I always recommend training both though. PowerliftingTechnique.com also participates in affiliate programs with Clickbank, CJ, ShareASale, and other sites. If you’re wanting to improve your deadlift lockout you can read about my 10 tips. 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’. If this is the case, the athlete’s quads aren’t working properly, and they are trying to shift the loading demands to stronger muscle groups in the glutes and low/mid-back. Conventional Deadlift: What’s the Difference? Another consideration for choosing conventional or sumo deadlifts is based on the relative length of your limbs or proportions. This is particularly true just off the floor to about knee height. Technique is paramount to being a good sumo puller. Will You Dare To Accomplish Mighty Deeds? Here's the variation you need to master! In the conventional deadlift, you will have approximately 5-10% more forward lean. If you’re built with a certain proportion it may allow you to feel more or less comfortable doing one style over another. In comparison to a Conventional Deadlift, the Sumo Deadlift requires a much wider stance with the weight pulled from the floor with the arms positioned inside the legs. These angles will determine the range of motion your hips can go through comfortably. Another similarity between conventional and sumo deadlifting is the timing of the lock-out. Conventional vs Sumo deadlift? Both are highly technical lifts if you want to do do them well. 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 Sumo Deadlift is most visibly different from the Conventional Deadlift in that the lifter assumes a considerably wider stance. From my experience, I feel more glute activation when performing sumo. PowerliftingTechnique.com is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. 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. Alternatively, the lower the angle, the more comfortable this person will feel pulling conventional. 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. You can see how Jason doesn’t take too much stock on the recommendations based on proportion sizes. It also increases the difficulty of the starting pull off the floor and makes the lockout much easier. If you're towering over the other gym-goers, the rules are different when it comes to heavy pulls. The sumo deadlift is essentially a standard deadlift done with a wide-stance and a narrow grip. Then be sure to sign up to our newsletter to keep you updated on the latest news. In this specific example, we’re talking about the measurements of a person’s bones and joints. It’s important to recognize that while the two deadlift styles look different there are two main similarities. 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. Jason is the Owner of The Strength Guys, and Matt Gary is the owner of Supreme Sports Performance & Traning and the former National Team Head Coach for USA Powerlifting. Check out my reviews of the best deadlift shoes for sumo. However, for the most part, this table offers some suggestions around which style you might want to try to optimize first. Arm length: Start at the shoulder joint (humeral head) to the tip of the middle finger. Jefferson Squat: How-To, Benefits, & Should You Do It? Escamilla, RF., Francisco, AC., Kayes, AV., Speer, KP., Moorman, CT. (2002) An electromyographic analysis of sumo and conventional style deadlifts. The research is still undecided about whether glutes are more active in one style over another. cookiemonster84: Would it hurt my conventional pulls to only train sumo for a few months? Interested to learn more about how the sumo deadlift compares with the back squat? As you can see 100% of the 59kg class used sumo deadlifting, and less than 15% of the 120k+ class used sumo. Alternatively, the lower the angle, the more comfortable this person will feel pulling conventional. The pelvis, hip socket, and femur (upper leg bone) are going to differ on an individual basis. Trap bar deadlifts allow you to keep your torso more upright than conventional deadlifts, but not as upright as for sumo deadlifts. 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. 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. In all female weight classes until 84kg+, a sumo deadlifter won. Sumo Or Conventional Deadlift: Which Should You Do? While the form and technique of each variation is markedly dissimilar from one another, the general simplicity of lifting a weight off the ground until complete lockout still holds true. The research is still undecided about whether glutes are more active in one style over another. In a general sense, the deadlift can be broken down into 3 basic zones; Off the floor; The dead zone (the area between the top of your foot and your knee) The lockout Hey guys, I have this on-going battle in my mind about deadlifts. One quick note, if you decide to deadlift sumo, you’ll want to make sure you have the proper footwear. Check out my other article on the Sumo Deadlift vs Back Squat. The greater the angle of where the femur connects to the pelvis, the more comfortable this person will feel pulling sumo. There are three main differences between conventional and sumo deadlifts: With the wider stance, the sumo deadlift is 20-25% less range of motion when compared with the conventional deadlift. I also share some pragmatic tips from my own experience working with powerlifters and interview other coaches on the topic. Every time I give workshops on powerlifting technique at least one person always asks whether they should deadlift conventional or sumo. For example, I found that once I trained sumo along with my conventional, my conventional got stronger. Both highly respected coaches within the world of powerlifting. In order to understand what ‘short’, ‘average’, and ‘long’ mean, Dr. Hales provides the following guidelines (measured as a percentage of your overall height): Based on the proportions outlined above, I would be classified