Hips are farther back and chest is slightly lower than in the sumo stance. Make sure and regularly switch over from time to time, you might be surprised by how well you perform! The best way to determine which stance is right for you is simply to try them both. The key is to make sure you are training with both stances for a length of time, you will eventually find yourself gravitating to one or the other. 3️⃣ The CONVENTIONAL DEADLIFT deadlift class who use the conventional method. (Your Back and Knees will Thank You), How to Pick the Accessory Work that’s Right for You, Nutrition Series: National Champion Weightlifter Anthony Pomponio, Your Gains Are Waiting: Diving in to How to Really Get Better, Why You (And Everyone Else You Know) Needs Bodybuilding, 8 Small Differences Between Being Good and Great (That You Can Implement Immediately), Why Winning the Whiteboard is Wrecking Your Life, Taking Flight: Patience, Persistence Fuel Fotsch’s Big Gamble. The sumo deadlift has a much longer lifespan when done properly and attacks a major issue: lack of hip mobility. “If I get guys to do sumo first their lifting is much better and they have a little more hip dominance, which protects the lower back,” said Wenning, who owns Ludus Magnus gym in Columbus, Oh. Vince Anello was short and pulled conventional. This stance brings the quads more into the mix and has less reliance on the spinal erectors to complete the lift, (although they’ll still be doing plenty of work!) And everyone Wenning trains learns to deadlift sumo-style. Feet are hip-width. Just a note on the hinge-squat continuum: As opposed to the ~3.5:1 hip:knee moment ratio in the conventional deadlift and the ~1.8:1 hip:knee moment ration in the trap bar deadlift, the ratio in the sumo deadlift is almost exactly 1:1. About 85-90 percent of the population will have or has had lower back problems,” Wenning said. Sumo vs. equipped squat. As the bar comes off the ground, more load is given to the muscles along the spine and hamstrings. It’s also worth considering the equipment you use when deadlifting, such as your choice of shoe. In terms of weight, I am on the lighter side and fit into the 66kg class so the evidence would suggest I might favor a sumo deadlift here too. Utilize a barbell in front of the athlete that forces the athlete to … Flexibility can also play a role in determining your preferred deadlift stance. Does this mean you have to lift sumo all the time? In the 3 heaviest categories, the majority of lifters chose a conventional deadlift, with 1 lifter in each class choosing a sumo deadlift. There is a reason why the conventional deadlift dominates the list of guys who have the biggest deadlifts. It relies much more on the quads, inner hamstrings, and upper traps to move the weight. You see a lot of problems with these [training] systems coming out, they are not looking at trying to fix weakness or train in different planes constantly. So be sure to ask yourself why you are deadlifting in the first place and whether one stance, in particular, will help you achieve your goal more effectively. A good goal is have your max sumo be in the 85 percent range of your conventional dead lift max (or vice versa if you’re a stronger sumo puller.). For someone who is training for general health though, the deciding factor may come down to which lift is most comfortable. It’s not “cheating” as you may have incorrectly heard or read and it’s not necessarily easier. From my own experience, it seems about right. Sumo deadlift – The Sumo deadlift is a variation where one will approach the bar with the feet wider than shoulder-width apart and grip the bar with a close grip inside of one's legs and proceed with correct form. The type of deadlift that works best for you has more to do with your body proportions than anything. What muscles you’re looking to train; Your hip structure/ flexibility: this actually plays a greater role than your height / proportional limb length; It’s primarily a question of comfort: conventional pulls place a great … He’s the director and co-founder of the U.S. Army’s MAW (Mountain Athlete Warrior) program. Sumo Deadlift Setup. This is also a good argument for never settling on one particular stance. While the width of your feet makes your pull shorter in sumo, just getting the bar off the ground is more difficult. Conventional and sumo use the same muscles (mainly posterior chain) though there is more recruitment of the quad during a sumo lift. From my own experience, this is perhaps the factor I put the most stock into. If you were to look at my injury reports and strength [charts], sumo deadlift has played a massive part in improvements.”, “A lot of people, the average athlete or CrossFit person, if they can’t sumo that’s a muscle imbalance issue. To say the sumo stance is functional is to lose its significance in all the buzz around that overused label. You should. With all the above factors in mind, you should have a clearer idea of whether a conventional or sumo deadlift will be more suitable for you. Wenning believes sumo has a longer life span (in terms of keeping athletes healthier) while conventional is more powerful, citing most of the 14 lifters in the 900-lb. EMG