Legs · Stick
Stick Deadlift
How to do the stick deadlift, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Stick
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Hinge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand with feet hip-width apart and a stick held across the front of your thighs with an overhand grip. Hinge at the hips and bend your knees to lower the stick down your legs with a flat back, then drive through your heels and extend your hips to stand tall.
- 1Feel your hamstrings and glutes load as you hinge the hips back
- 2Keep your back flat and the stick close to your legs the whole way
- 3Drive through your heels and lock the hips out at the top
Common mistakes
- Avoid rounding your lower back as you hinge
- Do not lock your knees out hard; keep a slight bend
- Avoid jerking up; move smoothly through the range
Muscles worked
The stick deadlift mainly works the glutes, lower back, and hamstrings, with the forearms, quads, upper traps, upper abs, and calves assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- Lower BackPrimary
- HamstringsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- CalvesSupport
Kovo programs the stick deadlift for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More glutes exercises
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- How to do the airdyne bike
- How to do the arc trainer
- How to do the assault bike
- How to do the medicine ball atlas stone lift
- How to do the b stance hip thrust
Last reviewed June 2026.