I guess I might just switch to sumo. Many will argue that the sumo deadlift is “cheating” because it has a shorter range of motion (ROM). Because of the strength curve reversal, the more extreme joint angles, and the smaller base of support in the front-to-back plane, sumo has a smaller "groove" to get an efficient pull. It's not really about height, more so femur and arm length. This allows you to train the movement more often. As a very tall teenager, sumo deadlifts really help me. Alternating every training cycle. If you have long arms, conventional is good for you, if you have a long torso, sumo. I like sumo because it actually hits my trouble spots more (the glutes and hip flexors) and consequently, my hips, back, and glutes usually feel good (even better than normal) the day after sumo. http://www.elitefts.com/education/training/choosing-conventional-or-sumo-based-on-your-bone-structure, Check out this article, gives some good info. The overall upper back, hamstrings and glute activation is quite similar between the 3 variations. Just keep your back as straight as possible and use supports if needed, like sitting on a small bench or grabbing a pole, if you feel unconfortable in that position. This means the posterior chain muscles of the hamstring, glutes, and lower back are going to be stressed more in a conventional deadlift than in a sumo deadlift.. Because of the wider stance, the hips are positioned considerably lower, which allows for a more upright torso relative to the ground. What about long arms, legs and a short torso? There are three main types of deadlift – conventional deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, and trap bar deadlifts. Anecdotally it seems that more women prefer sumo. Nothing helps speed a deadlift off the floor … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eba7mJgb2q0. Conventional pullers looking to add more pulling volume may benefit from adding a sumo day, without putting themselves into a recovery deficit. But, since sumo and trap bar deadlifts are more squat-like than the conventional deadlift… I recently switched after years and years of training conventional. 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. Obviously, I do mobility stuff too and I added in romanians to hit my hamstrings more. Honestly, if you can just clean the bar and do front squats. At first glance it appears reasonable, after all, since the sumo deadlift … I still do some sets conventional/snatch grip/stiff-legged for variety, but my heavy work is all sumo. I personally feel much more comfortable with the sumo, though I can lift the same amount of weight with the conventional. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. Works for me because I have an abnormally long torso (sitting down I'm about as tall as most guys around 6'2", 6'3" or so) but short arms. While both variations emphasize the back side, the traditional deadlift typically sends the lifter into a more bent over posture since the feet are closer together. The sport definitely matters, but I'd argue most (sports) will opt for the clean over the deadlift. if you do one or the other you wont see a … I'm very much struggling with what I feel like "should" be the right form for me vs… I feel so much more comfortable on the sumo. But as a more serious reply: which stance works better for you depends on your body's proportions. Beyond the obvious "do whatever feels better and lets you move more weight," there are some notable differences. The sumo deadlift is cheating, this phrase is commonly thrown around in various powerlifting circles.The controversy often centers around the differences in range of motion between the sumo … However I'm 6'2 and conventional feels natural for me. In the sumo deadlift, there are two primary actions occurring: hip extension and knee extension. More so due to back pain, but as I learned more it seemed my proportions just required my hips to start higher than I'd like, which seemed to put a lot of strain on my lower back and from previous lower back sports injuries it's taken its toll. Sumo is a more a technical lift … I've noticed that deadlifting in a sumo stance is less taxing on my body than doing a conventional. … Have been pulling conventional for a year plus. The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activity between sumo and conventional style deadlifts, and between belt and no-belt conditions. I can pull more convetional, but it disagreed with my constantly tight hip flexors and glutes, which caused minor, but annoying back pain. By doing so the lifter is moved closer to the ground. It may also feel easier for some lifters. Or is it for some other reason? Conventional vs. Sumo Deadlift % of 1RM Difference. Perhaps I'll get more conventional work if my lower back ever "heals" or gets stronger, but for now sumo has been great. This led to all sorts of issues with rounding my lower back at heavier weights. … I'm 5'10" and pull sumo. This is perceived as being more technically demanding. It's not so much about height as it is about your proportions. Traditional vs. Sumo. The conventional deadlift versus the sumo deadlift is one of the great debates in the strength sports. I can pull more weight more comfortably sumo. For that reason, the sumo deadlift … Hope that helps. So I will just go ahead and recommend doing the thing you are comfortable with or both. Did sumo once, and felt so much tighter and easier on my lower back. This version of the deadlift is called "sumo" because it mimics the position a sumo wrestler assumes before a bout. The sumo deadlift is immensely technical, but at the same time there's a ton of variation in how people pull based off of body structure. I'm 5'6 and I prefer sumo over conventional, it's all about body proportions, Most people already said something about Sumo being better for tall people (probably, I wouldn't know, I am 5'6). Sumo deadlifts activate the quads more so your lower back doesn't get quite the same workload as with standard dead form. Conventional has the obvious benefit of being useful in Strongman and CrossFit. I used to deadlift in a conventional stance, then made … Another … Thanks. What have you done to bring up a lagging Sumo Deadlift? As a result, conventional pullers tend to benefit more from accommodating resistance like bands and chains, since the weaker part of the motion will be loaded more heavily. /u/n-Suns