IT'S ONLY NATURAL to compare yourself to the guy lifting next to you. It doesn’t matter if he’s bigger and stronger or smaller and scrawnier—everyone wants a benchmark against which to gauge their strength and skill. If that bench (or squat rack, or power platform, or rubberized flooring) happens to be just a few feet to your right or left, all the better, especially if you’re the one putting up the most plates or heaviest dumbbells.

But here’s the thing: That guy is bound to be a poor point of reference, especially if he's just some rando you've never met in your life. And if you’re doing a big compound move like the barbell deadlift, the validity of such a comparison goes right out the window.

That’s because the amount of iron you can yank off the floor comes down to a complex interplay of genetics, training frequency and experience, lifting skill (e.g., form execution), absolute and relative strength, and mindset. In short, the guy lifting next to you isn’t you, and that’s a problem as far as performance comparisons are concerned.

Just because you’re powerfully unique doesn’t mean there aren’t standards you can use to assess your strength and progress. The next time you reach down to grip the barbell or handles of a trap bar to establish your 1RM in the deadlift, keep these pointers in mind—starting with why such an exercise belongs in your training program.

Why You Should Deadlift—With Everything You Can

Few exercises compare to the deadlift when it comes to building lower body strength (or even total-body muscle). The deceptively simple act of heaving a heavy load off the floor primarily targets your glutes and hamstrings, but as you rise from a crouching position to a standing one, muscles along your entire posterior chain begin to fire, including your traps and nearly every muscle in your core. That makes the deadlift one of the most potent full body moves in your training arsenal—not to mention one of the most advanced ones.

That might scare off some beginners, but it shouldn’t. The classic barbell deadlift is but one of many variations at your disposal. “The deadlift is fundamentally about picking up a load from the ground, and that load in real life is going to take many shapes and sizes,” says Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. “As such, it shouldn't just have to be with an Olympic barbell—it can be with any implement, including kettlebells and dumbbells.”

For many people, especially beginners, a trap bar is one of the best options. If you’re lucky enough to have one in your gym, it’s tough to miss—just look for a strange-looking bar with a hexagonal shaft and Olympic sleeves (the long ends of a barbell you slide weight plates onto).

The beauty of the trap bar is that you stand in its center, forcing you to initiate the movement with the all-important hip hinge (more on that in a bit). All in all, it gives you a leg up on ideal form as well as a mechanical advantage that helps optimize your lifting potential and strength gains.

How Much Weight Should Men Be Able to Deadlift

This is where we get back to ignoring the guy lifting next to you. He’s him and you’re you, and neither of you share the same lifting background or experience. Also, unless he’s your identical twin, you also have very different genetics—or at least sufficiently different to make physical comparisons a non-starter. Bottom line: Any lifting standard you use has to be about you and you only.

It makes sense, then, that you'll go beyond just your personal experience and use your own body to help establish what that standard will be. Samuel has a straightforward number that most guys can aspire to: “One and a half times your body weight is a pretty strong standard for the deadlift, and it’s the standard we use at Men’s Health,” says Samuel.

Just remember, Samuel isn't speaking about absolute beginners here—and he's also not saying that if you do have some experience and can't hit this standard, you're worthless. Instead, you should use the one and a half times weight number as a goal to achieve. If you’re an advanced lifter and heft the standard with little challenge, you can shift your sights upward slightly to twice your bodyweight. Any more than that, and you’re starting to look at competition standards for serious powerlifters.

How to Do the Barbell Deadlift

Proper form is essential for success with deadlifts, especially if you're pulling for PR-level weight. You've probably seen other guys using mixed grips or lifting straps to help them hold onto the barbell and weight belts to support their spine. You can work your way up to these methods and tools when you're aiming to pull your heaviest weights—otherwise, go without these aids to build strength.

• Step up to the loaded barbell, starting with your feet about shoulder-width apart (this might vary by your anatomy and personal preference with experience), with your feet under the bar. Your shins should be close to or actually touching the bar.
• Push your butt back and hinge at the waist to bend down to grab the bar on either side of your legs. Grasp it in both hands using an overhand grip.
• Make sure your hips are lower than your shoulders. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to set your lats, then engage your core. Keep your neck in a neutral position; don't look up.
• Push your feet through the floor and pull the weight up, keeping the bar close to your body. You might find that you scrape your shins with the bar, that's okay. Invest in long socks or wear pants. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the lift, but don't lean back and arch your spine.

Heavy lifts mean low reps. You should aim for three to five reps per set at most when you're pulling heavy weights.