Check out my article on whether you should squat and deadlift on the same workout. Another similarity between conventional and sumo deadlifting is the timing of the lock-out. Seated vs Standing Calf Raises, 11 Daily Habits That Highly Successful People Use. (2002), shows that the vastus medialis (inside of the quad), vastus lateralis (outside of the quad), and tibialis anterior (outside of calf) had greater muscular activation in the sumo deadlift. The research is still undecided about whether glutes are more active in one style over another. Choose the dominant style and see if it feels more comfortable to you. This is because the angle of your femur and hip is lower. However, without this article turning into a ‘how to deadlift’ guide, the key differences for the conventional vs sumo deadlift are the shoulder positions. Check out my other article on the Sumo Deadlift vs Back Squat. The pelvis, hip socket, and femur (upper leg bone) are going to differ on an individual basis. It’s important to recognize that the information we’re going to cover may have more to do with the proportions outlined previously, rather than the overall bodyweight of a person. Dr. Michael Hales, a strength and conditioning researcher, published an article that provided recommendations on the style of deadlift that may lead to greater potential for performance-based on individual proportions. Practically speaking, you’d also likely have greater glute activation in the conventional deadlift; however, it depends on where your hips are in the start position in relation to the barbell. The Sumo Deadlift is most visibly different from the Conventional Deadlift in that the lifter assumes a considerably wider stance. On this blog we share all the things we wish we knew when getting started. If you want to learn about whether you should squat or deadlift more, you can read my article on squat and deadlift ratios. Choose the dominant style and see if it feels more comfortable to you. The angles of your body in relation to the bar are going to be different for conventional versus sumo deadlifts. Then be sure to sign up to our newsletter to keep you updated on the latest news. Sumo deadlift = shoulders in line with the bar in the start position. Hey guys, I have this on-going battle in my mind about deadlifts. The reason why you’ll feel more or less comfortable in one style over another is largely determined by the structure of your hip. If after performing this test you find that you can get a decent amount of flexion by keeping your knee more in line with your shoulder, then you’re more likely suited for conventional deadlifting. Because of the change in angles between the conventional and sumo deadlift, there is going to be different stress placed on the knee and hip extensors to lift the weight. The more practical way is by conducting a specific exercise called the supine assessment, which I got from Dean Somerset: The idea is to move your femur through a range of motion and track the positions where the pelvis starts to roll without any further movement at the hip itself. As I said earlier, the primary way that you want to decide whether to choose conventional or sumo deadlifting is based on which style you feel the ‘most comfortable’. Typically speaking, the people who train both types of pulls tend to have very strong ones. Conventional deadlift = shoulders over the bar in the start position. I’ve found this to be extremely challenging psychologically, because I’ve had to tweak my lifting cycles and make significantly more biomechanical and programming … I always recommend training both though. If you fall on either end of the extreme, the lowest or heaviest bodyweight class, then the decision becomes rather clear. In the conventional deadlift, you will have approximately 5-10% more forward lean. Related Article: Jefferson Squat: How-To, Benefits, & Should You Do It? Sumo and conventional are two stance options for performing the deadlift for maximal strength and power. Conventional deadlift = shoulders over the bar in the start position. While training at Westside Barbell Louie consistently impressed upon … In the conventional deadlift, you will have approximately 5-10% more forward lean. If you’re wanting to improve your deadlift lockout you can read about my 10 tips. From my own experience, when an athlete walks through the door on their first day, I always get them to deadlift using the conventional stance. To build up tension, you’ll want to grab the bar in a strong grip, set your back by squeezing your lats, engage your glutes and hamstrings by actively pulling them into the start position, maintain a neutral head position, and drive your feet into the floor. These angles will determine the range of motion your hips can go through comfortably. The sumo vs conventional deadlift are actually very similar. In the image above, the angle on the left will be more naturally built for conventional, the angle in the middle may be suited for either