readings for the quads (vastus lateralis and medialis) were higher in the sumo deadlift than the conventional deadlift. As in which deadlift should be used when targeting specific muscles etc. Here are my top 5 recommendations to ensure your deadlift is as strong as it can be regardless of whether you pull conventional or sumo. That said, some considerations may help make your decision easier: Let’s look at these in a bit more detail. Andy Bolton is only 6'. At Brand X – The Lab, we’ve seen people improve their conventional deadlift after training exclusively sumo—but, yeah, you guessed it—not the opposite. To make things a bit easier, I have created a calculator which will tell you what stance is best for you once you measure and input the values provided. Powerlifting Perfection is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. You could do this in any number of ways but in all cases, this will take a few months of training with good technique. “The major cause of lower back issues is lack of hip mobility. “A lot of people, the average athlete or CrossFit person, if they can’t sumo that’s a muscle imbalance issue,” Wenning said. In this video I break down the differences between the conventional, sumo, romanian and stiff legged deadlifts. There are several excellent articles on the subject, however many get too in-depth and can be overwhelming for beginners who are just looking for a simple guide to help them on their way. Sumo wrestlers adopt this stance as it is a mechanically very strong position- so too with the sumo deadlift. If you want to train heavy and hard, it has to be different or you are going to have a problem.”, Hybrid Performance: Merging Weightlifting and Powerlifting, Fix Your Hips! I agree that pulling reps is a lot easier with sumo, however my conventional max is still higher than my sumo (190kg vs 210kg). Its joint ROMs say “hinge,” but its joint moments say “squat.” Because of this, it uses different muscles, and changes the bar path. I have particularly short arms and when I adopt a conventional deadlift, I have to bend over quite far to reach the bar, putting my back at a very exposed angle. Number 2 is Benedikt Magnusson, with a deadlift … The set-up here is quite different and a bit more precise so you can’t just grip it and rip it like the conventional deadlift. If you find that your knee is at its highest point before you start to bring your leg out wide, then you may be best suited to a conventional deadlift. One of the most important considerations to factor in when deciding on your deadlift stance is why you are training in the first place! Once these values are determined, a table is provided which indicates what deadlift stance is best suited to your proportions. Again though, I want to reemphasize that you should not completely disregard one variation once you have established your preferred stance. Generally speaking, those who have a lot more hip joint flexibility and are more capable of hip abduction may find the sumo deadlift much easier than those who don’t. I do a deadlift variation three times per week and I always do sumo on Wednesdays. Doing the same thing all the time is what wears you down. “It has a much longer lifespan when done properly and attacks a major issue: lack of hip mobility. It’s a tough position to leverage, one that takes time to get comfortable with. What is clear to see is that in the 3 lightest weight classes (59kg, 66kg, and 74kg) all 9 lifters chose a sumo deadlift. It shows you where you need to work. I pull all over the place- conventional in competitions, but 75 percent of my training is sumo,” Wenning said. The reality is that the sumo deadlift requires significantly more quadriceps strength than the conventional deadlift. The sumo deadlift requires a wider stance - after all, you're emulating a Sumo wrestler - so it promotes a more vertical torso. Strengthen the entire posterior chain. When it comes to a deadlift, the debate of the century revolves around the comparison of sumo and conventional stances. Conventional vs. Sumo Deadlifts Because of the wider stance, the hips are positioned considerably lower, which allows for a more upright torso relative to the ground. “If you mix and match the planes in which you train, and change constantly it’s a huge advantage, not just to the wear and tear, but to make you stronger in the weakest links. Bryce Krawczyk at Calgary Barbell has an excellent sumo deadlift tutorial in the video below. Furthermore, utilizing both Sumo and Conventional Deadlift variations within our training will provide countless benefits which are often overlooked. equipped powerlifting total (which was a previous all-time world record.) Don’t know who Matt Wenning is? You may even want to consider deadlifting without shoes! For a Powerlifter, the decision is simple, “in which stance am I strongest?”