Can't Do a Deadlift? Here's What Your Body Is Trying to Tell You

There's a reason the deadlift has been dubbed the "healthlift" by some and "the daddy" of all lifts by others: It's one of the best, if not ‌the‌ best, exercises for strengthening every single muscle in your body.

"The deadlift primarily strengthens your hamstrings, glutes, calves and core, but when performed correctly, it also works your shoulders, traps, back and forearms," says physical therapist Grayson Wickham, DPT, CSCS, founder of digital movement platform Movement Vault.

An exercise that involves lifting something off the ground before placing it back down, deadlifting at the gym can help you safely lift and lower things (packages, pets, children, etc.) outside of the gym, too, he says.

Unfortunately, many people aren't able to lift weight off the floor or can't do so without next-day pain. That's why we asked fitness experts to outline the four common issues — ranging from form flubs to strength or mobility imbalances — that keep people from deadlifting safely.

So, you prepped the barbell or positioned your kettlebell for a solid deadlift session but can't quite reach it when you hinge forward —- or, at least, not without pain. Lack of hamstring mobility is likely the culprit.

"Our bodies adhere to the positions we spend the most time in," Wickham says. And these days, most people spend the bulk of their waking hours sitting, which puts your hamstrings in a shortened position. Over time, this can create hamstring tightness that limits your ability to bend down to pick something up.

While you may be able to force your way into picking up the weight, Wickham warns against this. "Usually, the next-closest muscle will take over the work," he says. In the case of the deadlift, it's typically the lower back that's forced to compensate for tight hamstrings, "which can lead to a traumatic or overuse back injury," he says.

Your ability to deadlift might be getting blocked by a lackluster (or at least, non-specific) warm-up. A common symptom that your warm-up is the problem, says Wickham, is that you feel ‌way‌ better during your last set of deadlifts than you do during your first. This suggests that your hamstrings weren't properly prepped for your working sets, he says.

Before you do any kind of compound exercise, Wickham says you need a pre-lift routine incorporating a full-body warm-up, as well as a warm-up that specifically targets the muscles you're calling on to work during your strength session.

Does the bar slip out of your hands while you're lifting it? Do your forearms and fingers tap out long before your back and hamstrings do? Can you lift way more weight when you use lifting straps?

These are symptoms that your grip strength is what's preventing you from deadlifting as much weight or for as many reps as you'd like to, says certified strength and conditioning coach Jake Harcoff, CSCS, head coach and owner of AIM Athletic.

Anatomically speaking, the hamstrings are one of the biggest muscle groups in the body, Wickham says. So it makes sense that the hamstrings would be able to lift more weight than the forearm and hand muscles.

Back soreness or pain after deadlifting may be common, but it isn't normal. It suggests that your deadlift technique is suboptimal — if not downright dangerous for your spine and its surrounding soft tissues.

"Intense back soreness in the days after a deadlift session suggests that your lower back muscles are doing the work of moving the weight," Wickham says. But you posterior chain muscles should be the main movers.