Why You Keep Missing Deadlifts at Lockout and How to Fix It
Lockout problems in the deadlift are one of the most frustrating issues for lifters. You pull the bar past your knees, you’re right there, but it just stalls out and refuses to move. The natural assumption is, “I need to work my lockout.” But in reality, most lockout issues don’t actually start at lockout, they start from the floor.
Why Lockout Problems Start at the Floor
The deadlift is a chain reaction. If your bar path, speed, or positioning off the floor is off, those small errors magnify as the bar rises. By the time you reach the knees, you’re in a compromised position with no leverage left to finish. Trust me, I’ve been there.
Common setup mistakes that lead to lockout failures:
Hips too high: This turns your deadlift into more of a stiff-legged pull, forcing your lower back to do too much work and leaving your glutes and hamstrings underloaded.
Hips too low: This puts your knees too far forward, shoving the bar away from your shins and making it harder to keep the bar close.
Poor bracing from the start: If you’re not creating tension before the bar moves, you lose tightness in your upper back and core, which means no strong platform to finish the lift.
Finding Your Ideal Hip Height
One of the biggest keys to consistent lockouts is starting with your hips in the right position for your body mechanics.
Here’s a simple method that I’ve used with my athletes for years to find it:
Load the bar to 50–60% of your 1RM.
Set up like you’re about to pull, perform a single rep to the top and then perform a very slow negative, lowering the bar with control.
Wherever the plates touch the floor naturally is generally a good starting hip height for you.
Why this works:
The slow negative forces your body into its strongest pulling position naturally.
It accounts for your limb lengths, mobility, and leverage, rather than copying someone else’s form.
Starting in this position ensures you’re engaging the right muscles from the floor, so you have more left in the tank at lockout.
Technical & Physical Weaknesses That Contribute to Lockout Misses
Even with a perfect setup, you may still have weak links.
1. Glute Weakness
The glutes are the primary drivers at lockout. If they’re not firing hard, you’ll hitch or stall at the top.
Fix it: Hip thrusts, block pulls, and banded deadlifts.
2. Hamstring Weakness
If your hamstrings aren’t strong enough to maintain position off the floor, your hips will shoot up early leaving your glutes at a disadvantage later.
Fix it: Romanian deadlifts, deficit pulls, GHRs.
3. Upper Back Weakness
If your upper back rounds excessively, the bar drifts forward and becomes harder to lock out.
Fix it: Barbell rows, chest-supported rows, paused deadlifts.
4. Timing & Patience
Some lifters rush the pull and try to “yank” the bar up, losing tension before the knees. That loss of tension is exactly what kills the lockout.
Fix it: Paused deadlifts just below the knee, tempo deadlifts, static deadlifts.
The Takeaway
If you’re missing deadlifts at lockout, don’t just hammer rack pulls and expect it to solve the problem.
Find your correct hip height using the slow-negative method with 50–60% of your max.
Strengthen your weak links such as glutes, hamstrings, or upper back.
Practice patience off the floor so your position stays solid.
Most lockout problems are built in the first inch of the pull. Nail your start, and your finish will take care of itself. If you need help dialing in your deadlift, shoot me a message!
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