I Ranked Every Deadlift Accessory Best To Worst

[@mitchellhooperstrongman]

Check out www.lhbk.shop and grab your new favourite workout apparel! While you're at it, stop by moosecoaching.com/ and take a look at the available programs!

[@torringtonstonekeeper]

Great info. Keep kicking ass moose your the strongest man.

[@stefanteaca142]

The Booogz, El Ricko de la Sticko, Sticky Ricky, the Scientific pencil necks nightmare. Right in the first video shown, ,respect for that !!!

[@nbs90]

Too bad he is so desperate for money he is getting pretty cringe with his latest Videos, i mean come on where is the old hardcore eric

[@slee2695]

Roid head who tried to cancel Alex Leonidas a few years ago...a-hole

[@slee2695]

He tried to backstab Alex Leonidas..he's an awful person

[@panchaluitG]

​@@slee2695Alex is a beta, and Eric hates betas.

[@slee2695]

@@panchaluitG you know we can see your picture right?

[@jordanking3715]

love the bugenhaugen clips. Please do a collaboration with Him!

[@sslc55]

This would be an amazing video!

[@c---R]

Hope bugz does a reaction to this like he does nippards lol

[@Linkolite]

@@c---Rhe just did!! Seconds ago

[@slee2695]

No..after Alex Leonidas interviewed him he ended up stabbing Alex in the back...accusing him of faking his lifts

[@anon1231]

​@@slee2695 whaaat? We're can I find this?

[@handcannon11]

Love seeing Eric on here

[@Fortress333]

He was horse-c*cking some big weights, as usual, and none of it RPE (unless measured as RPE 10+++MAX).

[@contentkeeper8769]

Too bad he isn’t very smart.

[@handcannon11]

@@contentkeeper8769 How is he not smart?

[@rickjames8087]

@@contentkeeper8769 i learned alot from him

[@eunjangdong8843]

Pencilneck scientist spotted

[@matthewmorrisonguitar]

seeing eric on here multiple times is amazing

[@contentkeeper8769]

Eh, is it?

[@MS-gu2ux]

@contentkeeper8769 Yes

[@slee2695]

The guy who tried to cancel Alex Leonidas after Alex was kind enough to feature him on his channel?

[@StaleyTraining]

Eric who?

[@literatureconnoisseur]

@@slee2695 listen here pencilneck get alex's balls out of your mouth you've posted like 15 comments crying

[@jasonm8920]

It's awesome you used the Bugz as an example. " ALLLLRIGHT FELLAS! WERE GONNA HORESECO*K THIS KETTLE BELL LIKE A REAL MAN ". Classic...

[@nationaalherstel7444]

THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FRIENDDDDD

[@RakugothDajjal]

4:40 Hooper throwin shade at the sumo bois lol.. I like it 👊😎

[@joel5956]

How I do stiff legged DL's is literally just doing regular deadlifts from the floor but without bending my knees as much. If I fail a rep, it will pretty much always be a failure to get the weight to break off the floor. How I do RDL's is I start from lockout and hinge down until the bar is below my knees but the weight is not touching the floor and then I'll lift it back up to lockdown. I cannot possibly fail the RDL in the same position as I would on stiff legged deadlifts. So for me they're different lifts although I have definitely seen people do SLDL's very similarly to how I do RDL's.

[@dlkmp7527]

Failure position is an interesting take on differentiating exercises, but at least for me, they're "failing" the same way by converging into my regular deadlift form.

[@Joe-wt6eh]

Absolutely different lifts. Time under tension, start position, muscles favoured (glutes or hamstrings bias)

[@NickJennison]

The impression I have been given is that an SLDL starts from a dead stop on the floor without a controlled eccentric, while an RDL starts from the hang, with a controlled eccentric but doesn’t touch the floor. You might draw an analogy to rows. SLDLs are like Pendlay Rows, while RDLs are like Bent Over Rows.

[@krzysztof-michalak]

Yes and it is definitely very different in terms of feeling and programming considerations imo

[@s98715]

SLDL has a controlled eccentric. According to Dr Mike Israetel, SLDL and RDL are the same thing.

[@Voidrunner01]

@@s98715 Israetel is wrong. They're not the same.

[@s98715]

@@Voidrunner01 disagree...

