Looking for a challenging CrossFit deadlift workout?
I’d say you are in the right place then.
If you are looking for easy deadlift workouts you might as well leave now because you won’t find any of those here.
Let’s get to it.
The Deadlift
As many of you already know, the deadlift is a killer whole-body exercise that builds serious strength and muscle. Many would say it is the king of all muscle-building exercises, I would tend to agree with them.
The thing is, the deadlift is a pretty badass exercise all on its own. When you start including it in a Crossfit WOD things can get crazy.
Just think about how much regular deadlifting takes out of you, then when you put it in a WOD there are no breaks before or after deadlifting to catch your breath. It’s just on to the next exercise. Needless to say, the WODs that use the deadlift are some of the most difficult WODs out there. If you didn’t already know that, you are about to find out.
Looking to take your deadlift workout to the next level? These should do the trick.
#1 Roy
Five rounds for time:
15 Deadlifts (225/155 lb)
20 Box Jumps (24/20 in)
25 Pull-Ups
We start off our list with a nice hero WOD. Between the deadlifts and the pull-ups, this workout can be a real pain, literally. By the time it’s over you will have done 75 deadlifts and 125 pull-ups with box jumps in between. That’s no joke right there.
#2 Rankel
Complete as many rounds/reps as possible in 20 minutes:
6 Deadlifts (225/155 lb)
7 Burpee pull-ups
10 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood/1.5 pood
Run 200 meters
Rankel, like Roy, is another hero WOD and those are always tough. This one is no exception.
There really is nowhere in this workout to catch your breath. While there are only 6 deadlifts you have to go right into burpee pull-ups which suck, then heavy kb swings, a 200-meter run then right back to deadlifting after running. Good luck game planning for this one.
#3 The Seven
7 Rounds for time of:
7 Handstand Push-Ups
7 Thrusters (135/95 lb)
7 Knees-to-Elbows
7 Deadlifts (245/165 lb)
7 Burpees
7 Kettlebell Swings (2/1.5 pood)
7 Pull-Ups
The Seven, easily one of the most difficult CrossFit WODs out there. This hero WOD has everything that makes a WOD difficult combined into one. Heavy thrusters, burpees, deadlifts and heavy kettlebell swings. Looks like the only place to catch your breath would be on the knees to elbows but 7 reps isn’t really long enough to do so.
I have done this workout several times and almost puked each time. Be ready to be tested both mentally and physically with this bad boy.
#4 Jeffrey Palazzo
Every minute on the minute for as many minutes as possible
Death by deadlifts (60% of 1 RM)
Perform 1 rep for the first minute, 2 reps for the second minute, 3 reps for the third minute and so on until you can’t complete the required number of repetitions for the given minute.
For all of you looking for a pure deadlift workout, this one should be right up your alley.
Pick any weight you want but you can’t change the weight once you start.
The hardest part is deciding what weight to use, do you go lighter for higher reps or pick a heavy weight for fewer reps.
It’s easier to gauge the weight once you have done this workout a time or two but the first time can be especially tough.
#6 Open 14.3
8-minute AMRAP
10 Deadlifts (135/95 lb)
15 Box Jumps (24/20 in)
15 Deadlifts (185/135 lb)
15 Box Jumps (24/20 in)
20 Deadlifts (225/155 lb)
15 Box Jumps (24/20 in)
25 Deadlifts (275/185 lb)
15 Box Jumps (24/20 in)
30 Deadlifts (315/205 lb)
15 Box Jumps (24/20 in)
35 Deadlifts (365/225 lb)
15 Box Jumps (24/20 in)
This is our first workout that isn’t a hero WOD. This is just deadlifts that get progressively heavier with box jumps in between.
One pain about this WOD is having to add plates each time for the deadlift. You should have the plates laid out beforehand so they can be easily added to the bar, you aren’t allowed to have any help putting the weights on the bar either. This one is all you, prepare as well as you can beforehand.
Danielle Sidell won this event in the 2014 CrossFit Open with a score of 192 and Rich Froning won it for the men with a total of 177. Don’t feel bad if you don’t score anywhere close to that, most people won’t.