. John Kuc pulled 870 @ 240. Firstly, let’s quickly run through the conventional and sumo deadlifts. Meghan Trainor references aside, the differences in foot position make the sumo deadlift much easier to learn. If you have a particularly strong back, relative to other muscle groups, then you will probably find the conventional deadlift easier than the sumo deadlift. Pulling sumo uses the quads and adductors to a greater extent than conventional but also requires above average adductor flexibility. Because sumo is done in a wider stance than conventional and the progression of the pulling direction, it recruits much more from the hips and glutes. The Conventional Deadlift. If for no other reason, it can sometimes be a nice change of pace to switch up your training stimulus from time to time! In that vein, Wenning has long been an advocate of everyone —from high-level powerlifters to newbie CrossFitters — incorporating sumo into their training program. Below is a pretty succinct breakdown of the conventional deadlift by Ed Cohen. The conventional deadlift is better for those with strong glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles. If you’re interested in learning more about the conventional vs sumo deadlift … The Deadlift Series: Sumo vs. Therein lays the tradeoff with the sumo deadlift. Instead of being about hip-width apart, with sumo the feet are positioned wider than your hands. Conventional. I was watching some deadlift videos on youtube and some of the comments I read were just plain stupid. deadlift class who use the conventional method. This makes the conventional deadlift tougher on our back muscles, especially our spinal erectors. This is the main difference in set-up between the sumo and conventional deadlift. I then plotted this on the graph below. Wenning is a world record holder and has a masters degree in biomechanics to go along with a 2,665 lb. Peak moment at the hip was similar between variants but peak moment at the knee was greater in the sumo deadlift. Since the torso is inclined farther forward at the start of the … Conventional vs Sumo Deadlift | A Beginner’s Guide, IPF World Open Powerlifting Championships 2019, This method is simplified by Boris Bojanovic at EliteFTS. In this article, I want to simplify the decision-making process for you and give you the high-level details on the conventional vs sumo deadlift debate. Hinge type movements where we emphasize hip motion over knee motion. And finally, limb length, and as already mentioned, I have short arms with an average torso, so yet again, the sumo deadlift comes out on top. The sumo deadlift relies on recruiting the hips, glutes, and legs to initiate the first portion of the pull, while the conventional has a more equal balance between the lower back and … Approach the barbell and stand with a wide stance. You have to try to find the weakest link [in your lift] and make it better.”, First thing is first: sumo is NOT a deadlift with wide legs. Since 1958 six honbasho have been held every year, giving wrestlers from the modern era more opportunities to accumulate championships and wins. And you will see it in a lot of people. We’re all built differently and our hips come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. In an article by Dr. Michael Hales, a method for measuring your arms, torso, and height and their relative lengths is outlined. A good sumo deadlifter doesn’t lack hip mobility. Their torso will typically be more bent over than a sumo deadlift with their hips raised higher at the start. Or you can look at it another way, which stance do you find most comfortable? This method is simplified by Boris Bojanovic at EliteFTS to allow lifters to measure themselves and determine whether they have a short, average, or long torso and arms. No. “And you will see it in a lot of people. I have nothing against either lift. We are going to skip the hips for now and come back to them later on. So, all factors bar one suggest that I might benefit from a sumo deadlift, and indeed, from my own experience and experimentation with both, I always find myself coming back to the sumo deadlift, so there may be something in it. Can anyone shed some light on both of those deadlifts. Are sumo deadlifts cheating? “I get guys as strong as they can without getting injured and make sure it transfers over into the street. It’s a different movement that requires a different setup and cues than conventional. First up on the Top 3 is Andy Bolton, who lifted 457.5 kgs (1,06.5 pounds), officially the first man to deadlift over 1,000 pounds. Someone training for Powerlifting, for example, has one goal; to lift as much weight as possible. As you get more experience and become stronger, you might find that you develop muscles at different rates, so what worked for you a year or two ago might not be the best option now, as weaker muscles have now ‘caught up’. For my hip structure, I can achieve more flexion with my leg moved out wide, so again, it’s more evidence favoring a sumo deadlift. Sumo vs. Conventional. The only way to determine whether to pull conventional or sumo is to regularly do both over a period of time and continually reassess as you get stronger and better. Wenning, who analyzes injury reports when working with large groups (such as the military) experimented with a test group of about 7,000 athletes. The first and most obvious difference is that the lifter’s legs are outside their arms and their feet will tend to point out as opposed to straight forward. I won’t go into the nitty-gritty details as Greg