as someone who has long arms, long legs, and a long/average torso, which would result in limb lengths suited for either conventional deadlifting. What this will look like is that the hips and knees lock at the same time. This makes trap bar deadlifts easier on … Conventional deadlifting uses a narrower stance with hands outside the legs, whereas sumo uses a wider stance with hands starting inside the legs. Overall height: From the base of the floor to the top of the head. I asked them how they would decide whether someone should do conventional or sumo: In practice, we’ve operated off of the belief that people should try both and use the one they are strongest in on a permanent basis moving forward. The biggest factor in your decision-making process will be based on which style you feel the most comfortable. For example, many-time world champion Lamar Gant (below) was able to deadlift over 600 pounds at a 132-pound bodyweight using the conventional style. 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 … Deciding whether to do conventional or sumo also depends on your overall bodyweight. As a result, my sumo is about 75% of what my conventional deadlift is. If an athlete has a quad weakness, I would get them to deadlift conventional until they develop stronger quads. I am a pretty strong conventional puller (2x+ my bodyweight) with long arms and shorter torso but my legs are pretty long too, height 6'3''. However, without this article turning into a ‘how to deadlift’ guide, the key differences for the conventional vs sumo deadlift are the shoulder positions. As such, you should use the same approach. Both Jason and Matt give a lot of credit to how athletes feel after trying both styles. 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. Neither variation is going to be naturally easier or harder as it depends on certain individual differences. As you get higher in bodyweight, the fewer sumo deadlifts are being represented with more conventional pulls. The first way to decide is to understand which style feels the most comfortable throughout the entire range of motion. Related Article: Jefferson Squat: How-To, Benefits, & Should You Do It? Try both and just see which you are stronger. As listed below, here are some key differences where these compound exercises differ: The … Pulling conventional is pretty badass however I was thinking about switching to sumo as that would have lot more … Nowadays, sumo is exceptionally popular. You may find yourself deciding to pick either conventional or sumo deadlifts based on which muscles are stronger or weaker. This is why I use the second point below to determine a lifter’s quad weakness. Deciding whether to do conventional or sumo also depends on your overall bodyweight. Lifters with long limbs tend to be at a mechanical advantage when performing the conventional deadlift in … This will give you the first clue as to which style you might be more suited to; however, don’t ignore the other factors outlined in this article, such as limb proportions, bodyweight, and muscular weaknesses. 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. We’ll cover that in more detail later. This is referred to as anthropometrics, which means the measurements of an individual. Because there’s no eccentric range of motion, you are not able to build up tension in the same way as other lifts before starting the movement. This site is owned and operated by PowerliftingTechnique.com. However, if you fall somewhere in the middle bodyweight classes, you might need to do a bit more experimentation between the two styles to see which one will work best. If you have long legs, you should read my article on Deadlifting For Tall Guys. However, for the most part, this table offers some suggestions around which style you might want to try to optimize first. There are some exceptions to this, especially for advanced athletes, but for most people starting out this is the timing you’re wanting to achieve. This analysis shows the breakdown of competitors based on their body-weight and which weight class they competed. As such, you should train both conventional and sumo for a period of time to see if you have a personal preference. As they progress into heavier loads and form begins to break down, I encourage them to employ the stance where they can execute consistently and efficiently while simultaneously taking advantage of their unique leverages to lift the most weight possible. As I said earlier when talking about the differences between conventional and sumo deadlifting, each style will emphasize certain muscle groups over another. A study by Escamilla et al. What we’re looking at is a near-perfect linear relationship between the body weight of a person and which style of deadlift they choose. 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? Whether you feel comfortable or not will largely be dependant on your hip structure, so make sure to perform the supine assessment to figure out the natural range of motion of your hips. For both the conventional and sumo deadlift, you’ll want to ensure that you achieve maximal muscular tension in the start position. Therefore, there is greater mechanical work for conventional deadlifts; and vice versa, less mechanical work for sumo deadlifts. We’ll cover that in more detail later. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the sumo deadlift will automatically feel easier for you. There are more factors than limb and torso ratios. 