10 Best Rickshaw Deadlift Alternatives for Quad Development
If you can't do the Rickshaw Deadlift, use quad-dominant lifts that preserve its knee-extension bias. Try front squats, hack squats, Bulgarian split squats, goblet squats, or weighted step-ups. Cue a tall chest and knees tracking over toes to emphasize vasti activation and limit hip-dominant recruitment.
Original Exercise: Rickshaw Deadlift
How to Perform Rickshaw Deadlift
- Load the frame with the desired weight. Center yourself between the handles. You feet should be about hip width apart. Bend at the hips to grip the handles, allowing your shoulder blades to protract.
- With your feet and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and flex the knees. Look forward with your head, keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward. As the weight comes up, pull your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward.
- Lower the weight by bending at the hips and guiding it to the ground.
Pro Tips
- Category: Strongman
- Force: Pull
- Movement type: Compound
Best Rickshaw Deadlift Alternatives
1. Clean Pull
85.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- With a barbell on the floor close to the shins, take an overhand or hook grip just outside the legs. Lower your hips with the weight focused on the heels, back straight, head facing forward, chest up, with your shoulders just in front of the bar. This will be your starting position.
- Begin the first pull by driving through the heels, extending your knees. Your back angle should stay the same, and your arms should remain straight and elbows out. Move the weight with control as you continue to above the knees.
- Next comes the second pull, the main source of acceleration for the clean. As the bar approaches the mid-thigh position, begin extending through the hips. In a jumping motion, accelerate by extending the hips, knees, and ankles, using speed to move the bar upward. There should be no need to actively pull through the arms to accelerate the weight; at the end of the second pull, the body should be fully extended, leaning slightly back, with the arms still extended. Full extension should be violent and abrupt, and ensure that you do not prolong the extension for longer than necessary.
2. Car Deadlift
80.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- This event apparatus typically has neutral grip handles, however some have a straight bar that you can approach like a normal deadlift. The apparatus can be loaded with a vehicle or other heavy objects such as tractor tires or kegs.
- Center yourself between the handles if you are a strong squatter, or back a couple inches if you are a strong deadlifter. You feet should be about hip width apart. Bend at the hip to grip the handles. With your feet and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and flex the knees.
- Look forward with your head, keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward. As the weight comes up, pull your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward.
- Lower the weight by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor.
3. Axle Deadlift
80.4% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Approach the bar so that it is centered over your feet. You feet should be about hip width apart. Bend at the hip to grip the bar at shoulder width, allowing your shoulder blades to protract. Typically, you would use an over/under grip.
- With your feet and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and flex the knees until your shins contact the bar. Look forward with your head, keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward.
- After the bar passes the knees, aggressively pull the bar back, pulling your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward into the bar.
- Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor.
4. Dumbbell Deadlift
80% 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. Deadlift With Bands
79.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- To deadlift with short bands, simply loop them over the bar before you start, and step into them to set up. For long bands, they will need to be anchored to a secure base, such as heavy dumbbells or a rack.
- With your feet, and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and bend the knees until your shins contact the bar. Look forward with your head, keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward. After the bar passes the knees, aggressively pull the bar back, pulling your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward into the bar.
- Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor.
6. Deadlift With Chains
79.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- You can attach the chains to the sleeves of the bar, or just drape the middle over the bar so there is a greater weight increase as you lift.
- Approach the bar so that it is centered over your feet. You feet should be about hip width apart. Bend at the hip to grip the bar at shoulder width, allowing your shoulder blades to protract. Typically, you would use an overhand grip or an over/under grip on heavier sets. With your feet, and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and bend the knees until your shins contact the bar.
- Look forward with your head, keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward. After the bar passes the knees, aggressively pull the bar back, pulling your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward into the bar.
- Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor.
7. Deficit Deadlift
79.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Begin by having a platform or weight plates that you can stand on, usually 1-3 inches in height. Approach the bar so that it is centered over your feet. You feet should be about hip width apart. Bend at the hip to grip the bar at shoulder width, allowing your shoulder blades to protract. Typically, you would use an overhand grip or an over/under grip on heavier sets.
- With your feet, and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and bend the knees until your shins contact the bar. Look forward with your head, keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward. After the bar passes the knees, aggressively pull the bar back, pulling your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward into the bar.
- Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor.
8. Clean Deadlift
79.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- 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.
- 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.
- After the bar crosses the knees, complete the lift by driving the hips into the bar until your hips and knees are extended.
9. Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift
75.7% 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.
10. Barbell Sumo Deadlift
75.4% 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.
Why You Might Need a Rickshaw Deadlift Alternative
You may substitute the Rickshaw Deadlift for several practical reasons: limited equipment, lumbar irritation, restricted hip mobility, or a desire for unilateral work. Replacing it lets you maintain quad stimulus while reducing posterior chain torque on the low back. For example, a front squat keeps the load anterior and increases knee flexion; cue the bar on the clavicles and drive through the mid-foot to bias the quadriceps. If an ankle mobility issue limits squat depth, choose a hack squat or elevated-heel goblet squat to preserve knee travel and quad loading without forcing deeper hip hinge mechanics.
How to Choose the Right Substitute
Decide based on equipment, movement pattern, and injury history. If you have a rack, front squats and hack squats provide the highest bilateral quad loading; set the bar close to your throat and maintain an upright torso to maximize knee extension torque. For unilateral balance and core demand, pick Bulgarian split squats or weighted step-ups and ensure the front knee tracks over the toes to locally load the vastus muscles. If low-back stress is the constraint, prefer goblet or machine variations that reduce shear forces while allowing progressive overload.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does Rickshaw Deadlift work?
The Rickshaw Deadlift primarily targets the quadriceps through knee extension, with secondary recruitment of the glutes, adductors, and hamstrings depending on torso angle. It also challenges the core and upper back to stabilize the load during the lift.
What is the best bodyweight alternative to Rickshaw Deadlift?
Bulgarian split squats are the top bodyweight substitute because they create a strong knee-extension demand on the front leg. Cue an upright torso and drive the front foot into the floor to maximize quad activation without added equipment.
Can I build muscle without doing Rickshaw Deadlift?
Yes. You can achieve hypertrophy with front squats, hack squats, goblet squats, and progressive unilateral work by applying progressive overload and sufficient volume. Use controlled tempo and full knee range of motion to target the vasti and stimulate quad growth.
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