10 Best Lever Deadlift Alternatives for Glute Strength
If you can’t use a lever deadlift, use other hip-hinge or unilateral lifts to target glutes and hamstrings. Top swaps include Romanian deadlifts, hip thrusts, trap-bar deadlifts, Bulgarian split squats, and single-leg RDLs. Cue: push hips back, maintain a neutral spine and feel the glutes lengthen before driving hips forward.
Original Exercise: Lever Deadlift
How to Perform Lever Deadlift
- Adjust the seat height and foot platform to your desired position.
- Sit on the machine with your back against the pad and your feet flat on the foot platform.
- Grasp the handles or the sides of the seat for stability.
- Engage your glutes and hamstrings, and push through your heels to lift the weight up.
- Keep your back straight and avoid rounding your shoulders.
- Extend your hips fully at the top of the movement, squeezing your glutes.
- Lower the weight back down in a controlled manner, keeping tension on your glutes and hamstrings.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Best Lever Deadlift Alternatives
1. Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift
83.1% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip.
- Keeping your back straight and your core engaged, hinge at the hips and lower the dumbbells towards the ground, allowing your torso to lean forward.
- Continue lowering the dumbbells until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, keeping your knees slightly bent.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom, then engage your glutes and hamstrings to lift your torso back up to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
2. Cable Deadlift
82.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand facing the cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend at the hips and knees, lowering your torso until your back is parallel to the ground.
- Grasp the cable handles with an overhand grip, keeping your arms straight and your shoulders back.
- Engage your glutes and hamstrings to lift the cable handles, extending your hips and standing up straight.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the cable handles back down to the starting position.
3. Barbell Hip Thrust
79.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Begin seated on the ground with a bench directly behind you. Have a loaded barbell over your legs. Using a fat bar or having a pad on the bar can greatly reduce the discomfort caused by this exercise.
- Roll the bar so that it is directly above your hips, and lean back against the bench so that your shoulder blades are near the top of it.
- Begin the movement by driving through your feet, extending your hips vertically through the bar. Your weight should be supported by your shoulder blades and your feet. Extend as far as possible, then reverse the motion to return to the starting position.
4. Dumbbell Deadlift
77.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your body, arms extended downwards.
- Bend at your hips and knees, lowering the dumbbells towards the ground while keeping your back straight.
- Push through your heels and extend your hips and knees, lifting the dumbbells back up to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
5. Barbell Sumo Deadlift
77.3% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointing outwards.
- Place a barbell on the ground in front of you, centered between your feet.
- Bend your knees and lower your hips, keeping your back straight and chest up, to grip the barbell with an overhand grip.
- Engage your core and drive through your heels to lift the barbell off the ground, extending your hips and knees simultaneously.
- As you lift, keep your chest up and back straight, and push your hips forward to fully engage your glutes.
6. Barbell Deadlift
76.8% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the barbell on the ground in front of you.
- Bend your knees and hinge at the hips to lower your torso and grip the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your back straight and chest lifted as you drive through your heels to lift the barbell off the ground, extending your hips and knees.
- As you stand up straight, squeeze your glutes and keep your core engaged.
- Lower the barbell back down to the ground by bending at the hips and knees, keeping your back straight.
7. Cable Pull Through (with Rope)
74.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand facing away from the cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Grab the rope attachment with both hands and step forward, creating tension in the cable.
- Bend at the hips and lower your upper body until it is parallel to the ground, keeping your back straight.
- Engage your glutes and hamstrings to pull your body back up to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
8. Arms Apart Circular Toe Touch (male)
74.1% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and arms extended to the sides.
- Keeping your legs straight, bend forward at the waist and reach down towards your toes with your right hand.
- As you reach down, simultaneously lift your left leg straight up behind you, maintaining balance.
- Return to the starting position and repeat the movement with your left hand reaching towards your toes and your right leg lifting up behind you.
- Continue alternating sides for the desired number of repetitions.
9. Barbell Rack Pull
73.3% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Set up a barbell on a rack at knee height.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly outwards.
- Bend at the hips and knees to lower yourself down and grip the barbell with an overhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart.
- Engage your core and lift the barbell by extending your hips and knees, pulling your shoulders back and squeezing your glutes at the top.
- Lower the barbell back down to the starting position by bending at the hips and knees.
10. Dumbbell Single Leg Deadlift With Stepbox Support
73.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in your right hand.
- Place your left foot on a stepbox or elevated surface behind you.
- Keeping your back straight and core engaged, hinge forward at the hips, lowering the dumbbell towards the ground.
- As you lower the dumbbell, simultaneously lift your left leg behind you, maintaining a straight line from head to heel.
- Lower the dumbbell until you feel a stretch in your right hamstring, then return to the starting position.
Why You Might Need a Lever Deadlift Alternative
You may substitute the lever deadlift for several reasons: limited equipment, low-back pain, movement-transfer needs, or training variety. Hip-hinge alternatives like Romanian deadlifts and single-leg RDLs preserve posterior-chain loading while reducing spinal shear; hip thrusts load the glute in hip extension with less torso stress. If you lack a lever, use a trap bar to reduce torso lean or perform unilateral work to address imbalances. Cue: brace your core and hinge at the hips until you feel hamstring tension, then drive through the heel to maximize glute activation.
How to Choose the Right Substitute
Select a substitute based on your primary goal, equipment, and movement limitations. For maximal glute activation and horizontal hip extension, pick barbell hip thrusts and cue a full glute squeeze at lockout. For posterior-chain strength with a hip hinge, choose Romanian or trap-bar deadlifts and keep the bar close to your shins to reduce lumbar torque. If you need unilateral stability or to correct asymmetry, choose Bulgarian split squats or single-leg RDLs and ensure hips remain level. Prioritize load, range of motion, and progressive overload when planning replacements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does Lever Deadlift work?
The lever deadlift primarily targets the gluteus maximus and hamstrings through hip extension, with secondary activation of the erector spinae and adductors for stability. Cue: drive the hips forward at the top and squeeze the glutes to emphasize posterior-chain recruitment.
What is the best bodyweight alternative to Lever Deadlift?
A single-leg glute bridge is the best bodyweight substitute for focusing on the glutes without load; it isolates hip extension and forces unilateral stability. Cue: press through the heel, lift until hips are level, and hold a one-second squeeze to maximize glute activation.
Can I build muscle without doing Lever Deadlift?
Yes — you can achieve hypertrophy by using alternatives that provide progressive overload and full range of motion, such as hip thrusts, Romanian deadlifts, and Bulgarian split squats. Cue: increase time under tension and ensure each rep has a controlled eccentric and a powerful concentric glute contraction.
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