Barbell Pause Deadlift

Description

How to Do Barbell Pause Deadlift

1. 1
   Setup

   Position your feet hip-width apart directly under the barbell, ensuring your shins are close to the bar.

2. 2
   Setup

   Hinge at your hips and bend your knees to grip the bar with a pronated or mixed grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width, keeping your back straight, chest up, and shoulders slightly in front of the bar.

3. 3

   Initiate the lift by driving through your heels, extending your hips and knees simultaneously while keeping the bar close to your body.

4. 4

   As the bar passes your knees, pause for 1-2 seconds, maintaining a strong, stable back and engaged core.

5. 5

   After the pause, continue extending your hips and knees to stand upright, pulling your shoulders back at the top.

6. 6

   Control the descent by hinging at your hips first, then bending your knees to return the bar to the floor with a straight back.

Tips

• Maintain full-body tension throughout the pause, especially in your lats and core, to prevent the bar from dropping or your form from breaking.
• Choose a pause point that challenges your sticking point, typically just below or at the knee, to maximize strength gains where you are weakest.
• Perform a deep brace breath (Valsalva maneuver) before initiating the pull and hold it through the pause to maintain intra-abdominal pressure and spinal stability.
• Control the eccentric (lowering) phase after the pause; do not simply drop the weight, as a controlled descent further builds strength and reinforces proper movement patterns.

Common Mistakes

• ×Rounding the back during the pause indicates a loss of core tension or excessive weight; reduce the load and actively brace your core, pulling your shoulders back.
• ×Losing tension at the pause, causing the bar to dip or form to sag; actively squeeze your lats and glutes, maintaining a rigid body throughout the entire pause.
• ×Bouncing the bar off the floor for subsequent reps bypasses the dead start; ensure the bar comes to a complete rest on the floor before initiating each new pull.