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. If you have short arms, you should read my article on Deadlifting With Short Arms because I provide 4 tricks that will help you get better leverage. In order to understand what ‘short’, ‘average’, and ‘long’ mean, Dr. Hales provides the following guidelines (measured as a percentage of your overall height): When you’re measuring your proportions, here is how you should measure: Based on the proportions outlined above, I would be classified as someone who has average arms, long legs, and a long torso, which would result in limb lengths suited for either conventional of sumo deadlifting. A sumo deadlift is any deadlift in which the feet are set wider than the conventional deadlift, allowing a narrow grip, hands placed inside of the legs and feet. If there is any correlation, it has been shown that lower weight classes lifters tend to prefer sumo, especially women, and higher weight class lifters tend to prefer conventional. Practically speaking, you’d also likely have greater glute activation in the sumo aswell as the conventional deadlift; however, it depends on where your hips are in the start position in relation to the barbell. I’ve found that conventional programs, as well thought out as they may be, are typically designed for lifters with average frames. 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. If you find the measurements suggesting you can deadlift either conventional or sumo, then a semi-sumo deadlift stance might be more appropriate for you. It's easy to look at the conventional barbell deadlift and think it's the weight room's great equalizer. That technique is usually based on the athlete’s leverages, so it’s at that point where Matt might recommend a style that maximizes their strength more effectively. If you don’t have muscular tension before lifting the bar, both your conventional and sumo deadlifts will be inefficient off the floor. On the other hand, in the sumo deadlift, your shoulders should be directly in line with the bar: There are other subtleties to each of the lifts, especially when it comes to the angles of the hips and shins in relation to the bar. With the wider stance, the sumo deadlift is 20-25% less range of motion when compared with the conventional deadlift. With that said, your bone and joint structure is not the only reason for picking the conventional or sumo deadlift, so let’s talk about the next reason why you might consider one over another. This data should be an easy reference point for you to decide which deadlifting style you should choose. Choose the dominant style and see if it feels more comfortable to you. It’s important to recognize that while the two deadlift styles look different there are two main similarities. The reason why you’ll feel more or less comfortable in one style over another is largely determined by the structure of your hip. However, without this article turning into a ‘how to deadlift’ guide, the key differences for the conventional vs sumo deadlift are the shoulder positions. This is the heaviest deadlift ever completed in competition by someone weighing less than 100kg. Lastly, one of the main differences between conventional and sumo deadlifts are the muscles used. To do a sumo deadlift, position your feet wider than hip-width, toes pointing out just slightly. In the late ’90s, on the other hand (at the national meet where Escamilla gathered his data), 70% of the lifters deadlifted conventional, including 85% of the lifters above 83kg, and 55% of the lifters … While the trendline is still similar in women, you’ll have a higher percentage of either lift at each end of the body-weight spectrum. If the athlete is more suited for sumo deadlifting, then I will begin to transition them and commit to sumo deadlifting for at least six months. 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. This would require you to have regular ‘assessments’ of strength in each stance, and then making a decision based on the relevant training evidence. This is because the angle of your femur and hip is lower. The main reason is that it’s simply an easier movement to learn. If you don’t perform the movement correctly, you get none of the advantages of the stance and you keep all the disadvantages. When considering sumo deadlifts I use the factors outlined in this article in a priority fashion. Granted, I am not planning on competing for another few months so I'm definitely in a development block, but I do ALL of my assistance work at the moment with a conventional stance - stuff like RDL, SLDL, … Another consideration for choosing conventional or sumo deadlifts is based on the relative length of your limbs or proportions. Most likely, that will just come down to leverages, as it usually is a bit easier for a 52kg female to get into position for a sumo deadlift than a 120+kg man. Typically, smaller, thinner lifters tend to perform better with the sumo style and larger, thicker lifters tend to perform better with the conventional style due to the individual leverages involved. Like this article? The angles of your body in relation to the bar are going to be different for conventional versus sumo deadlifts. Lifters Experience. Sumo and conventional are two stance options for performing the deadlift for maximal strength and power. 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. To understand how this works, let’s take a look at data from the 2016 IPF World Powerlifting Championships. You also need to consider your hip structure, flexibility, and your technical prowess. In order to get some other perspectives, I asked Jason Tremblay and Matt Gary how they would approach the conventional vs. sumo deadlift debate. The Slingshot for Bench Press (Complete Guide & Review), Similarities Between Conventional vs. Sumo Deadlifting, Difference Between Conventional vs. Sumo Deadlifting, Choosing Conventional vs. Sumo Based on Hip Structure, Choosing Conventional vs. Sumo Based on Limb Length & Height, Choosing Conventional vs. Sumo Based on Bodyweight, Choosing Conventional vs. Sumo Based On Muscular Strengths & Weaknesses, Coaching Perspectives on Deciding Between Conventional vs. Sumo, 10 Special Exercises To Improve Your Powerlifting Movements. For the sumo deadlifts, you’ll have greater knee extension, which places more loading demand on the quads. Therefore, there is greater mechanical work for conventional deadlifts; and vice versa, less mechanical work for sumo deadlifts. 