Fix Your Deadlift Lockout: A Guide to Building a Powerful Finish

There are few things in powerlifting more frustrating than pulling a new deadlift PR off the floor, only to have it stall and die just inches from lockout. A weak deadlift lockout is a common and infuriating sticking point. It's a clear sign that while your starting strength is solid, your ability to finish the lift with power is lacking. The good news is that this is a highly trainable weakness. This guide will break down the causes of a weak lockout and provide the best exercises to build a powerful, authoritative finish.

Why Your Deadlift Lockout is Failing

When a deadlift fails at or above the knees, the culprit is almost always one of two things (or a combination of both):

1. Weak Glutes: The lockout is pure hip extension. Your gluteal muscles are the primary drivers of this movement. If they are not strong enough to bring your hips through to meet the bar, the lift will stall.
2. Weak Upper Back: As you fatigue, your upper back may begin to round. This shifts your shoulders forward, moving the barbell away from your center of gravity and putting you in a terrible position to finish the pull. A strong upper back is needed to hold your position and keep your shoulders back.

The Best Exercises to Build a Dominant Lockout

To fix a weak lockout, you must specifically target the muscles and the range of motion where you fail.

1. Rack Pulls / Block Pulls

• What they are: A deadlift variation where the bar starts on elevated blocks or the safety pins in a power rack, typically just below the knee.
• Why they work: This is the most specific way to strengthen your lockout. By starting from your sticking point, you can overload the top half of the movement with supramaximal weight (weight that is heavier than your 1RM from the floor). This builds incredible strength in the glutes and upper back. This is a staple exercise recommended by many top strength resources, including BarBend.
• How to program: Use as a primary max effort exercise, working up to a heavy set of 1-5 reps.

2. Barbell Hip Thrusts

• What they are: A floor-based exercise where you bridge your hips up against a loaded barbell.
• Why they work: It is the single best exercise for isolating and strengthening the glutes in pure hip extension. There is a direct and powerful carryover from a stronger hip thrust to a stronger deadlift lockout.
• How to program: Use as a primary accessory exercise after your main lifts. Work in the 6-12 rep range for 3-4 sets to build both strength and muscle.

3. Good Mornings

• What they are: An accessory exercise where you hinge at the hips with a barbell on your back.
• Why they work: This movement builds tremendous isometric strength in the entire spinal erector group, teaching you to fight against spinal flexion under load. This directly helps you maintain your back position at the top of a heavy deadlift.
• How to program: Start very light. Use as an accessory for 3-4 sets in the 8-12 rep range.

4. Heavy Holds

• What they are: Holding a supramaximal weight at your lockout position for time.
• Why they work: This builds immense upper back and grip strength and gets your CNS accustomed to handling weights heavier than your current max.
• How to program: After your main deadlift work, load a bar in the rack to 105-120% of your 1RM, pick it up, and hold it for 10-15 seconds for 2-3 sets.

A weak deadlift lockout is a solvable problem. By shifting your focus to strengthening the specific muscles involved—your glutes and upper back—with targeted exercises like rack pulls, hip thrusts, and good mornings, you can turn your biggest weakness into a strength. Stop failing at the top, and start building a powerful, undeniable lockout.