5 Deadlift Supersets for Max Gains


A deadlift superset is one of the best exercises you can do to increase back and leg strength, power and stability.

Whether you’re doing a Romanian deadlift superset, squat deadlift superset, push press superset, sumo deadlift superset or any other deadlift combination exercise, the optimal exercise you should be pairing with your deadlift needs to compliment and enhance the muscles you are trying to develop.

Many of the exercises you should work with deadlifts will work similar muscle groups.

The exercises you should superset with deadlifts will adequately work your quads, hamstrings, calves, back, and forearms.

There are other deadlift combinations that pair exercises that work unrelated muscle groups compared to the deadlift.

This could be the push press deadlift superset for example.

In this case, the deadlift will work your back and legs whereas the push press will work your deltoids, upper back and chest.

A great way to get your reps in during your deadlift workout is with a 5×5 lift.

With a deadlift superset, you will technically be doing a 5x5x5 lift.

 That is, 5 reps of the deadlift and 5 reps of the paired exercise, for 5 sets.

Doing it this way will challenge your muscles to lift a weight near the top of your max, all while increasing the muscular endurance of those muscle groups.

Make sure to do you deadlift supersets first to make sure you have full power to do the lifts. Just warmup beforehand.

Deadlift Supersets

Romanian Deadlift Superset

The Romanian Deadlift superset is one of the best ways to increase muscle and build strength in your glutes and hamstrings. This deadlift pairing is great for scorching your legs and back. First, you’re going to want to start with your standard deadlift for 5-10 reps. You can use a barbell or dumbbells. Right after you complete this set, you are going to go right into the Romanian Deadlifts for another 5-10 reps right after. Do this for 3 to 5 sets. The Romanian Deadlifts are going to especially target your hamstrings and glutes. These 2 exercises alone can be enough to really give you a great leg and back workout. The Romanian Deadlift is one of the best exercises to pair with standard deadlifts.

Squat Deadlift Superset

The squat is also a great exercise to pair with deadlifts. The squat and deadlift both heavily work the back and legs. For this reason, it’s smart to do the squat before the deadlift. When loading your back with a heavy weight, it’s better to have most of your strength available for this lift, so as not to hurt your back or drop the weight. Make sure to use safety bars if you need to bail the weight.  In this scenario, the squat is going to work your quads and glutes more than the other muscle groups. The deadlift is going to more evenly work your glutes, back, hamstrings and quads. Do both the squat and deadlift as a pairing and you will adequately work the bodies muscle groups, developing them, and making them stronger.

Don’t forget to check out: Exercises to Pair with Deadlifts and Squats (Supersets)

Push Press Deadlift Superset

A great exercise pairing used to stress the entire body is the push press deadlift superset. In this case the deadlift will work the muscles of the lower body as the push press will work the chest, delts, and upper back. If you add an exercise like the plank, push up jacks or mountain climbers, you can really stress the entire body in 3 simple moves. If you use a moderate weight, you can immediately transition from the deadlift to the push press. Many of these deadlift supersets are taxing on the body, challenging your endurance and strength, becoming great overall workouts for the body.

Sumo Deadlift Superset

One exercise pairing I especially like is the sumo deadlift superset. The sumo deadlift is an exercise that targets the inner thighs. The inner thighs are especially helpful for contribution to core strength, injury prevention, and posture. They are also muscles heavily used in athletics and jumping.  A great exercise to pair with the sumo dead lift is the pushup or pistol squat, depending on what your goals are for the day and the muscles you are looking to work. The pistol squat will put additional stress on the leg muscles while the pushup will challenge your chest, abs, and hip flexors. Do a triple superset if you find all these exercises useful for the workout.

Deadlift Pull Up Superset

A good way to incorporate your lats into the deadlift superset is by pairing the deadlift with pull ups. Pull ups are a great exercise to target the lats, forearms and the biceps. Change up the grip to work the various muscle groups of the upper arms. Doing both the deadlift and the pull up will work most of the back musculature. If you can’t do a pull up, switch to a lat pull down, build your lats up and work your way to a full pull up.

Check out my article: Exercises to Pair with Pull Ups (Supersets)


Summary: Deadlift Supersets

Deadlift supersets are some of the best ways to work many of the major muscle groups of the body. Use these to your advantage to build muscle, endurance, and strength. Depending on your goals for the workout, pick your superset carefully and use it as a building block for other major lifts. Vary the angles, grips, rep counts, sets, intensity, and type of exercise and you will see progressive muscle gains over time.

If you liked this article, check out: 10 Exercises to Superset with Bench Press (Pairings)

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