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. It requires less mobility at the level of the hips, and at least initially, it will feel more natural for the athlete. Second, can the athlete keep the bar and their hips rising at the same tempo out of the hole? Both will give you plenty of bang for your buck. This is almost always necessary anyways for most lifters anyways. But there are exceptions to the rule. 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. He hit a 907kg/2,001 lb total. To understand how this works, let’s take a look at data from the 2016 IPF World Powerlifting Championships. Alternatively, if you find you can keep pulling your hip through flexion as the knee rolls to the outside, then you’re more likely suited for sumo pulling. Differences between the Conventional and Sumo Deadlift. Sumo deadlift = shoulders in line with the bar in the start position. A study by Escamilla et al. There are other subtleties to each of the lifts, especially when it comes to the angles of the hips and shins in relation to the bar. Which I find very interesting, and just goes to show that training for one lift can in turn help the other. This data should be an easy reference point for you to decide which deadlifting style you should choose. For Matt, the best approach is to let the athlete experiment freely and then get them to decide which is the most comfortable. Sumo vs Conventional Deadlift. According to a study in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise , sumo deadlifts are more effective at activating the vastus medialis , vastus lateralis , and … Hip anatomy and physical characteristics may also dictate which method one finds most suitable. It's a different type of movement. aaah the age old question. These angles will determine the range of motion your hips can go through comfortably. Sumo deadlift = shoulders in line with the bar in the start position. When I refer to the “length of your limbs” or “proportions” I’m talking about the length of your torso, arms, and legs in relation to each other. Then you should consider the sumo deadlift. As such, the loading demands for which muscles are used will change. Check out my article on whether you should squat and deadlift on the same workout. I initially let the athlete decide his or her deadlift stance based on what they feel is most comfortable because an athlete will typically execute better when the lifts feel good. … 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. This is why you should have proper deadlift shoes. The reason why you’ll feel more or less comfortable in one style over another is largely determined by the structure of your hip. 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. One of the easier ways I diagnose whether someone is more dominant in one muscle group over another is how they squat. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the sumo deadlift will automatically feel easier for you. As such, the loading demands for which muscles are used will change. One special point of confusion for new lifters centers on which style of deadlift to perform: conventional or sumo. Deadlift Using The Conventional Stance In most circumstances, based on the Hales (2010) study of limb lengths I mentioned above, a tall person should be deadlifting using the conventional stance. 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 … In addition, the load is next to your feet instead of in front of them. While the trendline is still similar in women, you’ll have a higher percentage of either lift at each end of the body-weight spectrum. Conversely, my wife is incredibly mobile, but has a hard time controlling her spinal positioning in conventional, so as a result, most of her deadlift work is in either sumo stance or with a trap bar. On the other hand, in the sumo deadlift, your shoulders should be directly in line with the bar. Hales M (2010) Improving the Deadlift: Understanding Biomechanical Constraints and Physiological Adaptations to Resistance Exercise. If you tried to replicate this forward lean for sumo deadlifts it would be highly inefficient. Learn 13 principles that create more effective powerlifting technique. It pretty well depends on your basic body type, along with some other factors. First, I look at their hip structure and proportions, then I look at their bodyweight and muscular strengths. If you tried to replicate this forward lean for sumo deadlifts it would be highly inefficient. However, the data below is just too interesting not to mention. If you deadlift in a conventional stance, you can use a sumo deadlift as a “special method”, which I detail in my article on 10 Special Exercises To Improve Your Powerlifting Movements. Kevin Oak’s Answer: Do Both!. However, the data below is just too interesting not to mention. 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. 7 weight class winners were sumo lifters, one was conventional. Sumo deadlift = shoulders in line with the bar in the start position. This alters the biomechanics of the lift by placing more of the tension on the hips and quadriceps as opposed to the posterior chain. To understand why, we must examine a variety of components related to Deadlift performance. As such, you’ll want to play to your strengths as much as possible. Experiment with both conventional and sumo, and select the style that feels the most comfortable and allows you to lift the heaviest weight over time. 5-10 % more forward lean less range of motion related to deadlift conventional until they develop stronger quads sites! Which places more loading demand on the same tempo out of the finger! Every male weight class winners were sumo lifters, one of the hips knees. It ’ s simply an easier movement to learn more about how the deadlift... The 105kg ( 231lbs ) class and Matt give a lot of credit to how sumo or conventional deadlift for tall lifters feel trying... 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