Deadlift
Maul + cleanout drive
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Stand with the middle of the foot under the bar, feet hip width. Hinge down and grip just outside the legs, double overhand or mixed. Bring the shins to the bar, chest up, back flat, and pull the bar towards you so the lats switch on.
The rep
Brace, take the slack out, then push the floor away. The bar travels straight up, close to the shins and thighs, and the hips and shoulders rise together until the bar passes the knees. Then drive the hips through to stand tall. Lower by pushing the hips back first, and let the bar settle rather than bounce.
On the exercise card
- Brace, push floor
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| The back rounds as the bar leaves the floor | Re-brace, pull the slack out before you push, and drop the load until the back stays flat. |
| The bar swings out in front | It should stay in contact with the legs the whole way. Pull it in with the lats. |
| The hips rise first and it becomes a stiff-legged pull | Push with the legs off the floor, and start with the hips a little lower. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Trap bar deadlift, or pulls from blocks set just below the knee.
- Harder
- A deficit pull from a small platform, or a pause just off the floor.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
In rugby union it is there for the maul and the clean-out: lifting and driving a heavy, awkward load from a low position. It sits in the total-body strength session, where the reps are low and the loads high.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby Union | Strength (Total Body) | 4 × 4 | 85% 1RM |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Muscles worked
- Hamstrings · Glutes · Back
- Region
- Lower body
- Prescribed in
- rugby union
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Snatch-Grip RDL | Wider grip + bigger upper-back demand — Olympic lifters, throwers |
| Hip Thrust | Direct glute power, low back stress |
| Single-Leg Hip Thrust | Unilateral glute work — fixes side-to-side gaps |
| B-Stance Hip Thrust | Toe-touch back foot for 70% single-leg loading without falling over |
| Kettlebell Swing | Explosive hip extension + conditioning — striker / fighter power |
| KB Single-Arm Swing | Asymmetric hip snap + anti-rotation — combat sports |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
Your first month is free, with nothing to pay today. Then A$24.99/month, cancel any time. On the App Store and Google Play.
- Install itFree to download on iPhone and Android.
- Tell it how you playYour sport, your season, the nights you train and the kit you have. No account needed.
- See your week, then start freeYour program is built before you pay anything. Start the free month to unlock it, and cancel any time in your store settings.