is this why sumo deadlift is listed instead of standard deadlift when it's the secondary lift on squat days in your program? Sumo has the less obvious benefit of letting you train a deadlift without fucking up your snatch pull or clean pull. The sumo deadlift can decrease vertical bar distance by as much as 10 percent. Standard Deadlift vs Sumo Deadlift. While the conventional deadlift has slight knee flexion and quad demands, it is much more a hip extension dominant movement. Athough that's less dependant on height and more on proportions. Cookies help us deliver our Services. My advice to anyone is do both, since they train different parts of the body, and its great to keep the body guessing. I'd say im average height (5'8) and ever since i switched over to sumo i've been able to pull alot more. My back cannot keep straight on regular deadlifts, but is good on sumo. For me, that's Sumo as well (6'5, not very long arms). Sumo places a slightly higher demand on the glutes, adductors and quads, or rather, places slightly less demand on the hamstrings and spinal erectors. This can be useful for working around back strain, or just for a different stimulus. Hip angles for optimal deadlift start position. Ideally, do both. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eba7mJgb2q0. Both hamstring/glute/back are negligable. Switched to sumo, didn't have that problem anymore. For me, that's … Can anyone shed some light on both of those deadlifts. Thats what I was thinking about doing in my workout. Methods: Six cameras collected 60-Hz video data and 960-Hz electromyographic data from 13 collegiate football players who performed sumo and conventional deadlifts … Just so happens that the two are commonly related to height. http://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/2012/12/03/muscle-activation-in-deadlifts/, That's not quite what the article says, especially on regards to glute/lower back, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Discussion of physical fitness/exercise goals and how they can be achieved, Press J to jump to the feed. I've clearly spent way too much time justifying my stance choice to conventional zealots before. Choosing between the two depends on your training … The main difference between the sumo and the conventional deadlift is the position of the feet and hands… Conversely, switching to conventional for a while can help sumo pullers come back from hip strain. You can always throw that in there. It’s important to recognize that while the two deadlift styles look different there are two main similarities. Never stretched and now I pay the pricefuck this, This is a nice hip mobility warm up routine. Anecdotally, sumo is easier to recover from and causes less systemic fatigue. Is there any benefit to doing one over the other? Picking up an oversized furniture box is damn near impossible from a conventional stance, but trivial from a sumo stance. The sumo deadlift engages the quads and glutes to a greater extent than standard deadlifts. The sumo deadlift uses an exaggerated wide stance. As in which deadlift should be used when targeting specific muscles etc. Such as different muscle groups worked? So wheres the turning point? The angle on the left will … Knowing the … Sumo is hard at the floor, easier to lock out. #PlanetFitnessRulez, Bold font, you set off the font lunk alarm. If you feel comfortable with each style keep using both of them. All three involve lifting a weight from the floor but use different techniques or equipment. “Conventional deadlifts work the back harder, but sumo deadlifts work the hips harder.” This line of thinking is ubiquitous in the powerlifting community. … I still do some conventional sets, and I do cleans regularly so I get some training from a conventional stance. I'm just a random dude on the internet, not the deadlift police, I'm just a random dude on the internet, not the deadlift police, That's definitely what a member of the deadlift police would say though. Many powerlifters only pull Sumo (Dan Green pulls Sumo pretty often) and they do awesome pulls with it (if you were worried about that). Just comes down to force output (clean) vs raw power (deads). Mostly because my lower back gets enough of a workout from other compound lifts because I have leg day 4x a week. Sumo is allowed in powerlifting, so I mean you could mention that sport aswell... Only reason I don't do sumo is because even narrow sumo hurts my hips :'(, As long as you are doing it on the Smith machine then it doesn't matter which one you use. I find the sumo to be easier on my back. If you've ever watched a powerlifting competition, you may also wonder why some guys use a conventional deadlift style and others use the sumo-style deadlift… To understand how this works, let’s take a look at data from the 2016 IPF World Powerlifting Championships. The sumo deadlift has a high specificity to powerlifting if and only if the lifter uses the sumo style deadlift during competition. Sumo deadlifting requires more hip and glute strength and conventional deadlifting requires more hamstring and lower back strength. It IS true that sumo deadlifts allow for a shorter range of motion. So, let’s talk more about this deadlift variation many people are … Which kind of confuses me because my squat is pretty bad and my back is un-proportionately stronger than my legs. I'd agree with everything you wrote, good post! OUR NEW PROGRAM: https://kizentraining.com/p/squatspecializationToday we're talking about the sumo vs conventional deadlift. The main point to understand is that the angle of how your femur connects to your pelvis can differ drastically between individuals. Both will require a degree of leg (quad) upper back … Other way around - most of current DL records are held by 6'0"+ lifters who pull standard way. In addition to leverages, it also depends on hip structure. Learning sumo was hard at first but once i learned to open my hips up more and flex my glutes at the top its been gravy from there. Sumo uses alot more legs while conventional is more back to me. I do think everyone should try both and just see what feels more natural. Given that you're a beginner and failing at lockout on sumo which should be easier you are either starting in a bad position to begin with or are losing position through the lift. As a deadlift exercise, the sumo deadlift requires a significant amount of hip extension.