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. 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 … Doing so has unquestionably improved not only my Sumo Deadlift but also my Squat performance. I think I see a few things wrongs, i think. Blog posts about strength, How to increase your deadlift, Program Design. Conventional pulls are a little easier on your quads, and sumo pulls are a little easier on your back. Most people who start out in barbell lifting are familiar with conventional deadlifts. Here’s my first 600+ pound competition deadlift. I have to deadlift on bumpers on a wonky platform so the bar moves around and I find resetting sumo on rep work a bit … My raw conventional went from 515 to 585 and my sumo pull went from the mid 400’s to a 640-pull in competition. If it is even closer than 90%, then there is a really higher chance it will be better, and that probably means I will have them switch immediately. For the sumo deadlift with kettlebell, you should to begin with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width (we are thinking sumo wrestler, after all.) Tempo training can be done with the sumo deadlift simply by adding time constraints or cadences for the various phases of the pull. That's just my personal opinion, because it feels like the point of training is to develop strength in your muscles, and conventional deadlifts strain more on your back than sumo-deads do. You only have to look at the set up for a powerlifting squat or bench press to see that having shorter distance for the bar to travel is a significant priority. Also you need to have the requisite hip mobility to sumo well because your hips have to be closer to the bar. Move Downwards. The semi-sumo deadlift will be easier to break from the floor, but harder to lock-out; I’ve seen lifters use this information to either avoid the semi-sumo stance or to embrace it depending on whether they struggle with the bottom or top-end position of the deadlift. The more naturally upright back angle produced by longer arms tends to shift the weak link in the system from being the lower back to being the legs. It may happen sometimes where you want to switch up your sumo deadlift with another similar exercise which works the same way. Since the sumo deadlift begins higher than the sticking point for the squat, the demands on the quads will be less than the squat, but greater than the conventional deadlift. There are no factors that make either the conventional or the sumo deadlift inherently easier or harder. The rack pull is a great alternative to the barbell sumo deadlift, it is very similar to the conventional deadlift however there is less range of motion to complete the exercise. My general theory is that when they try sumo, if their strength is within 90% of their conventional deadlift, there is a good chance it is going to be stronger or at least as strong if consistently trained. September 25, 2014 Ryan saplan. They Help to Avoid Overuse Injuries. The sumo deadlift is often misunderstood, seen as the underachieving, smaller brother of the conventional deadlift, when in reality the sumo has its own unique benefits and strengths. The sumo deadlift is a deadlift variation that helps you lift more weight. Also, keep in mind that if you decided to switch right now that doesn’t mean that you might magically pull more weight. Worth giving sumo a try. Improved Posture. A poster at PowerliftingUK has changed his deadlift stance from conventional to sumo and finds that he's unable to lift as much weight. In sumo and conventional deadlifts, the arms are kept straight and vertical. But hold on, what tends to happen when leg strength becomes the limiting factor in a deadlift? When I first began lifting, I only knew conventional from reading bodybuilding magazines. The sumo deadlift requires a more precise set up. Back to powerlifting! He wonders if this is typical: Did you find an initial drop on your DL when switching from Conv. Closer to competitions, you should switch to the style which is best for you and lift that way. My bench max is 275 and i know my arms are not stronger then my legs so i don't know why im only maxing at 285 on squats. Takeaway: In deciding whether to do semi-sumo deadlift, you need to ensure you have a strong lock-out position. Your able to cut range of motion while keeping the form close to the same as conventional. 2. Wide feet and a narrow grip result in a shorter vertical range of motion for the lift and less movement around the hip and knee joints. This usually occurred around the 280-pound mark for him. Whether you switch your deadlifting style to sumo, place your torso more horizontal to the floor, work on developing your hip extensors, or accept a slightly rounded upper back position, you can still get stronger in the deadlift. Combining RMS correcting muscle mass which just seek out a healthy heart. Your move: If you’ve been performing the deadlift and squat with the traditional hip-to-shoulder-width stance for a while, and your gains have started to slow, switch to a sumo … Another factor is style of lifting. 13. The sumo variation’s more quad dominant pulling style generally lends itself to a lower risk of injury and places different requirements on strength than the conventional deadlift. When it comes to sumo deadlifting, it is most commonly seen in the world of powerlifting. This move also targets slightly different areas of your glutes. Slowly switching to sumo deadlift ... ... 