[@Voidrunner01]

@@s98715 Good for you, but a 30 second effort on google will show you any number of explanations on how they differ. Go on, try it.

[@Rykurex]

The only thing Mitch missed about Candito's wide stance deadlift is that he was doing it to increase his sumo pull. It's the equivalent of a snatch grip for sumo, definitely A tier!

[@MrSocialish]

Yep! To his point of the start position (for conventional) being different though, how would the single leg deadlift be ranked higher than this? Lol.

[@Pepe-pq3om]

Sumo's are not deadlifts though

[@inversionofcontrol163]

what about sumo deadlift, back extensions, and reverse hyperextensions?

[@c---R]

Oh my god I'm so happy someone of your caliber is talking about not understanding the difference between RDLs and SLDLs

[@me_too_thanks5062]

It's literally the same excercise

[@unbabunga229]

@@me_too_thanks5062no they’re different haha

[@patootie3529]

​@@me_too_thanks5062RDLs don't touch the floor and SLDL have dead stops on the floor

[@Fillegubben]

How I've heard people explain it, and what I've seen for myself is just that on RDL people focus on the eccentric way more, versus the SDL being a deadlift with a somewhat controlled one, and often with the RDL people not starting from the ground, more of a constant tension. To me they feel the same

[@tristansaephan300]

​@@me_too_thanks5062 no it is not lmao

[@silverbackgorilla2112]

Konstantīns Konstantinovs was a Monster Deadlifter that used Insanely Heavy Kettlebell Swings as part of his routine. The Snatch Grip Deadlift has always been my favorite for building my Conventional.

[@shades4313]

Stiff leg deadlifts are basically like a normal deadlift (from the floor, deadstop each rep) just without any leg drive, knees relatively straight. RDLs are when you start from the top, go down til about mid shin (or lower) then reverse back up. So they actually are quite different with different benefits

[@alex23011]

only 5:13 in and ive seen the Mountain Dog twice. insta like. RIP Mr. Meadows.

[@lucasgraeff5391]

the first example being old bugenhagen is insane, I loved it

[@jaredchalker7914]

The stiff leg deadlift has been my number one deadlift accessory even though I've only been doing it for about a month. Not that it's added a ton of weight to the bar but it has really allowed me to queue hips through instead of hitching my deadlifts at maximum weights. Really really great exercise

[@SOC-ir6im]

It is one of the best no doubt! Try some deficit snatch grip stiff legs 😂

[@timbeech2056]

As a controversial one, where would you rank front squats? I remember reading a Tom Hibbert article where he advised using them as a deadlift accessory. Front-loaded movement with a high requirement for strength in the upper back, core and quads.

[@guitarded7131]

Really heavy weighted full ROM sit-ups, Lat pulldown/Pull-ups, Goodmornings, Zercher squats and Leg press are the best deadlift accessories in my opinion. I have never tried snatch grip deadlifts but I could see how they would be useful.

[@NeuroLifting]

A tip for anyone wanting to measure band tension for any exercise, use a luggage scale which has the hook... when you pull the tension it'll tell you the exact weight at whatever point. Used this for bench press with bands for speed work a few years ago. Cheap on amazon also!

[@urgamecshk]

The redneck way is to hang the band and put a dumbbell in it until it hits the same length. That's how I measured my pull up assistance

[@SOC-ir6im]

Hands down best way for sure and they’re cheap as hell on eBay or Amazon for like 5$

[@williamb4601]

I have found banded deadlifts to be great as a priming exercise before a rep-work-focused deadlift workout. Generally, on my last few warm-ups, I will throw the band on, with the last warm-up being the working weight plus band tension.

[@strongmansam289]

Hey Mitch To my understanding, RDL is a top-down movement that emphasises the eccentric SLDL is a bottom-up movement that emphasised the concentric That’s how I define them for myself and my clients. Very similar but I make a pretty clear distinction with regards to the starting point and the emphasis.

[@heynetalks]

Where would you place a suitcase deadlift & reverse hyperextensions in your list?

[@raducanueduard1337]

This was an amazing video! We definitely want more of these for each major exercise or theme. After all it s an honour to have someone of your caliber and performance to give us his own practival views upon this type of stuff!

[@MrJimodoom]

for something so simple as an accessory tier list... highly informative and interesting, Mitchell really is a font of knowledge.