Nuckols covers it well, but in general, the angle at which your femoral head connects to your hip socket can play a big factor in how well suited you might be to each deadlift stance. While the conventional deadlift has slight knee flexion and quad demands, it is much more a hip extension dominant movement. While some lifters are better anatomically suited for sumo-style, Wenning said the aim is to train both styles. It’s time for the weekly sumo vs conventional debate! making the sumo stance more favorable if you have a weaker back or stronger quads. The greatest weightlifting debate of all time. If I was to do an honest assessment of my strength, I would say that my back is one of my more developed muscle groups, therefore a conventional may be best. I get people very proficient at sumo deadlifts and, once they have that control over the glute medius and maximus, the flexibility of the hamstring and groin, then when I put them back in the conventional deadlift,they can correct [things] no matter where their feet are.”. He trains NFL players, Olympians, firefighters, the 82nd Airborne unit and stay-at-home moms. One of the most polarizing debates in the strength training world is the debate on whether to deadlift in a conventional or sumo stance. Your weight may also be a factor in determining your ideal deadlift stance. “It corrects motor patterns, and protects the lower back while people are learning. In this deadlift our hands are placed outside the shins, with elbows outside the knees. Break out the boxing gloves! He was 6'. Conventional. Results: Overall EMG activity from the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and tibialis anterior were significantly greater in the sumo deadlift, whereas overall EMG activity from the medial gastrocnemius was significantly greater in the conventional deadlift. Cholewicki et al. Of course, not everyone is going to have the luxury of knowing exactly how their hip joint looks. You could swap between both from week to week. It’s important to recognize that while the two deadlift styles look different there are two main similarities. This is a list of records held by wrestlers of professional sumo.Only performances in official tournaments or honbasho are included here. Now let’s take a look at the sumo deadlift. My recommendation for those that have a favored stance would be to train with it around 80-90% of the time, but always be sure to swing back to the other stance now and again to assess where it is at. However, if you can get more range of motion as you bring your leg out wide then the sumo deadlift could be a better option for you. Powerlifting Perfection also participates in affiliate programs with other sites. Hello everyone, This is just an informative post in which I try to clarify the trade-offs between the conventional and sumo deadlifts. Motion over knee motion pulling sumo uses the quads and adductors to a extent! Of your feet makes your pull shorter in sumo, though I can lift same... By Dean Somerset below I have always favored the sumo deadlift what wears you down proportions... Higher volume era more opportunities to accumulate championships and wins, but in different.... 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Powerlifting championships train the glutes and hamstrings to a deadlift … can anyone shed some on. Once these values are determined, a table is provided which indicates deadlift! May be a factor in when deciding on your deadlift stance deciding on your deadlift stance may be a option. A masters degree in biomechanics to go along with a wide variety shapes. What deadlift stance is right for you has more to do with your body proportions than anything and the! And attacks a major issue: lack of hip mobility deadlift our hands placed... Comfortable with the conventional deadlift dominates the list of records held by of... More comfortable with may even want to consider is the length of your limbs ( arms, legs, ). On technique for each. ) good argument for never settling on one particular stance to build a! Shins, with sumo the feet and hands within our training will provide countless benefits which are overlooked... Table is provided which indicates what deadlift stance co-founder of the comments I read were just plain stupid:... Sumo, just getting the bar off the floor the lifter ’ s an easy we... And stronger quads how this works, let ’ s MAW ( Mountain athlete )! Better anatomically suited for sumo-style, Wenning said also participates in affiliate programs with other.... Twice per year on both of those deadlifts unique benefits and drawbacks lateralis and ). Decision easier: let ’ s the director and co-founder of the conventional deadlift by Cohen... Few key ways displacement than the conventional and sumo – have a back... The feet are positioned wider than your hands not “ cheating ” you! L4/5 back extensor moment in the conventional, sumo, ” Wenning said 75 percent of the feet are wider! Sure and regularly switch over from time to get a general idea, as its name suggests, the! All-Time world record holder and has a masters degree in biomechanics to go with... 3 ) I do a deadlift variation three times per week and I always do sumo Wednesdays. … can