Dumbbell Deadlift

Muscles worked by the Dumbbell Deadlift

Primary

Lower BackErector SpinaeGlutesGluteus MaximusHamstringsHamstring Muscles

Secondary

LatsLatissimus DorsiQuadsQuadriceps FemorisTrapsTrapezius

Also called: erector spinae, spinal erectors, lower back muscles, back extensors, glute, glutes.

Equipment

Dumbbell

Also called: db, dumbell, hex dumbbell, rubber dumbbell, hand weight.

How to do the Dumbbell Deadlift

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, hinge at the hips with a flat back and hold the dumbbells low, at shin height.
2. Brace your core and keep the dumbbells close to your legs.
3. Drive through your heels and extend your hips to stand up tall.
4. Extend your hips fully at the top without hyperextending your lower back.
5. Hinge back down, lowering the dumbbells along your legs to your shins.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Brace your core before each rep to keep your spine stable.
• Balance your weight over midfoot rather than your toes.
• Keep your neck in line with your spine rather than looking up.

At a glance

Dumbbell Deadlift in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Banded Good Morning
• Banded Romanian Deadlift
• Barbell Deadlift
• Bodyweight Good Morning
• Cable Pull-Through
• Deficit Deadlift
• Double Dumbbell Kickstand Deadlift
• Dumbbell Kickstand Deadlift

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "dumbbell-deadlift",
  "name_en": "Dumbbell Deadlift",
  "name_de": "Kurzhantel Kreuzheben",
  "name_es": "Peso Muerto con Mancuernas",
  "description_en": "A deadlift variation using a pair of dumbbells, training the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.",
  "description_de": "Ein Kreuzheben mit Kurzhanteln, bei dem das Gewicht mit flachem Rücken entlang der Beine geführt wird, um die hintere Kette zu kräftigen.",
  "description_es": "Un peso muerto con mancuernas que fortalece la cadena posterior mediante un patrón de bisagra de cadera.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "latissimus_dorsi",
    "quadriceps",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "shoulder_safe",
    "knee_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "deadlift",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand with feet hip-width apart, hinge at the hips with a flat back and hold the dumbbells low, at shin height.",
    "Brace your core and keep the dumbbells close to your legs.",
    "Drive through your heels and extend your hips to stand up tall.",
    "Extend your hips fully at the top without hyperextending your lower back.",
    "Hinge back down, lowering the dumbbells along your legs to your shins.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stehe hüftbreit, beuge dich mit geradem Rücken aus der Hüfte und halte die Kurzhanteln tief auf Schienbeinhöhe.",
    "Spanne den Rumpf an und halte die Kurzhanteln nah an den Beinen.",
    "Drücke durch die Fersen und strecke die Hüfte, bis du aufrecht stehst.",
    "Strecke die Hüften oben vollständig durch, ohne den unteren Rücken zu überstrecken.",
    "Beuge dich wieder aus der Hüfte und senke die Kurzhanteln an den Beinen entlang bis zu den Schienbeinen.",
    "Wiederhole die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ponte de pie con los pies al ancho de las caderas, haz una bisagra de cadera con la espalda recta y sostén las mancuernas abajo, a la altura de las espinillas.",
    "Activa el core y mantén las mancuernas cerca de las piernas.",
    "Empuja a través de los talones y extiende la cadera hasta quedar de pie.",
    "Extiende completamente las caderas en la parte superior sin hiperlordosis lumbar.",
    "Vuelve a hacer la bisagra y baja las mancuernas a lo largo de las piernas hasta las espinillas.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Brace your core before each rep to keep your spine stable.",
    "Balance your weight over midfoot rather than your toes.",
    "Keep your neck in line with your spine rather than looking up."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Starte die Bewegung aus der Hüfte, nicht aus dem unteren Rücken.",
    "Spanne den Rumpf an, bevor du die Hüfte beugst.",
    "Halte den Nacken neutral und schau schräg nach vorn unten."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Empuja la cadera hacia atrás en lugar de redondear la espalda.",
    "Mira al frente o ligeramente hacia abajo para alinear el cuello.",
    "Levanta con las piernas y la cadera, no con la zona lumbar."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/dumbbell-deadlift-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/dumbbell-deadlift-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "dumbbell-deadlift");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.