[@asaelrodriguez7279]

Man This was awesome I was just looking for this kinda information. If you can would love to see this for the big exercises. Bench, squat, shoulder press. Great content as always

[@Dr_Coe]

I had to pause the video twice to go into my google sheets and make changes to my deadlift program. excellent information. thanks mitch.

[@ChadCilli]

If you want to know about the Romanian deadlift, read Jim Schmitz. He wrote an entire article, explaining the Romanian deadlift. It is a movement intended to strengthen the power position of the clean. Therefore the knee stays bent, and you hold the power position of a clean while hinging at the hips.

[@maxglendenning544]

Absolutely loved this! I would be so stoked to see more accessory lift tier lists from you!

[@bobbybobman3073]

Zercher snatches gotta be best deadlift accessory.

[@tylergodfrey5064]

I'm scared to think what that would even look like. 😂

[@kamkow1]

@@tylergodfrey5064 Clarence Kennedy has done a zercher clean in a video with jujimufu. looks goofy as hell

[@withindarkness]

SGDL were a game changer for me when I first started them a few years ago. Almost forces good technique, because it just feels "wrong" if you're not in a good position. Putting them back in my next training cycle for sure.

[@jonathantremblay3469]

For the banded deadlift, just take a luggage scale and pull the band up the max ROM of the movement ; ex : DL pull at hips. It gives the approx amount of weight you’ll get at the top. It’s super easy after to quantify what weight and what progression. So now you know that the weight at the bottom is what you have on your bar, and at the top what you have with your bands. I did this for each band I own and for all the movement (squat, DL and bench). Takes a few minutes at most…!

[@LatimusChadimus]

Kang squats&rucking helped my squat&deadlift While I understand your sentiment with the good morning, they probably made the list because of how they help strengthen the brace of the upper back

[@bbszabi]

Regarding Romaniian and straight legged deadlifts, I consder them different: the RDL starts from the top and the plates don't touch the ground - it can be executed with either straight of bent legs (like in a normal DL), while the SLDL for me starts from the ground, just like anormal DL, but it's executed with straight (but unlocked) knees. If you want to make either of them harder, just elevate your feet 2-4 inches.

[@robinrozsypal984]

As I understand it, Stiff leg deadlift starts from the ground, with your hips high, you concentrate on the concentric phase and the excentric phase is only done with control but not excessively slowing the descend and every rep starts from the ground with the bar being motionless. On the other hand, Romanian deadlift, which you normally still pick from the ground with first rep, starts at top, you focus on the excentric phase, slowly descending with your hips going backwards to feel hamstrings as much as possible and finishing the rep with concentric phase before touching the ground and loosing tension. Stiff leg deadlift would be used primary to strengthen lower back a whole back strength and rigidity and romanian deadlift would be used primary for hams hypertrophy and strength.

[@nateoleary]

Hey Mitch, can you do a Squat, Bench and OHP "accessory best to worst" videos in the future? Love the content. Keep up the good work. Regards, Nate

[@kristophervelez7490]

I’m a huge fan of straight arm lat pull downs

[@deadtoyou6660]

The RDL definition seems to have changed because back in the day it was pushing your hips as far back as possible without a ton of knee bend to get maximum tension on the hamstring and glute

[@shades4313]

That’s still what it is

[@Adam-bw6dj]

That's still what it should be, people just butcher it almost by turning it into a conventional deadlift without touching the floor. Then say its useless when they can't feel their hamstrings.

[@98danielray]

​@@Adam-bw6djno. the point is pulling the hip back is what ideally would distinguish them from SLDLs, which is what OP is referring to. there is no reason to call a deadstop deadlift a SLDL in particular.both the RDL can be or not be from a deadstop. the idea is that the SLDL is done from a straight legged position only minimally pushing the hips back.

[@logankilgore8482]

Completely agree with the squat take. I've added close to 100lbs to my deadlift in 4 months (without training deadlift consistently) just by squatting

[@baronmeduse]

Thanks for making that statement about SLDL > Romanian Deadlifts. I still call them stiff-legged deadlifts, because I can see no difference but the name and all the detail seems superfluous.

