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. 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? 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. Jefferson Squat: How-To, Benefits, & Should You Do It? 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. PowerliftingTechnique.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Here's the variation you need to master! Nick Collias March 11, 2020 • 2 min read. Strength and Conditioning Journal32(4):44–51. If you tried to replicate this forward lean for sumo deadlifts it would be highly inefficient. Try both and just see which you are stronger. 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. The reason why you’ll feel more or less comfortable in one style over another is largely determined by the structure of your hip. 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. In my experience, this is simply how long it takes for an athlete to find a natural position with sumo deadlifts. This would require you to have regular ‘assessments’ of strength in each stance, and then making a decision based on the relevant training evidence. 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. 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 … Then be sure to sign up to our newsletter to keep you updated on the latest news. 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. 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. 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. Tall lifters with long femur and arms who are pulling sumo? Usually works better the other way around but a cycle of sumo can improve your conventional deadlift… To understand why, we must examine a variety of components related to Deadlift performance. As you can see 100% of the 59kg class used sumo deadlifting, and less than 15% of the 120k+ class used sumo. Test your strength in each deadlift style over a long period of time (6-months) before committing to one over another. 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''. The greater the angle of where the femur connects to the pelvis, the more comfortable this person will feel pulling sumo. The exact numbers change over time, but in general, about 2/3 of female lifters and males under 100kg pull sumo, and about 2/3 of male lifters over 100kg deadlift conventional. 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. For the sumo deadlifts, you’ll have greater knee extension, which places more loading demand on the quads. Sumo deadlift = shoulders in line with the bar in the start position. Alternatively, the lower the angle, the more comfortable this person will feel pulling conventional. 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 is most visibly different from the Conventional Deadlift in that the lifter assumes a considerably wider stance. The reason why you’ll feel more or less comfortable in one style over another is largely determined by the structure of your hip. Second, can the athlete keep the bar and their hips rising at the same tempo out of the hole? This is referred to as anthropometrics, which means the measurements of an individual. 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. aaah the age old question. Hi! Nowadays, sumo is exceptionally popular. I am possibly wanting to switch but my sumo is a good 100lbs weaker right now… would my conventional still go up? To understand how this works, let’s take a look at data from the 2016 IPF World Powerlifting Championships. Another consideration for choosing conventional or sumo deadlifts is based on the relative length of your limbs or proportions. 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. 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. This trend is a bit more prominent in men. Cailer Woolam, otherwise known as Doctor Deadlift, hit a 430kg deadlift at The World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) World Championships. The pelvis, hip socket, and femur (upper leg bone) are going to differ on an individual basis. 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. More often than not, a key sticking point for most lifters is locking out the weight. From my experience, I feel more glute activation when performing sumo. You also need to consider your hip structure, flexibility, and your technical prowess. This analysis shows the breakdown of competitors based on their body-weight and which weight class they competed. This helped me to get the 617-pound deadlift … It’s important to recognize that while the two deadlift styles look different there are two main similarities. If you train conventional or sumo simultaneously, doing one session in each stance per week, then over time you’ll recognize a clear winner based on strength. If you want to learn about whether you should squat or deadlift more, you can read my article on squat and deadlift ratios. Sumo vs Conventional Deadlift. 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. 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. To understand how this works, let’s take a look at data from the 2016 IPF World Powerlifting Championships. When it comes to the sump vs. conventional deadlift, both exercises activate your muscles to the same degree, but in different ways. On a personal level, I’ve been dedicating myself to the world of powerlifting for the past 15 years, having both competed and coached at the highest level. 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. As such, you’ll want to play to your strengths as much as possible. 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 … This Is the Best Way for Tall Guys to Deadlift Nick Collias March 11, 2020 • 2 min read. As such, you should use the same approach. 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. 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. Choose the dominant style and see if it feels more comfortable to you. Finally, for many lifters, the sumo stance will be an easier position to assume as it does not require the same degree of ankle and spinal mobility as the conventional. Both Jason and Matt give a lot of credit to how athletes feel after trying both styles. SUMO OR CONVENTIONAL DEADLIFT- WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR ME? … Both will give you plenty of bang for your buck. 7 weight class winners were sumo lifters, one was conventional. Notice how I’m not simply saying “they should deadlift conventional because they have weak quads”. 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. Hip anatomy and physical characteristics may also dictate which method one finds most suitable. When considering sumo deadlifts I use the factors outlined in this article in a priority fashion. Check out my other article on the Sumo Deadlift vs Back Squat. And even still, I believe if you want to take your deadlift as far as you possibly can, always train both. If you’re built with a certain proportion it may allow you to feel more or less comfortable doing one style over another. Lifters with long limbs tend to be at a mechanical advantage when performing the conventional deadlift in … 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. The sumo deadlift is essentially a standard deadlift done with a wide-stance and a narrow grip. The sumo vs conventional deadlift are actually very similar. There are differences in how the femur and pelvis come together, where the hip socket is located on the pelvis, and how the femur is rotated. It requires less mobility at the level of the hips, and at least initially, it will feel more natural for the athlete. Deciding whether to do conventional or sumo also depends on your overall bodyweight. On this blog we share all the things we wish we knew when getting started. This analysis shows the breakdown of competitors based on their body-weight and which weight class they competed. 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. Let’s take a look at another consideration for choosing one style over another, which is based on muscular strengths and weaknesses. 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