The muscles you build in this process aren’t just great for your overall deadlift and gym performance, it will serve you as functional strength in your everyday life.

For most people—using the barbell variation—the deadlift will be the exercise that allows them to load their muscles with maximum weight. There are few people who can lift more on any other exercise.

Get A Grip

It’s not uncommon for lifters to get to a point with their deadlifts where we realise that our muscles can manage the load, but our grip begins to fail as we go heavier. If you’re in this position, check out the below article…

Grip strength; how to improve yours.

Squat Muscles Worked

Another power exercise worth mastering is the squat, check out this article that focuses on the muscles worked with squat variations. What Muscles Do Squats Work >>>

This article was originally published in 2018 and updated in 2025