Dumbbell Deadlift: Beginner Form, Muscles Worked, & Variations

5 Step Checklist To Master The Dumbbell Deadlift

If you only had time for one dumbbell exercise to build muscle, burn fat, and get functionally strong, the dumbbell deadlift would be it.

On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m breaking down everything you need to know about the dumbbell deadlift.

Whether you’re training at home or in the gym, this is your full breakdown to train smarter, avoid injury, and build an athletic body that performs, while also looking good doing it.

To save you time, I’ve included jump links to all the sections in the table of contents below.

Table Of Contents – Jump To Links

Dumbbell Deadlift Muscles Worked: Is It For Legs Or Back?

Is the dumbbell deadlift an exercise for legs or back?

The dumbbell deadlift is classified as a leg-dominant exercise, even though it hits your entire backside, with your glutes and hamstrings doing most of the work.

Your lower back, core, and upper back muscles help stabilize the movement, but they’re secondary.

Primary Muscles:

• Glutes (Gluteus Maximus)
• Hamstrings
• Erector Spinae (Lower back)

Secondary Muscles:

• Core (Rectus Abdominis, Obliques, Transverse Abdominis)
• Trapezius and Rhomboids (Upper/Mid Back)
• Forearm and Grip Muscles
• Quadriceps

Beginner Dumbbell Deadlift Form For Legs

Here’s a 5-step technique checklist to perfect your dumbbell deadlift form, safely and effectively, even if you’re a beginner.

1. Set Your Stance
   • Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, toes slightly out, and core braced like you’re about to take a punch.
2. Position the Dumbbells
   • If you’re just starting out, hold the dumbbells at your sides for better balance.
   • Want more glute and hamstring activation? Hold them in front of your thighs.
3. Hinge, Don’t Squat
   • Inhale, and slowly hinge at the hips, keeping the dumbbells close to your legs.
   • Push your hips back like you’re closing a car door with your butt.
   • Your knees stay soft, not locked, and your neck stays in line with your spine.
   • Think: “broomstick from head to tailbone.”
   • Lower just past your knees with a flat back, chest up, and core tight.
4. Drive Up With Power
   • Keep that strong back position, drive through your heels, and return to standing tall.
5. Finish With Control
   • At the top, squeeze your glutes like you’re cracking a walnut, and retract your shoulder blades to activate your upper back.

Dumbbell Deadlift Form For Glutes: How To Bias Glutes Over Hamstrings

Want to feel your glutes more than your hamstrings on dumbbell deadlifts?

Try these 4 simple tweaks to shift the load and light up your glutes:

1. Add more knee bend
   • A slight increase in knee bend takes tension off the hamstrings and lets your glutes do the heavy lifting.
2. Shorten your range of motion
   • Instead of going super deep, stop just below your knees.
   • The deeper you go, the more the hamstrings take over.
3. Squeeze hard at the top
   • At the top of each rep, drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes like you’re cracking a walnut.
4. Bonus tip
   • Keep the dumbbells in front of your body and push your hips back with control to build tension where it counts.

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Dumbbell Deadlift vs Romanian Deadlift: What’s The Difference?

The dumbbell deadlift and dumbbell Romanian deadlift, a.k.a. the RDL, look similar, but they train your body differently.

Let’s break it down.

Dumbbell Deadlift:

• More knee bend and a greater range of motion
• Involves glutes and hamstrings, with some quad involvement
• You can typically lift heavier with this form
• It usually starts from the floor, but I personally prefer starting from the top, since it’s safer for most people and easier to maintain good form

Dumbbell RDL:

• Starts from standing
• Less knee bend, with a deeper hamstring and glute stretch
• Keeps constant tension throughout the movement
• You’ll be able to lift less weight, but feel more activation in the posterior chain

Here’s the simple takeaway.

Choosing the right one comes down to your goal:

• If you want to lift heavier, go with the dumbbell deadlift.
• If you want more glute and hamstring growth, the RDL is your move.

Dumbbell Deadlift vs Dumbbell Squat: What’s the Difference?

They might look similar, but they train your body in totally different ways:

• Deadlifts are a hip-dominant hinge movement
• Squats are a knee-dominant movement

Since deadlifts are a hip hinge, the goal is to push your hips back while keeping your knees soft, to hit your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

Since dumbbell squats are a knee-dominant move, you bend your knees and drop straight down to target your quads, glutes, and core.

Here’s a quick test:

• If your hips move back first, it’s a deadlift.
• If your knees drive forward first, it’s a squat.

Are Dumbbell Deadlift Combo Variations Worth It?

Here’s the pros and cons.

Let’s break down whether dumbbell deadlift combo variations like the dumbbell deadlift to upright row, dumbbell deadlift to row, dumbbell deadlift to high pull, or dumbbell deadlift to press are actually worth doing.

Yes, they are efficient if you’re short on time, but if your goal is strength and muscle growth, it’s smarter to keep those moves separate.

Let’s take the deadlift to upright row, for example:

The dumbbell deadlift targets your big, strong muscles like the glutes and hamstrings.

But the dumbbell upright row hits your smaller shoulder muscles, which fatigue faster.

That means you’ll have to use lighter dumbbells just to finish the combo, which means your legs are underloaded, thus limiting your results.

In other words, your weakest link holds back your biggest muscles.

Use combos when you’re in a rush, but if you’ve got time, separate them.

That’s training smarter, so you can grow bigger and stronger, faster.

Bottom Line

Now that you know how to master the dumbbell deadlift, please don’t stop here.

If you want to train smarter and get lean without wasting hours in the gym, go try a free 7 day trial to my training app.

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Question Of The Day

Drop a comment:

• What lift should I break down next?

To continue your transformation, go check out this video post next where I share the best deadlift progressions from beginner to advanced.

Keep Living Lean.