[@spikethebulldoghackett70]

Actually like swings for deadlift, it's not about the weight but developing explosiveness. Goodmornings are hard to do with heavyweight and got no carry over. Trap did nothing for me. My deadlift accessories are. 1. Bent over row partials - is much heavier than regular rows and aids much more in maintaining form in Deadlifts. 2. Partial Squats - leg drive off the floor 3. Shrugs - gets bar unstuck off thighs 4. Hip Thrusters - makes lockout better

[@PaulSmithberger]

Great video! Squat and Bench next?

[@SeyaDiakite7]

Hey Mitch. I’m almost done with that fanart. You’ll love it for sure. Still figuring out how I’m gonna send it to you 😉

[@VincentK.McMahon]

Mitch you forgot standing box sits definitely a top tier accessory for the deadlift

[@TheStreetLiftingStrongman]

What about snatch grip Jefferson curl?

[@neboise1377]

Incredibly well informed video great work brother

[@DollaritaSteve]

For some of us deadlift is hardest off the floor, so I wonder if trap bar would actually be huge for me. When I fail a deadlift it’s like the weight is glued to the floor, but if I can get it just an inch off the ground I will get it the whole way. For context, I’m long limbed and my deadlift is comically better than my squat which I believe is the root of my problem.

[@michaelhurley545]

I agree with your top picks a little surprised with leg press maybe i need to start throwing those back in..

[@zskys9158]

Since back squat is one of your top picks, do you have an accessories video for back squat?

[@Flahtort]

It would great to hear what accessory are in first place! I'm bodybuilding-minded folk and in bodybuilding we dont have accessory, we just have an exercise and stimulus.

[@SethAKPI]

Overall great list. I disagree with good mornings, bent over rows and RDL. For me RDL S, row S and good morning B.

[@walatalalaw]

Probably controversial, but what about nordic hamstring curls? High stress and tension on the hamstrings, which is often a weak muscle group for lifters. I’ll admit it’s a bodyweight exercise for most people, but few other exercises hit the hamstrings as hard

[@sagebauer1077]

that's one of those "bodyweight exercises" that lots of people can't even do with their bodyweight. even guys that are super strong might fail because of their higher bodyweight...

[@jamieganderton]

Agreed

[@clintbissonnette3433]

Great timing for ideas before i deadlift tonight

[@anthonyflores2297]

I'm so glad to hear you say that about rdl vs straight leg 😅 I can never sort out what is what and which I'm doing

[@Nickepickeparonpung]

Stiff legs has longer rom (to the floor) and Romania lifts u use slightly more bent legs and not letting the bar go all the way down.

[@Mr.PotatoAWESOMEFitnessTips]

I'm starting to think The La Stick is the favorite fitness youtuber of most of your fitness KZbinrs hahaha maybe behind Juji

[@Jcikokalol]

Rdls start at the hang SLDL are actual deadlifts to the floor with a stiff leg. Its a deadlift trying to take the quad out and solely focuses on the hip-hinge. Rdls never touch the floor unless you pick it up off the floor first. The deadlift/sldl goes up then down Rdls go down then up.

[@Papolucho702]

I’m 6’8” and legally blind, so regular barbell squats are twice as a hard to do for me. Would a belt squat machine be a better bet for me? I’ve been doing them and it seems to be working and I add good mornings for spinal erector work. What do you think Mitchell? I haven’t maxed out in 2-3 months, and just doing many sets for 2-3 reps. Best pull is 570: I did just start doing snatch grip pulls this past Saturday too, so I’ll implement them for a bit too.

[@Jocorum]

What about weighted glute/ham raises, roman chair back extensions, or reverse hypers as effective accessories?

[@chonkeboi]

I always thought that Romanian deadlifts start up and don’t break the eccentric concentric chain whereas stiff legged deadlifts are essentially deadlifts with straight legs.

[@Mr-mopar]

I like using a litter kettlebell for my warmups..helps with my hips engagement.

[@Kombatwombat93]

Romanians start at the top my good sir, while stiff leg is off the ground with very little leg involvement mainly to train the posterior chain etc, while RDLs are mainly a way to strengthen the Hamstrings as we are hinging at the hips sticking out butt out to put load on the hamstrings.

[@vinoblade3746]

Can you please do a session for squat accessory? Much appreciated!

