Tip: Strong Glutes, Better Deadlifts

In the deadlift, a forward weight shift can occur during the last portion of the lift. When this happens you'll inadvertently hitch – that's where you almost stop the movement and move the knees forward and under the bar before finishing the lift.

This indicates weak glutes. The body shifts forward and hitches to put you in a position to use the quads to compensate for the lack of glute strength. Strengthen the glutes with the banded RDL exercise.

Simply perform a Romanian deadlift with one end of a band attached to a solid surface like a rack, and the other end looped around your hips to pull them backward. You'll not only have to lift the barbell, but the glutes will be trained to fire extra hard as you come up.

That glute strength will transfer to your conventional deadlift. The result? No more hitching.