Back to the hero WODs with Donny. I have a weird feeling most people who are reading this article are going to skip this one. Something about all the burpees.
If you want to give this one a go, have at it. Maybe you are one of those sickos that likes brutal burpee workouts.
#8 Regionals 13.5
Reps for Time
21-15-9
Deadlifts (315/205 lb)
Box Jump (30/24 in)
This WOD features the heaviest deadlifts so far at 315/205lbs. This WOD is no joke and most people will have to scale the deadlifts down so they can hit the 21 reps.
Austin Malleolo got a mind-bending 3:19 in this even at the 2015 regionals and Elisabeth Akinwale got an absolutely insane 2:45! I could get double those times and be very happy.
#9 Dennis O’Berg
EMOM for 14 minutes
Odd Minutes:
15 Kettlebell Swings (24/16 kg)
Even Minutes:
10 Deadlifts (275/205 lb)
This one is pretty self-explanatory. The deadlifts will likely be to heavy for some people, scale down as necessary.
This is another hero WOD named after former NFL player Pat Tillman who left the NFL to join the army and was killed by friendly fire in Afganistan.
This bad boy has some pretty heavy deadlifts, you may need to scale the weight back on those but there is no shame in that. One nice thing about this workout is it has a 45 second rest period after each round. It feels more like 10 seconds but at least there is some rest involved.
#11 McGhee
30-minute AMRAP
275-pound Deadlift, 5 reps
13 Push-ups
9 Box jumps, 24-inch box
This workout is easily one of the most difficult in all of CrossFit. The deadlifts aren’t as heavy as in some of the other workouts on this list but the fact that you are doing pretty heavy deadlifts push-ups and box jumps for a half an hour is pretty crazy.
#12 Zimmerman
25 minute AMRAP
11 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
2 Deadlifts (315/205 pounds)
10 Handstand push-ups
We move on to Zimmerman now and things don’t get any easier. There are fewer deadlift repetitions with this workout but the deadlifts are heavy at 315/205 pounds, not to mention the fact that that it’s 25 minutes long. This workout should totally fry your entire upper body, good luck.
#13 Diane
21-15-9 Reps for time
Deadlifts (225/155 lb)
Handstand Push-Ups
Hard to believe it took us this long to reach one of “the girls”. This workout is more of a sprint, much like Fran. Elite CrossFit athletes can finish this in under 4 minutes, most people fall in the 6-9 minute range though.
#14 Sham
7 rounds for time
11 Deadlifts – load the bar with your bodyweight
100-meter Sprint
Back to the hero WODs. This one doesn’t look like much but deadlifting right after you are done sprinting is not easy and vice versa.
#15 Gary Geidel
10-minute AMRAP
5 Deadlifts (315/225 lb)
10 Bar Over Burpees
15 Box Jumps (24/20 in)
We round out the list of brutal CrossFit deadlift workouts with another hero WOD. This workout gives you heavy deadlifts and cardio. If you aren’t in decent cardiovascular shape this one will be extra brutal and you will be thanking your lucky stars that it is only 10 minutes long.
Crossfit Deadlift Workouts Wrap Up
We have given you 15 deadlift workouts to choose from. Hopefully at least one of them looks like something you would like to attempt. Many of these workouts include other exercises which is common with CrossFit workouts. We do have some that are nothing but deadlifts though, whatever you are looking for you will likely find it here.
If you try some of these workouts and let us know how they went in the comment section below. They won’t be easy but if you like a good challenge you should like these workouts.
Ryan is a former college wrestler and lifelong fitness fanatic. He has run half marathons, done mud runs, placed in body transformation contests, coached wrestling, and now coaches girls’ soccer. Not to mention he has also tried literally hundreds of supplements over the years and has a vast and thorough supplement knowledge. He has written for Muscle & Strength, Testosterone Junkie, The Sport Review and other publications. He is also the editor-in-chief of this website and has over 25 years of experience in the fitness industry. Feel free to connect with him on his LinkedIn page below.
