10 Best Cable Deadlifts Alternatives for Gym & Home

Cable Deadlifts are done standing with a cable machine. Ranked closest by our scoring: the Clean Deadlift, the Reverse Band Sumo Deadlift and the Snatch Deadlift.

Cable Deadlifts

Each substitute is scored on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. Read how we rank alternatives

How to Do Cable Deadlifts

The steps for Cable Deadlifts themselves, so you can judge how close each substitute below really is.

Hamstrings, with forearms, glutes, hamstrings, lower back · Cable · Intermediate · Compound

  1. Move the cables to the bottom of the towers and select an appropriate weight. Stand directly in between the uprights.
  2. To begin, squat down be flexing your hips and knees until you can reach the handles.
  3. After grasping them, begin your ascent. Driving through your heels extend your hips and knees keeping your hands hanging at your side. Keep your head and chest up throughout the movement.
  4. After reaching a full standing position, Return to the starting position and repeat.

The 10 Best Cable Deadlifts Alternatives

10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches Cable Deadlifts on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. The higher the score, the less you change. Cards with a "How to perform it" link open to show the steps; every card title links to that exercise's own alternatives page.

Each link re-ranks the list below for the kit it names. Pick one to hide the substitutes you cannot set up.

  1. Clean Deadlift

    1. Clean Deadlift

    85% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    A good swap when you have a barbell to work with, and it still works the hamstrings.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. Begin standing with a barbell close to your shins. Your feet should be directly under your hips with your feet turned out slightly. Grip the bar with a double overhand grip or hook grip, about shoulder width apart. Squat down to the bar. Your spine should be in full extension, with a back angle that places your shoulders in front of the bar and your back as vertical as possible.
    2. Begin by driving through the floor through the front of your heels. As the bar travels upward, maintain a constant back angle. Flare your knees out to the side to help keep them out of the bar's path.
    3. After the bar crosses the knees, complete the lift by driving the hips into the bar until your hips and knees are extended.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Movement: deadlift hinge, the same as Cable Deadlifts
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as Cable Deadlifts
    • Equipment: free weights, not a cable
    • Body position: standing, the same as Cable Deadlifts

Cable Deadlifts FAQ

What muscles does Cable Deadlifts work?

Cable deadlifts primarily load the hamstrings and glutes while also engaging the erector spinae and adductors. The pattern emphasizes hip extension and eccentric hamstring control; cue: hinge from the hips with a neutral spine and drive the hips forward on the concentric to maximize posterior-chain contraction.

What is the best bodyweight alternative to Cable Deadlifts?

Nordic hamstring curls are the best pure bodyweight alternative because they deliver high eccentric hamstring stress and strengthen knee flexors. Cue: anchor your ankles, lower slowly under control, and brace your core to feel targeted posterior-chain activation.

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