[@divicospower9112]

Globaly agree with you, but if I must choose one exercice, I would go for the deficit deadlift. Where would you rank the glute ham raise?

[@timtwing5886]

The way i understand the difference between rdls and stiff-legged deadlifts just by watching people is rdls. Once you take the barbell off the floor, all of your reps, the barbell never touches the floor again until you're done. Stiff legged deadlifts you bring the barbell to the floor every time before every rep. Also, with rdls you're thinking about just hinging your hips back to drop the bar with stiff-legged deadlifts. You're not really thinking about that, but just lowering the bar with a slight bend in your knee. That's at least some of what I got out of it. Now when I do rdls I do them just like really anybody else would do them. But when you do rdls you also don't have your knees fully locked. You have them loose because you're trying to build your hips. With stiff-legged deadlifts I literally have stiff legs. I don't bend them at all.

[@iBlackForce_NRG]

I’m so glad I’m not the only one with those RDL and stiff leg deadlifts thoughts 😅

[@MarkT-ci6cr]

Can you please make a video on reverse grip bench? I’m limited in equipment so these are my only option to hit my upper chest. I get a crazy good burn and there’s studies that say this is better then incline bench. Can you speak on if this is true? Is it safe on the wrists if you slowly progress?

[@MasonMcLeodFilms]

Reverse grip bench has always seemed crazy risky just because its such an awkward way to manoeuvre the bar, if you're trying to hit your upper chest with limited equipment, you could try doing push ups with your feet slightly elevated, on a box or a step, or you could try doing a landmine press variation with two hands, so take your barbell and load it on one side, kneel down and place hands almost like you would for a goblet squat, and press that one loaded side of the barbell. Give it a quick google if my explanation doesn't make sense, I think AthleanX has a video on this topic and mentions these exercises.

[@ariesprime6060]

Great video, as always. Surprised there were no mentions of hyperextensions and sumo deadlifts.

[@1XxXFreestylerXxX1]

How strong would you be if you tried for 1rm Sumo Deadlift?

[@jrmiv69]

RDL - constant tension,bar never touches the floor SLD - bar comes off the floor on each rep,same body position ,same muscles,slightly different but both effective

[@houstin7866]

Would love a video series on the main lifts. Squat, Overhead Press, Push Press, Log.

[@mitchellhooperstrongman]

Noted! Check out my PowerLifting Peaking training program & educational PDF on www.moosecoaching.com 💪

[@Fortress333]

Hey Mitch, I think when doing an RDL, the barbell is always in contact with your legs and the weight never touches the floor and it starts at the top. A stiff-legged DL starts on the floor, with your shins not touching the barbell and your hips are probably higher than in a conventional DL.

[@SmartSavage]

Did you made any videos about neck training? If not, plz make video about it. I wanna have bulbous rotund, strong neck, just like yours!

[@doott843]

This channel should be over a million subs. Every video I watch I feel this more and more.

[@zackdurrant6030]

Question about trap bar deadlift, should you have the intended handle to grab in the ground increasing range of motion or should you just grab the handle and start the lift higher up and be able to do more weight

[@jacobcory6960]

How would you compare hack squats on a machine with “regular” barbell squats? My thought process is that the machine would reduce the axial load and overall fatigue. But I could also be mistaken. Lol.

[@dontyouworryaboutit_]

also hard agree with deficits, never noticed it in help from the floor, just my lockout. paused deadlifts, from just breaking it off the floor to pausing mid shin, 100% help off the floor

[@tommannion3973]

Great video as a always Mitch. For me an Rdl starts from the top with a stretch reflex at hamstring mobility limit or tng on the floor. Also done typically with a more anal back position. Sldl starts from the floor with a more liberal comp setup back position with no leg drive. The band setups can be measured using a handheld luggage hanging scale. They are pretty cheap and accurate for replicable setups. I would have liked to have seen various hamstring curl variations and back extensions/reverse hyper included in the tier list as they are a priority over knee extension lifts for a conventional max imo.

[@moopius]

The only one you missed that I wish you had covered was Behind the back deadlift.

[@Robin24204]

Mitchell: "we have removed all deadlift variations" Also Mitchell: adding 15 deadlift variations, lmao

[@philipmarais]

My gues would be Squats Lunges Barbell rows More Rows (low pulley, pull up)

[@petertosh5010]

I believe that in romenian deadlift you bent your knees a little bit whilst in stiff legged dl you keep your knees locked

[@juggernautathletics]

Great content! Can we get a video for the overhead press?