94kg rn 11-07-2010, 08:01 PM #6. And, finally, deadlift using a five-inch chambered bar. Switching to sumo, for them, only exacerbates the problem. The benefit of switching to a split stance is that it can disperse the spinal loading during barbell exercises. Beginners should master this traditional “closed” arm angle and be confident in their lat control before “opening” into a wider grip. Best of your luck with your training! I'm sure there's lots more that I don't see. Another thing to consider is using the high handles on a Trap Bar. For people with back problems, the rear-leg elevated split squat and reverse lunge (shown below) are go-tos for lower body training. Anecdotally, a lot of sumo pullers experience reasonable carryover, so it isn't like your work has been wasted. Unknown to many lifters, the sumo deadlift might actually be the better option for them if they want to lift heavier, depending on their individual anatomy and soft-tissue flexibility. The back rounds until leverage improves enough for the bar to leave the floor. Why the SumoDeadlift. Even if you don’t pull sumo, it’s level of hip activation and posterior chain development is … For example, if you lift conventional, but your back and hamstrings are sore from heavy lifting, you could switch to the sumo deadlift to give your lower back a rest and keep training. I probably had 10 reps total with the semi-sumo before I filmed this. The sumo deadlift starts with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and gripping inside of your shins. It’s more a matter of individual strengths and weaknesses. It’s typically the style of deadlifting we learn in traditional weightlifting gym setting, P.E., group fitness classes, and even rehabilitation settings to retrain hip hinge patterns. ChecksandGiggles. Unless your training for a competition we really don't need the standard lifts to get the effect of them. View Profile View Forum Posts Flex for me Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Minnesota, United States … This is absolutely necessary for lifting the most weight possible in a safe and streamlined way. THE DUCK STANCE. Sumo deadlifts will also engage different muscle groups to standard deadlifts, which means that you can vary your training and switch things around whenever you feel like a change. I was immediately stronger in sumo as it was a much more comfortable starting … No matter how hard I try though, I can't seem to get the proper form down. The sumo deadlift relies on recruiting the hips, glutes, ... Sumo deadlifts are generally harder to break off the floor so make sure you consider that before switching. Performing the same movement over and over and over again – without any change of pace – will drastically increase the likelihood of sustaining an overuse injury. One advantage of the sumo deadlift for a powerlifter is that the bar has less distance to travel. “The sumo deadlift is basically a high squat. The greatest quad demands in the squat are coming up out of the hole. Since switching to sumo in 2010, I’ve put 125 pounds on my competition deadlift PR. Im trying to get used to a Modified Sumo (feet just outside arms) as I think it will be beneficial in the long run. I'm just hoping switching to sumo deadlift work would help strengthen my squat because i don't understand why its so low. 1.Rack Pull. to Sumo? Tempo Sumo Deadlifts. Or, in scientific terms, you might as well buy yourself a 1-way ticket to snap city. The online training develops the short term memory power switching to sumo deadlift sharpness is felt in your performance in because they are converted in to Adenosine Triphosphate (ADP) which can be applied on many athletic activities. Dave Tate shares that the sweet spot to switch from a sumo stance deadlift to a conventional stance was when his torso was thick enough that he could drive his stomach into his thighs off the floor, almost like the bottom of a squat. This is the first time sumo deadlifts actually felt right, much better than 7 months ago. Although you might not realize it, another of the many benefits that we’re going to be looking at today is the fact that deadlifts help you to improve your posture. Less work against gravity requires less overall energy output to complete the lift. For three weeks do five reps for five sets. 5 Reasons to Sumo Deadlift Instead of ? We’ve come up with a number of exercises for you to try out. Remember, start fairly hard, but you must add weight for the next two weeks. Luckily in college, I got into powerlifting and was shown how to deadlift sumo. How To Do The Sumo Deadlift Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, and your toes pointing out at a 45° angle, rather than straight ahead. I deadlift conventional, but whenever I try sumo for a lark I always find that it seems to be about as good as my conventional. However, that is only what fit Dave’s body best. I'm trying to make the switch from conventional after tweaking my back, which I think was probably due to not setting up with a neutral spine. Tag Archives: when to switch to sumo deadlift. If you find this is causing too much pressure on your knees, you can adjust your toes to point to the side slightly. … You are also going to want to make sure your toes are pointed directly forward. Switch to sumo and see how things go. 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