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This is your sign to go take a hike… or just rock the ‘gorpcore’ trend.Deadlifts are one of the best exercises for building full-body strength. However, not everyone can (or should) perform this exercise. Thankfully, there are plenty of effective deadlift alternatives.

So, which exercises replace the deadlift? We’ve got you covered. Plug the below moves into your workouts if traditional deadlifts aren’t a good fit for your body or you have limited equipment.

Deadlift muscles worked

Before we dive into the best alternatives, it’s helpful to know which muscles deadlifts work. This way, you know which muscles should be firing when you perform deadlift substitutes.

Deadlifts primarily target the muscles of your posterior chain on the back side of your body, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE). These include the following:

• Glutes (butt)
• Hamstrings (back of thighs)
• Erector spinae (deep back muscles)
• Latissimus dorsi (mid-back muscle)
• Rhomboids (shoulder muscles)
• Trapezius (upper-back muscle)

You also recruit all your core muscles—especially your obliques (the muscles on the sides of your torso) and transverse abdominis (deepest ab muscle that goes from your ribs down to your pelvis)—to stabilize your torso.

And, of course, you use your forearm flexors to help you hold on tight the bar.

Deadlift pros and cons—and why you might need an alternative

Deadlifts are a versatile exercise with many benefits. They help you build full-body strength and especially improve leg, back, core, and grip strength. This has carries over into your daily life because it makes activities like picking up a heavy box from the floor easier.

Another benefit of deadlifts includes building muscle. Even though they’re usually categorized as a lower-body exercise, many people include deadlifts in a back-focused workout because they’re so effective at packing muscle on your lats, rhomboids and traps.

Building a strong deadlift can also improve athletic performance by strengthening the muscles that support running, jumping, and other athletic moves. The ability to produce more force in the weight room can make you faster and more explosive on the field or court.

However, deadlifts aren’t a good fit for many bodies. People who have a history of back pain may want to avoid this exercise/ Additionally, those who are taller often struggle to deadlift from strong and efficient positions. The same is true for people with limited hip mobility or a history of lower-body injuries. Deadlifts are also technically complex, and they might be intimidating if you’re new to the gym.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do deadlifts to enjoy the benefits of them. Many people find that other deadlift variations are a much better fit for their bodies. And if deadlifts are out of the question for you, you can still build strength and muscle in your legs, butt, and back using other alternatives.

The best deadlift alternatives

1. Good morning with sandbag

A good morning is a hip-hinging exercise that can be used in place of deadlifts. Instead of holding the weight below you with straight arms, you hold the weight on your upper body. This forces your core and back to work extra hard to keep you from falling forward.

You can do good mornings with a barbell on your back, but this won’t be a good fit for everyone. You might prefer to use a sandbag (other other weight, like a dumbbell) held in front of your chest because it’s easier to learn and requires less upper-body mobility.

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1. Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart. Place a sandbag directly in front of your feet.
2. Bend your knees slightly and reach your hips back until you can grab the handles of the sandbag with straight arms.
3. Bring the sandbag to your chest by driving your legs hard into the floor, which should float the bag up and allow you to shoot your arms around it.
4. Finish in a tall, upright position and pull the bag tight to your chest.
5. Initiate your good morning reps by bending your knees slightly and reaching your hips back
6. Continue reaching until you feel a big stretch in your hamstrings. Keep your chest tall and don’t let your torso collapse to the floor.
7. Finish the rep by driving your legs hard into the floor and returning to your upright position.
8. When you’re done with your set, carefully return the sandbag to the floor by reaching your hips back and unrolling your arms.

2. 45-degree back extension

Many people think of the 45-degree back extension machine as a lower-back exercise, but you can actually use it to build serious strength and muscle in your hamstrings and glutes.

The key to making this an effective deadlift alternative is to focus on bending from your hips—not your waist—and minimizing movement in your spine. You’ll need to set the support pads below your hips and use a smaller range of motion.

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1. Set up a 45-degree bac