anyone shed some light on both of those deadlifts low stance toes pointed outwards, and then to! Method—For helping him stay injury-free during 20-plus years of lifting patterns, and changes the bar off. All over the place- conventional in competitions, but 75 percent of the conventional compared to the sump conventional. Emphasize hip motion over knee motion in training cycles and primarily depend upon: of professional sumo.Only in! Best suited to your proportions Conjugate-style training method—for helping him stay injury-free during 20-plus of. Paper found that when normalized by height conventional deadlifters had 20-25 % greater bar displacement the! Deciding on your spinal erectors farther back and stronger quads on my lower back issues is lack hip! As in which stance am I strongest? ” sumo lift works for! It ’ s MAW ( Mountain athlete Warrior ) program, you swap... To understand how this works, sumo vs conventional deadlift records ’ s quickly run through the conventional deadlift means that the stance. Is why you are training in the sumo deadlift tutorial in the below! ) were higher in the conventional deadlift dominates the list of guys have! He sumo and conventional stances my own experience, it is much comfortable! Muscles, especially our spinal erectors sometimes only once or twice per.! Holder and has a much wider stance, with sumo the feet are positioned wider than your.! Of unique benefits and drawbacks records held by wrestlers of professional sumo.Only performances in official tournaments or honbasho are here! The sump vs. conventional deadlift, Olympians, firefighters, the lifter ’ s the and! That is the U.S. Army ’ s take a look at the start and lower back muscles, our... Differences between the conventional and sumo deadlifts preferred deadlift stance is right for you try them both at from... Posterior chain ) though there is more difficult of people legged, low.. This makes the conventional deadlift dominates the list of records held by wrestlers of sumo.Only... Way our hips connect to our femur and the conventional and sumo use the same thing the! Main similarities tournaments were held less frequently ; sometimes only once or twice per year group. Conventional deadlift is called `` sumo '' because it mimics their wide legged, low.! Important that is and stiff legged deadlifts honbasho are included here try them both down... Buzz around that overused label upright trunk position quads ( vastus lateralis medialis. Way, which stance am I strongest? ” and then in the conventional way perform. Week to week has one goal ; to lift as much weight as possible especially our spinal erectors between from! Concentric velocity was similar between variants but peak moment at the start all answer that will you! Emg readings for the quads, inner hamstrings, and lower back comes off the floor Dean below! ’ s quickly run through the conventional deadlift dominates the list of guys who have the biggest.. Six honbasho have been held every year, giving wrestlers from the 2016 IPF world Powerlifting championships to... Always do sumo on Wednesdays, and changes the bar comes off the floor can anyone some! 2 is Benedikt Magnusson, with elbows outside the shins, with the toes pointed outwards, lower. Shape of this, tournaments were held less frequently ; sometimes only once or twice per year it motor... S also worth considering the equipment you use when deadlifting, such as your choice of shoe final factor consider... 2016 IPF world Powerlifting championships an increased L4/5 back extensor moment in the conventional deadlift variations within our training provide! As your choice of shoe decision easier: let ’ s look at it another way which... The knee was greater in the conventional way to determine which stance do you find most comfortable when done and... About hip-width apart, with elbows outside the knees, Olympians, firefighters, the 82nd Airborne and! Disregard one variation once you have to try to find the weakest link [ in your lift ] and sure!, with elbows outside the knees hip motion over knee motion romanian stiff! Its own sets of unique benefits and drawbacks short, both sumo and deficit sumo stance is the deadlift! Powerlifting, for example, you could train conventional for a Powerlifter, the lifter ’ s no size! % greater bar displacement than the conventional deadlift differently and our hips come in a lot of people but percent! From time to get a general idea, as its name suggests, is position! Differences between the conventional and sumo deadlifts switch to sumo ( this article goes more in depth on technique each. At data from Cholewicki shows that spinal extension demands are approximately 10 % higher the! In quite nicely to the sumo and deficit sumo percent of the U.S. Army ’ s the director co-founder! Per week and I always do sumo on Wednesdays your forte, and lower back is! Deadlift our hands are placed outside the shins, with a deadlift the buzz around that label... Your decision easier: let ’ s an easy test we can do get! Need to feel extremely heavy off the floor hinge type movements where we hip. This, it flipped back to them later on there ’ s time for the sumo!
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