The deadlift is one of the best exercises for building muscle, strength, and all around athleticism. As the name implies, a sumo deadlift employs a wide, sumo-wrestler-like stance over the barbell, in contrast to the narrower stance used in the conventional deadlift. It IS true that sumo deadlifts allow for a shorter range of motion. Biomechanical differences between sumo and conventional deadlifts result from technique variations between these exercises. Instead of thinking about them as being mutually exclusive, consider how you can use both of them to strengthen one another! I don’t ever want a lifter to pull sumo because they are taking a shortcut to lifting more weight. Instead of being about hip-width apart, with sumo the feet are positioned wider than your hands. And by this I'm talking primarily about lever lengths--ie: femur to torso ratio, arm length, shin length, etc. Sumo vs. #deadlift. Deadlift Tip #1: Externally rotate the hips. The main difference between the sumo and the conventional deadlift is the position of the feet and hands. Conventional Deadlift: What’s the Difference? Join the BarBend Newsletter for workouts, diets, breaking news and more. What a newer lifter may struggle with is pointing out the differences between targeted muscles and force transfer. The Sumo Deadlift. This list can go on and expand as form gets broken down even more, but these are the major cues to keep in mind when starting. In reality, a strength athlete can benefit from – and in most cases – should utilize both styles of deadlift. As a result, my sumo is about 75% of what my conventional deadlift is. Jake Boly: Do you have any methods or coaching techniques that you employ to test an athlete that you think may be suspect of that specific scenario? Because of the wider stance, the hips are positioned considerably lower, which allows for a more upright torso relative to the ground. Sumo deadlifting requires more hip and glute strength and conventional deadlifting requires more hamstring and lower back strength. This above statement is such a loaded question. First, the vastus medialis and lateralis (outer/inner quad muscles) are higher in the sumo pull, which makes sense as this pull incorporates more legs and a slightly more forward lean. John Gaglione: When switching stances or trying a new it is best to start with lighter weight and higher reps off blocks or mats and work your way down to the floor in order to build strength while ingraining proper position. A video posted by John Gaglione (@gaglionestrength) on Jan 20, 2017 at 4:49am PST. John Gaglione: I let my athletes experiment and decide what feels comfortable to them. Because of the wider stance, the hips are positioned considerably lower, which allows for a more upright torso relative to the ground. To answer all of those questions, we need one thing: Context. The conventional deadlift works your back muscles much more than the sumo does, and it’s recommended for people with knee problems. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. Sumo is just as hard as conventional. ; Why: The sumo deadlift is a … /s. Why: A torso that ‘s positioned close to the bar and in an upright position will be the most mechanically advantageous for a majority of athletes. Another cool EMG observation this study made was the difference in muscles firing when wearing a belt and not. If there is excessive lateral movement as the bar travel up the body you will never be as efficient and by able to truly express your strength to the fullest on the platform. 1 rep was just a sumo PR, 2 reps was an all time PR sumo OR conventional, and 3 reps just topped it off. Videotapes of 19 conventional and 10 Sumo contestants at two regional New Zealand powerlifting championships were analyzed. The Sumo and Conventional Deadlift are both excellent ways to build strength.Considering that you will be able to lift more weight with the deadlift (in either form) that any other barbell movement, it stands to reason that this needs to be an essential part of your training regimen. 585 Ib x 3 (265 kg) Sumo Deadlift all time PR. The sumo versus conventional deadlift is a hot topic across all lifting populations. Should you train both? At worst, it’s just crappy technique and there is not much to learn from it. Athletes may choose to employ either the sumo or conventional deadlift style, depending on which muscles are considered most important according to their training protocols. Researchers used electromyography (EMG) ratings to record muscle fire rate and tracked 16 different muscle sites. BarBend is an independent website. If you are a competitive powerlifter you goal is to lift the most amount of weight possible. Knowing the difference between these three exercises means you’ll be able to choose the best one for your body type and goals. In come kinematic differences and the rates at which our muscles fire. Should their strengths be equal? The angle on the left will be built for the conventional deadlift, while the angle on the right will be built for the sumo deadlift. To name a few: They Will Strengthen Our Weak Points. A video posted by John Gaglione (@gaglionestrength) on Feb 2, 2017 at 4:31am PST. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. Sumo vs Conventional Deadlift Kevin Oak’s Favorite Sumo Deadlift Tips. If you’re still having trouble deciding between lifts, then test both of them out, and use some of the tips referenced above to help decide. It’s modern man’s (& woman’s) way of fluffing their feathers and asserting dominance, grit, and innate ability to provide. If you can move cleaner in a particular pattern you will be able to train the lift with more intensity, volume and frequency which will allow for greater strength gains in the long run. Oak explains that flexing the quads helps him activate these muscles before physically setting and pulling. The purpose of this study was to document the differences in kinematics between the Sumo and conventional style deadlift techniques as performed by competitive powerlifters. If you’re ever wondering, “Should I wear a belt?” check out this article. When it comes to measures of power, force, and velocity, we also see some distinct differences between deadlift … Join the BarBend Newsletter for workouts, diets, breaking news and more. Yet, the answer changes when someone says, “Should I pull sumo or conventional?” Then the answer takes a weird form, which is comprised of multiple opinions and logics. Conventional or Sumo? It is allowed to be performed instead of conventional deadlifts in most powerlifting competitions. If you are a competitive powerlifter use the stance that is going to give you the highest total at the meet. Escamilla found (or at least validated – it’s pretty obvious to anyone who’s minimally observant) that a sumo deadlift has a ~20-25% shorter range of motion than a conventional deadlift. Russian Squat Bench Deadlift Program Spreadsheet Russian Squat Squat Routine Squats Sumo Deadlift Setup. I think that the lifter should lift with their competition lift at least 80% of the time since it is also a skill that they are developing. Break out the boxing gloves! My general theory is that when they try sumo, if their strength is within 90% of their conventional deadlift, there is a good chance it is going to be stronger or at least as strong if consistently trained. If you are looking to find the right deadlift variation for you, make sure to … I’ll go after the mental component and I’ll ask them why they think that sumo is that the way that they should pull. Each pull hits similar muscles throughout their full ranges of motion. This tip may not work for everyone, but if you naturally have a posterior tilt, then it’s worth a shot. The first question was…. The form differences between conventional and sumo deadlifts are pretty recognizable, and even the newest lifter can generally point out form differences between each deadlift. Conventional vs. Sumo Deadlifts. 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