Conventional or sumo for beginners?

Conventional. Sumo is a fine variation, but conventional teaches the hip hinge most directly and translates better to picking up real-world objects.

Not until you've spent 6–12 months learning to brace without one. The belt is a tool to amplify your existing brace, not a replacement for it.

How heavy should I go?

Start with sets of 5 at a weight where every rep looks identical. If form changes between rep 1 and rep 5, the weight is too heavy.

My lower back is sore after deadlifts — is that normal?

Mild soreness in the first few weeks of training is normal. Sharp pain or pain that lingers more than 48 hours is a coaching cue, not a badge of honour. Stop and get a coach to look at your setup.

How to Deadlift Safely (Beginner's Guide)

The deadlift is the most useful lift you'll ever learn, and the easiest to do badly. Here's how we coach a safe, strong rep at CFBC.

The deadlift is the single most useful strength lift a human can train. It's also the lift most people are scared of, usually because they've seen a viral video of someone with a flexed-spine grinder and now they think the lift itself is dangerous. The lift isn't dangerous. The setup people use is.

This is the setup checklist we use at CrossFit BC in Olympic Village, Vancouver, the same one we run new athletes through in Foundations before they ever pull heavy.

TL;DR

Bar over mid-foot, shins close, hips between knees and shoulders.
Big breath in, brace 360 degrees, lats on, push the floor away.
If the back rounds before the bar leaves the floor, the weight is too heavy. Period.

Why people get hurt deadlifting

Almost every deadlift injury we see is one of three things:

Bar starts too far from the body, hips shoot up first, back rounds.
No brace, pulling with a soft trunk under load.
Ego loading. Adding 20 lb to a setup that already isn't working.

None of those are the deadlift's fault.

The 6-step setup

1. Stance

Feet hip-width, toes pointed straight ahead or slightly out. Bar should be over the middle of your foot, about 1 inch in front of the shin.

2. Hinge to the bar

Push hips back, soft knees, hinge until your hands reach the bar. Don't squat down to the bar. The deadlift is a hinge, not a squat.

3. Grip and pull the slack

Grip just outside the legs. Pull up gently on the bar until you hear/feel the bar plates engage the bar, this is "pulling the slack out." The bar shouldn't slap.

4. Set the back

Chest up, shoulders slightly in front of the bar, lats engaged (think: "protect your armpits"). Spine neutral from tail to skull.

5. Brace

Big belly breath in, expand 360 degrees against your belt or your hands on your obliques. Hold the breath.

6. Push the floor away

Drive through the whole foot. The bar travels straight up the legs. Lock out by squeezing glutes, not by leaning back.

Common mistakes (and the fix)

Hips shoot up first → quads aren't engaged. Push the floor away from the start.
Bar drifts away from the body → lats aren't on. Cue: "squeeze oranges in your armpits."
Rounded lower back → too heavy. Drop weight, rebuild brace.
Hyperextending at the top → glutes finish, ribs stay down. Lockout, don't lean.

Coaching cues we use at CFBC

"Push the floor away", best universal cue.
"Bar over mid-foot", fixes 70% of setup issues.
"Big breath, brace, then move", order matters.

How CrossFit BC programs the deadlift

Every new athlete learns the deadlift in Foundations before being cleared to pull heavy in classes. We program a strength-focused deadlift block every 8–12 weeks across our CrossFit programming. We don't program max-effort singles for first-year athletes, see our approach for why patience wins here.

Related: Squat Depth · Overhead Mobility