Top Assistance Exercises for a Deadlift

Deadlifts are more than just an effective-weight training exercise. They are also a means of testing your strength. In powerlifting competitions, deadlifts are the third of three contested lifts after the squat and bench press, and the current world record stands at more than 1,000 lbs. While you might not be in the running to break a record, you can accelerate your deadlift performance by including assistance exercises in your workout program. Assistance exercises target weaknesses that may otherwise hold your deadlift performance back. As every deadlifter has different weaknesses, select your assistance exercises based on what is best for you.

  1. Grip Strengthening Exercises

    • Even if you have mighty legs and a powerful back, if you can't keep hold of the bar, you are unlikely to complete a heavy deadlift. While you could use lifting straps, this only treats the symptom of the problem and not the cause -- the cause being a weak grip. Thick bar deadlifts; deadlift holds; high-rep deadlifts; high-rep, heavy weight dumbbell rows; and farmer's walks all increase your grip strength.

    Glute Strengthening Exercises

    • Successful deadlifting requires powerful glutes or butt muscles. Working in conjunction with your hamstrings and lower back, powerful glutes extend your hips as you approach the end of a deadlift. Strengthen your glutes by using a glute-ham raise machine, performing weighted supine hip bridges, doing deadlifts from a slightly raised platform and pushing heavy sleds or even cars.

    Thigh Strengthening Exercises

    • Breaking the bar away from the floor entails lots of quadriceps strength. Once the bar is moving and your shins hit vertical, your hamstrings become more involved. To strengthen your thighs, perform heavy squats and leg presses. Single-leg variations of these exercises are also useful, as they can help identify and correct left to right strength imbalances.

    Lower Back and Ab Strengthening Exercises

    • Your lower back and abs, collectively called your core, bridge the gap between your feet and the bar. If your core is weak, your spine may become rounded and your hips will rise while the bar stays stationary. Not only will this hurt your deadlift performance, it may also result in an injury, so building a strong core is a must. Weighted 45-degree back extensions, good mornings, rack pulls, Romanian deadlifts and Pendlay rows strengthen your back, while ab wheel rollouts, glute-ham situps and hanging leg raises strengthen your abs.

    Power Exercises

    • Despite the weight moving slowly during deadlifts, the intent must be to lift the weight as quickly as possible. This intent to move fast is called power and helps you break the bar away from the ground more easily. To develop power, perform dead-stop vertical and horizontal jumps, kettlebell swings, band-assisted deadlifts and variations of the Olympic lifts. Power exercises are usually performed with light to moderate weights compared to your deadlift weights, so you can focus on moving the weight as fast as possible.