Cable Deadlift
Trains the Quads.
- Equipment
- A cable station
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set a straight bar or rope on the lowest pulley and stand facing the machine.
- Take the handle with both hands and step back until the cable is taut.
- Push your hips back and bend the knees, back flat, until the handle is near the floor.
- Stand up by driving the hips forward and extending the legs together.
- Finish tall without leaning back.
- Lower under control by pushing the hips back again, keeping the cable line close to your legs.
Common mistakes
- Letting the cable pull you forward at the bottom. A cable pulls horizontally as well as down, so the stance has to be set against it — a barbell only ever pulls straight down.
- Standing so far back that the pull runs level with the floor. The line should still be mostly downward; too far and this becomes a row done with the legs.
- Rounding the back to reach the bottom. Same rule as any hinge — the range ends where the flat back ends.
- Expecting it to replace a barbell deadlift. The load is limited by the stack and by the horizontal pull, and its real use is teaching the hinge where a loaded bar would be too much.