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

Lever Deadlift
Primary Muscle
Glutes
Equipment
Lever
Difficulty
Intermediate
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Hamstrings, Quadriceps
How to Perform Lever Deadlift
  1. Adjust the seat height and foot platform to your desired position.
  2. Sit on the machine with your back against the pad and your feet flat on the foot platform.
  3. Grasp the handles or the sides of the seat for stability.
  4. Engage your glutes and hamstrings, and push through your heels to lift the weight up.
  5. Keep your back straight and avoid rounding your shoulders.
  6. Extend your hips fully at the top of the movement, squeezing your glutes.
  7. Lower the weight back down in a controlled manner, keeping tension on your glutes and hamstrings.
  8. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Ranked Lever Deadlift Alternatives

Best Match
Smith Deadlift

1. Smith Deadlift

99.9% Match
Glutes Smith-machine Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Set up the smith machine with the bar at hip height.
  2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly outward.
  3. Bend at the hips and knees, keeping your back straight and chest up, and grip the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  4. Engage your core and lift the bar by extending your hips and knees, keeping the bar close to your body.
  5. Stand up straight, fully extending your hips and knees.
Smith Bent Knee Good Morning

2. Smith Bent Knee Good Morning

90% Match
Glutes Smith-machine Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward.
  2. Place the barbell across your upper back, resting it on your traps.
  3. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight.
  4. Lower your torso until it is parallel to the ground, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings.
  5. Engage your glutes and hamstrings to raise your torso back up to the starting position.
Trap Bar Deadlift

3. Trap Bar Deadlift

83.7% Match
Glutes Trap-bar Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the trap bar on the ground in front of you.
  2. Bend at the hips and knees to lower yourself down and grip the handles of the trap bar with an overhand grip.
  3. Keep your back straight and chest up as you begin to lift the trap bar off the ground by extending your hips and knees.
  4. As you lift, focus on driving through your heels and squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement.
  5. Lower the trap bar back down to the ground by bending at the hips and knees, keeping your back straight throughout the movement.
Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift

4. Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift

83.1% Match
Glutes Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip.
  2. 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.
  3. Continue lowering the dumbbells until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, keeping your knees slightly bent.
  4. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then engage your glutes and hamstrings to lift your torso back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Cable Deadlift

5. Cable Deadlift

82.7% Match
Glutes Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand facing the cable machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Bend at the hips and knees, lowering your torso until your back is parallel to the ground.
  3. Grasp the cable handles with an overhand grip, keeping your arms straight and your shoulders back.
  4. Engage your glutes and hamstrings to lift the cable handles, extending your hips and standing up straight.
  5. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the cable handles back down to the starting position.
Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift

6. Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift

80.4% Match
Hamstrings Smith-machine Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. To begin, set the bar on the smith machine to a height that is around the middle of your thighs. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, grasp the bar using a pronated (palms forward) grip that is shoulder width apart. You may need some wrist wraps if using a significant amount of weight.
  2. Lift the bar up by fully extending your arms while keeping your back straight. Stand with your torso straight and your legs spaced using a shoulder width or narrower stance. The knees should be slightly bent. This is your starting position.
  3. Keeping the knees stationary, lower the barbell to over the top of your feet by bending at the waist while keeping your back straight. Keep moving forward as if you were going to pick something from the floor until you feel a stretch on the hamstrings. Exhale as you perform this movement
  4. Start bringing your torso up straight again as soon as you feel the hamstrings stretch by extending your hips and waist until you are back at the starting position. Inhale as you perform this movement.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Barbell Hip Thrust

7. Barbell Hip Thrust

79.7% Match
Glutes Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
Leverage Deadlift

8. Leverage Deadlift

79.3% Match
Quads Machine Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Load the pins to an appropriate weight. Position yourself directly between the handles. Grasp the bottom handles with a comfortable grip, and then lower your hips as you take a breath. Look forward with your head and keep your chest up. This will be your starting position.
  2. Return the weight to the starting position.
Dumbbell Deadlift

9. Dumbbell Deadlift

77.9% Match
Glutes Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward.
  2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your body, arms extended downwards.
  3. Bend at your hips and knees, lowering the dumbbells towards the ground while keeping your back straight.
  4. Push through your heels and extend your hips and knees, lifting the dumbbells back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Lever Seated Good Morning

10. Lever Seated Good Morning

77.4% Match
Glutes Lever Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Adjust the seat height so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees.
  2. Sit on the machine with your back against the pad and your feet flat on the footrests.
  3. Grasp the handles or the sides of the seat for stability.
  4. Keeping your back straight, slowly lean forward from your hips until your upper body is parallel to the ground.
  5. Pause for a moment, then slowly return to the starting position by pushing through your glutes and hamstrings.

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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