Muscle outlines from Body Muscles by Ivan Vulović, Apache 2.0 — regrouped and recoloured for Muscle Train.
Stand on a 1-2.5” platform which elevates your feet slightly off the floor. Position the bar over the top of your shoelaces and assume a hip width stance. Push your hips back and hinge forward until your torso is nearly parallel with the floor. Reach down and grasp the bar using a shoulder width, double overhand grip. Inhale and pull up slightly on the bar while allowing your hips to drop in a seesaw fashion. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as “pulling the slack out of the bar”. As you drop the hips and pull up on the bar, set the lats (imagine you’re trying to squeeze oranges in your armpits) and ensure your armpits are positioned directly over the bar. Drive through the whole foot and focus on pushing the floor away. Ensure the bar tracks in a straight line as you extend the knees and hips. Once you have locked out the hips, reverse the movement by pushing the hips back and hinging forward. Return the bar to the floor, reset, and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
For deficit deadlifts, keep the deficit small (1–2.5 inches) to avoid technique breakdown. Keep the bar over midfoot with lats engaged, hips above knees, and chest up. Drive through the whole foot (big toe, little toe, heel) while keeping elbows locked. Neck and toe angle are individual—experiment to find what works. Don’t retract the shoulder blades; instead, squeeze the bar tightly. Control the eccentric if doing multiple reps, but dropping is fine for singles if allowed. Keep knees stacked over feet and maintain efficient bar path.
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