conventional or sumo, and the angle on the right will be more naturally built for sumo. As such, you should train both conventional and sumo for a period of time to see if you have a personal preference. However, these recommendations should be taken in context with the other factors suggested in this article, since in actuality I can actually pull more weight using a conventional deadlift stance. As such, the loading demands for which muscles are used will change. The first table below lists various proportions and the lifting style recommendations by Dr Hales: As you can see, there is some overlap between the two different styles based on if you have average arm length combined with either short or long torsos. One quick note, if you decide to deadlift sumo, you’ll want to make sure you have the proper footwear. If the athlete’s hips rise faster than the bar, then this might mean they are weaker in the quads and stronger in the hip and back extensors. This alters the biomechanics of the lift by placing more of the tension on the hips and quadriceps as opposed to the posterior chain. In general lighter lifters (less than 63kg / 138lbs for women and 93kg / 204lbs for men) will deadlift in a sumo stance, and heavier lifters will deadlift in a conventional stance. This is in contrast to other deadlifting styles like the sumo deadlift or … It’s important to recognize that the information we’re going to cover may have more to do with the proportions outlined previously, rather than the overall bodyweight of a person. The Ultimate Sex Diet: How to Effortlessly Boost Libido, Circulation, & Testosterone, The 5 Best Posterior Chain Exercises For Strength & Stability, Grip Training: Build The Grip Strength Of A Gorilla, 5 Reasons Your Bench Press Sucks And How To Improve It, The 7 Muscle Building Basics for Beginners, Which Builds Bigger Calves? (2002), shows that the vastus medialis (inside of the quad), vastus lateralis (outside of the quad), and tibialis anterior (outside of calf) had greater muscular activation in the sumo deadlift. Kevin Oak’s Answer: Do Both!. Sumo deadlift = shoulders in line with the bar in the start position. When it comes to the sump vs. conventional deadlift, both exercises activate your muscles to the same degree, but in different ways. Sumo deadlift = shoulders in line with the bar in the start position. This data should be an easy reference point for you to decide which deadlifting style you should choose. Because of the change in angles between the conventional and sumo deadlift, there is going to be different stress placed on the knee and hip extensors to lift the weight. The main thing you need to understand is that there can be more or less of an angle for how your femur connects to the pelvis. As a result, my sumo is about 75% of what my conventional deadlift is. You may find yourself deciding to pick either conventional or sumo deadlifts based on which muscles are stronger or weaker. The most precise way to find your bone and joint angles is to get an X-ray and have a radiologist tell you how the femur and pelvis line up, However, most people won’t get an X-ray just to understand which deadlifting style they should do (that would be hardcore if you actually got an x-ray for this purpose though). It's a different type of movement. This is referred to as anthropometrics, which means the measurements of an individual. Another consideration for choosing conventional or sumo deadlifts is based on the relative length of your limbs or proportions. When I first took up powerlifting four decades ago, I was working hard on my deadlift and it seemed to be stalled out at 345 lb. Overall height: From the base of the floor to the top of the head. Cailer Woolam, otherwise known as Doctor Deadlift, hit a 430kg deadlift at The World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) World Championships. Arm length: Start at the shoulder joint (humeral head) to the tip of the middle finger. The sumo stance is a variation that has increased in popularity over the last few years thanks to the explosion of the sport of powerlifting across the world. Usually works better the other way around but a cycle of sumo can improve your conventional deadlift… For the conventional deadlifts, because you’ll have slightly more forward lean, you’ll have greater muscular activation in the trunk muscles, such as the spinal erectors. Like this article? Technique is paramount to being a good sumo puller. In general, the conventional deadlift uses more spinal erectors, while the sumo deadlift uses more quads. The study by Hales (2010) has rarely factored into us making a successful recommendation of stance. I’m going to cover each of these factors in more detail, which will give you a step-by-step process to choosing whether conventional or sumo will maximize your strength potential. Or harder as it depends on your overall bodyweight room 's great equalizer, let ’ bones... 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