Machine Deadlift
- Secondary muscles
- Hamstrings, Quads
- Body part
- Upper Legs
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
Track this exercise in SetGrip — no account needed
Everything about the lever machine version is guided: the seat fixes your position, the platform fixes your feet, and the handle path is set. That removes balance and bar-path skill from the equation, which makes it a reasonable first exposure to hip-drive work or a fatigue-safe accessory late in leg day.
How to do the Machine Deadlift
- Adjust the seat height and foot platform to your desired position.
- Sit on the machine with your back against the pad and your feet flat on the foot platform.
- Grasp the handles or the sides of the seat for stability.
- Engage your glutes and hamstrings, and push through your heels to lift the weight up.
- Keep your back straight and avoid rounding your shoulders.
- Extend your hips fully at the top of the movement, squeezing your glutes.
- Lower the weight back down in a controlled manner, keeping tension on your glutes and hamstrings.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Take a big breath, brace the belly against your belt or hands and pull the slack out of the bar before it leaves the floor.
Muscles worked
Primary
Glutes · Legs
The glutes finish the lift by driving the hips forward to lockout and should be squeezed hard at the top of every rep.
Secondary
- Hamstrings — The hamstrings extend the hip from the bottom and are the main mover on straight leg and Romanian variations, where you should feel a strong stretch on the way down.
- Quads — The quads push the floor away in the first few inches off the ground on conventional and sumo pulls.
Common mistakes
- Rounding off the floor — set the back flat before the pull by pulling the chest up and the hips down, and keep it that way until lockout.
- Hips shooting up first — if the hips rise before the bar leaves the floor, the legs are not driving; think of pushing the floor away rather than pulling the bar.
- Bar drifting forward — the bar should stay in contact with the legs the whole way, so pull it into you with the lats.
- Hyperextending at the top — finish tall by squeezing the glutes, not by leaning back and arching the lower back.
Where it fits in a workout
Deadlifts go first in a pull or lower body session while you are fresh, or after squats if both are on the same day. Pair Romanian deadlifts with a leg press or hip thrust for a hamstring and glute block.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without machine
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
Track the Machine Deadlift in SetGrip
All 1,100+ exercises with animations are in the app. No account, no sign-up — your history stays on your iPhone and in your private iCloud. Works with Apple Watch.
More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.