[@0vi0lat0r0]

I think you were a little harsh on the Chain-DL. The rubber band one i do understand, but the chain is so diverse. You can fasten large heavy links to the chain at key intervals(Imagine your stop motion DL-lifts you were explaining) while still having a linear increase in weight by the original chain. The increase in weight is something positive. I know Eddie Hall just recently did a strength test where as in the end of his lift he drew 7500n(about 750kg) and having a ~500kg stress att the start of the motion. Maybe it's hard to reach a 50% weight increase with chains, but it's definitely apt when training for max DL and i argue it will definitely help with lockouts. That's how i reason.

[@adamyounk1039]

can you do similar videos for the other two lifts? bench and squat accessories.

[@mac5917]

RDLs from top and stiff legged from the floor. RDLs originated from the Romanian Olympic weightlifting team and Had a shrug at the top for weightlifting benefits

[@M1keDaly]

Good video. Made some valid points that let me see some of them I thought better the same way you do. Want to give the snatch grip ones a try, but I'm unsure if I just replace my deadlift day or do them every other week or something.

[@sagebauer1077]

personally, I do them on my squat day after squats

[@M1keDaly]

@@sagebauer1077 I used to as well. I'm in my 50's now and had to slow down a bit.

[@Bmxae]

Im pretty confused by this list. There's a bunch of weird stuff and deadlift variations, but where are back extensions, GHR, nordic curls, belt squats, front squats, pullups?

[@mariostrongman]

Thanks fore great tips. How do you feel about. Box squat and paus squat. Do you grade them hi on your list that helps big a big deadlift. Best regards Mario

[@Mr.PotatoAWESOMEFitnessTips]

Hey Mitch, I'm a big fan of glute-ham raises while holding the barbell in your hands, arms locked out (Pete Rubish Style)- where would you rank these? Thanks in advance.

[@sagebauer1077]

What about isolation movements such as quad extensions or hamstring curls? Also curious about back extensions, GHD/GHRs, Reverse Hypers?

[@HighMaintenancePS]

I started lifting at age 45 as a bit of a classic skinny fat (I know 🤦🏻‍♂️) at 91kg. I’m now at 94kg. I keep straining my right glute on deadlifts, can still squat with the injury. I have weird right knee movement on squat which rolls my foot outward a bit. And less quad development on the right. This is from a high school knee impact injury that never got looked at/ received treatment. I wonder why the right glute keeps going and how I prevent that? I have slowly built up to 142.5kg 5x5. Squat is progressing much better from a much weaker start point.

[@timtwing5886]

For me goodmornings are S tier. Theyre one of the biggest lifts that have helped me increase my squat and deadlift. They're also so easy to recover from verses a RDL or SLD so you can do them more often. To me goodmornings replicate the position of both the squat and the deadlift very well at the bottom and you can do goodmornings in different ways.

[@GringoEarthquake]

Thank you for bringing out rhe Rdl and Sldl thing. Both amazing moves but people terrorize eachother about the name and overcomplicate forsure

[@xSpecterx99999999]

What do you think of a no/minimum eccentric deadlift? Basically drop the weight at the top, or lower very quickly with little resistance?

[@iielysiumx5811]

Front squats RDLs and SDLs built my deadlift like nothing else I trained Olympic lifting for around 3 months, I did pulls but only went up to around 100kg. Aside from that I just did front squats and RDLs no actual deadlifts. And I increased my PR from 390 pounds to 450 pounds anyway

[@dingleberry10]

Do an nfl combine, or go to an nfl practice for fun. Would be a great video!

[@neilkirkley1500]

I always knew in my heart that just doing more deadlift was the key to building a bigger deadlift, but its good to see Legpress and Rack Pulls high up on the list, my two favourite ego lifts lol.

[@Lion_of_the_Rockies]

I don’t have back squats hardly ever in my programming. But it does have me do a boatload of front squats. I sometimes do a couple extra sets of back squats afterward because I worry about not doing them-but they’re not in my program, where would front squats fit into this?

[@neosilver7259]

Deadlift is the best accessory for deadlifts! :D