Sumo Deadlift

The sumo deadlift is a variant on the standard deadlift where you spread your legs and  drop your hands at shoulder width between them to grasp the bar.  You then perform a normal deadlift movement, keeping your back straight and standing with your shoulders rolled back.  The exercise hits the quads and inner thighs.  If you jutt your hips back far enough it hits the glutes also, but that impact is secondary.

There are several places you can go wrong on this exercise.  The first is to not keep your back straight.  This is a major bad as it can cause lower back strain.  The second is to not complete the movement, brining your shoulders back and hips fully forward.  The third is to allow your knees to come over your toes by not pushing the hips back far enough.  Penn State presents an excellent explanation of this exercise, but the demonstration photos show the instructor's knees extending over the toes.

In this video analysis, I present my training partner, Nancy Arnold, demonstrating excellent form and myself showing form that needs improvement which we ultimately corrected in later sets.  The workout, as chronicled here by Nancy and here by me, took place Friday, February 17, 2006.  Per Scott Bird's suggestion, we try to capture the whole set of reps, including the "look of relief" at the end.  It shows we're not just fitness models working with plastic.

Nancy, excellent form (QT, 5.5 MB; WMV, 6.5 MB)

The photos above show Nancy first in the down position, grasping the bar preparing to rise, and second in the up position, shoulders rolled back, hips forward, and back straight.  In the linked video of her performing the exercise over 12 repetitions, you can see that she maintains a straight back, keeps her hips back in the crouch, and rolls her shoulders back at the end.  Her form is basically perfect.  Performing this variant of the exercise with Nancy was a revelation.  In other renditions of the deadlift, Nancy has a hard time getting all the way down and invariably brings her knees over her toes.  I think the barbell served as a mental barrier that forced her to jutt her hips back.  I also think the distribution of the weight imposed by the barbell made it easier for Nancy to descend fully down.

Bud, form that needs work (Quicktime, 3.7 MB; WM, 4.7 MB)

Well, I often envy The Big Girl (Nancy) her grace, and this is one of those times.  As you can see in the two video screen shots, I'm doing alright in the down position.  My rear is back and my knees are well back from my toes.  However, in the up position, I never quite bring my hips forward and shoulders back.

In the video, you hear Nancy telling me to push my butt back a few times, but on review, that is not really the major issue.  I'm letting the weight pull me forward.  Is the weight too heavy?  I don't think so.  I went up pretty easily.  It's just basically poor form at the top of the movement.  Nancy caught that in a later set, and I rolled my shoulders back and jutted my hips forward at the top, something you see Nancy doing handily in her video.

My basic conclusion about these video analyses is that they really force you to take stock of form.  They also help you equate body sensation with posture.  After reviewing my analysis of the dumbbell deadlift, Nancy told me she had never realized what her back position really was.  Her back was quite straight while she felt it bending.  In this exercise, I never realized that I was not really completing the movement.

Comments

[Scott]

Bud, are you using a double overhand or an alternating grip for these? Was hard to tell from the video. I notice in the Penn State pics that he says 'overhand', but then uses an alternating grip himself (first B pic).

I wouldn't be overly concerned with 'knees in front of toes'; turn your feet outwards a bit and you'll be passing them regularly. Angle your feet so as to keep the heels as close to the bar as possible.

As far as correcting form goes, you might find that if you focus on the position of your hips, everything else begins to fall into place. I seem to recall you doing SLDLs, have you ever done Dimel Deadlifts, pull-throughs or even RDLs?

[Bud Gibson]

Scott:

I think you are right about the hips thing. That's a bit how I thought of it in later sets. If you look at Nancy's version of the movement, it's clearly a little hip movement at the end.

Haven't tried the Dimel deadlift or the Romanian (RDL). Both look good for this issue and to drive in form. In our next building phase, Arnold and I will be trying some of these focused exercises as part of our regimen.

[Scott]

Both the Dimel and RDL also tie in well with the squat, so you'll probably see a fair bit of progress in both deadlift and squat.

[john]

it didnt look too bad bud apart from you could be pulling back more at the end as you said. might be easier to do with a slightly wider stance. but ive never pulled sumo...

[Air Jordan]

Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does, the better. Do you agree?