Pause Deadlift (Barbell)
Trains the hamstrings, with help from the quadriceps, lower back and glutes. You need a barbell. One of our free programs uses it, across 3 sessions.
Free to use. The app works out every weight and times your rest.
Technique
How to do the Pause Deadlift (Barbell)
- Set up as for a normal deadlift: feet under the bar, hands just outside your legs, back flat and braced.
- Push the floor away and lift the bar just off the floor.
- Stop and hold the bar there, an inch or two off the floor, for a deliberate pause of one to two seconds.
- Finish the pull to lockout, then lower the bar under control. Repeat for the prescribed reps.
Form cues
Getting it right
- Keep your back position during the pause: do not let your hips rise or your chest drop.
- Keep the bar close to your shins and over your mid-foot the whole time.
- Use a lighter weight than your normal deadlift; the pause makes it much harder.
- Brace before each rep and hold your breath through the pause.
Muscles worked
What Pause Deadlift (Barbell) trains
In the programs
How our programs run the Pause Deadlift (Barbell)
These numbers are counted from the programs themselves, not averaged off the internet.
1of our 50 programs use it
6×3 @ 60% · 1×3+ @ 60%the shape they run most (1 session)
2:00typical rest between sets
1set the weight off your training max
| Program | Session | Sets × Reps | Progression |
|---|---|---|---|
| GZCL UHF | Sling Shot Bench | 6×3 @ 60% 1×3+ @ 60%8×2 @ 65%+1 more on the program page | % of the parent lift's Training Max — moves when it moves |
Percentages are of your training max. Durata works out every one of these weights for you.
See it in action
Watch the Pause Deadlift (Barbell) progress week by week
A full run of a program built around it, session by session, in the real app.
Substitutes
Swap Pause Deadlift (Barbell) for
The app's swap picker ranks these the same way: same muscles, similar movement, similar equipment.
Let the app run the Pause Deadlift (Barbell) for you
Durata picks the weight, times your rest and adds load when you earn it. That works on any of our 50 free programs, or on a session you put together yourself.