Sumo Deadlift
The sumo deadlift is a barbell deadlift pulled from a wide stance with the toes turned out and the hands gripping inside the knees. It keeps the torso more upright and the bar path shorter than a conventional deadlift, working the glutes, quadriceps, inner thighs and back, and it is one of the two competition deadlift styles.
Also called: Sumo DL, Sumo Pull, Wide-Stance Deadlift · Equipment: barbell · Pattern: hinge
Step by step
- Stand with the bar over the middle of your feet, feet wide enough that your shins are close to vertical when you grip the bar, and toes turned out about 30–45°.
- Keeping your torso upright, reach down and take a shoulder-width grip with your arms hanging straight down inside your knees. Use a double overhand, hook or mixed grip.
- Push your knees out in line with your toes and bring your hips towards the bar until your shins touch it. Chest up, back flat.
- Pull the slack out of the bar so it is tight against the plates, then take a big breath and brace.
- Push your feet down and out into the floor to lift the bar, keeping it against your shins and letting hips and shoulders rise together.
- As the bar passes your knees, drive your hips forward and stand tall with hips and knees straight and shoulders over the bar.
- Return the bar to the floor by pushing your hips back and bending your knees out to the sides, keeping the bar close.
- Reset your stance and brace before each rep.
- Knees out over your toes
- Chest tall off the floor
- Push the floor apart
- Bar stays against your legs
- Hips through to finish tall
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Quadriceps: vastus medialis | Prime mover | C |
| Quadriceps: vastus lateralis | Prime mover | C |
| Gluteus maximus | Prime mover | B |
| Adductors | Secondary | C |
| Hamstrings: biceps femoris (long head) | Secondary | B |
| Erector spinae | Stabiliser | B |
| Trapezius: middle | Stabiliser | C |
| Forearm flexors | Stabiliser | D |
| Gluteus medius/minimus | Stabiliser | C |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Knees caving inwards
Fix: Push your knees out in line with your toes for the whole rep.
Hips shooting up first
Fix: Keep your chest up and let hips and shoulders rise together.
Stance too wide for your hips
Fix: Bring your feet in until your shins are close to vertical at the start.
Jerking the bar off the floor
Fix: Pull the slack out until the bar is tight, then push the floor away.
Bar drifting forward
Fix: Keep the bar in contact with your shins and thighs the whole way up.
Leaning back at the top
Fix: Finish standing tall with hips and knees straight and shoulders over the bar.
What the research says
Strength · first choiceMuscle growth · first choiceGeneral fitness · first choiceSport performance · first choicePowerRehab & prehabEnduranceFat loss & conditioning
- Load by goal — Research comparing loads finds maximal strength favours heavier loads, while muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are hard.
- Effort — Studies show strength gains are largely insensitive to how close to failure you train, and failure training gives no extra strength gain, so many lifters keep heavy pulls a rep or more short of failure.
- Sumo and conventional — A 3D analysis of competition powerlifters found the sumo style kept a more upright torso and moved the bar about 20–25% less distance than conventional, and an EMG study found greater quadriceps activity in sumo. There is no research showing either style builds more strength overall.
- Volume — Research links more weekly sets to more strength and size, with diminishing returns and a flatter curve for strength.
- Rest — In trained lifters, rests of about 3 minutes have produced greater strength and size gains than 1-minute rests.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the sumo deadlift in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.