The sumo deadlift is a variation of one of CrossFit’s foundational movements, the deadlift. Just like the deadlift, the sumo deadlift trains the hip-hinge movement pattern and is unique in its capacity for developing full-body strength. Read further to learn everything you need to know about the sumo deadlift:
- What Is the Sumo Deadlift?
- Sumo Deadlift Benefits
- Muscle Groups Worked
- How to Prepare for the Sumo Deadlift
- Equipment Needed
- How to Warm Up for the Sumo Deadlift
- How to Perform the Sumo Deadlift
- Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Sumo Deadlift Modifications
- Sumo Deadlift Variations
- Common Sumo Deadlift Workouts
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What Is the Sumo Deadlift?
The sumo deadlift is a variation of the deadlift, one of the nine foundational movements in CrossFit. The sumo deadlift is also used in the sport of powerlifting. The sumo deadlift requires the athlete to place their feet wider than shoulder width, crouch down, and grasp the barbell from the ground, then drive their feet into the ground to stand tall while holding the weight at arm’s length.
The sumo deadlift is a relatively simple lift, allowing almost anyone to learn it and experience the tremendous benefits of head-to-toe strength this lift offers.
The sumo deadlift is a versatile movement that can be used in many different types of workouts, incorporating every variation from heavy loads and low reps to light loads and high reps.
Sumo Deadlift Benefits
The sumo deadlift shares the same benefits as the deadlift. It is a highly effective training tool for developing strength, building muscle mass, rehabilitating an injured back, improving athletic performance, or maintaining functional independence as we age. In addition, the sumo deadlift may be preferred by certain athletes based on anthropometric considerations.
Strength
The sumo deadlift is a full-body strength exercise, activating and strengthening virtually every muscle in the body. Specifically, the relatively high loads that can be used in the deadlift develop strength in the quads, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, lats, abdominals, and upper back.
Muscle Mass
The sumo deadlift rivals the back squat in its ability to build muscle mass in athletes. With so many muscle groups engaged simultaneously to lift relatively heavy loads, sumo deadlifts provide a great stimulus for muscle growth. As an athlete gains competence in the sumo deadlift and the weight they lift with proper form increases, they’ll notice increased development in the back, including lats, traps, and spinal erectors, as well as in the quads, glutes, and hamstrings. The heavy weights lifted, combined with the full-body nature of this movement pattern, result in a strong neuroendocrine impact that promotes muscle gain.
Rehabilitation
Just like deadlifts, sumo deadlifts protect the back from potential injuries from sports, life, too much sitting, or the ravages of time. By placing a controlled stress on the vertebrae and muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the back, the sumo deadlift induces these structures to adapt and strengthen. This results in a back more resilient to compressive forces and the flexion and extension that many daily tasks require. Properly performed sumo deadlifts also improve quad, glute, and hip strength, allowing these muscles to become the prime movers in lifting heavy loads and shifting the emphasis off the spine. The hinge movement pattern of the sumo deadlift reduces pain and improves function by taking the structures of the back through their intended range of motion. Finally, the sumo deadlift allows for a more upright torso for many lifters, decreasing the load on the spinal erectors at the start of the lift when compared to the deadlift. This could be a consideration for using the sumo deadlift instead of the conventional deadlift when an athlete is working around a back injury.
Athletic Performance
The sumo deadlift strengthens the muscles that help athletes run faster and jump higher: glutes, hamstrings, quads, abdominals, and spinal erectors. The added muscle mass built when training with adequate load and volume in the sumo deadlift allows athletes to better receive and deliver contact in sports like football, hockey, basketball, and fighting. The ability to transfer forces into the ground or from the ground, through a strong core, into an external object such as a ball, bat, or racket, is an essential athletic trait that the sumo deadlift trains well by stressing and strengthening midline stability. Regarding conditioning, both heavy, low-rep sets and lighter, higher-rep sets of sumo deadlifts are great tools. Last but not least, the sumo deadlift develops the hip extension that is the driving force behind most athletic movements and is necessary for elite athletic performance
Functional Independence
Life regularly demands that we pick objects up off the ground: a bag of fertilizer for the lawn, a bag of dog food, or a 24-pack of our favorite beverage. Like the deadlift, the sumo deadlift represents a safe and sound method by which any object should be lifted from the ground. In fact, the wider stance of the sumo deadlift tends to be the default position required to lift odd objects off the ground. As we grow older, if we continue to train our sumo deadlifts, we’ll maintain the capacity to pick objects up off the ground and not rely on someone to do this for us.
Anthropometric Considerations
Generally, those with longer legs and shorter torsos may prefer the sumo deadlift. Also, an athlete’s hip structure will play a role in determining whether they prefer the wider stance of the sumo deadlift over the narrower stance of a conventional deadlift.
Muscle Groups Worked
The sumo deadlift incorporates every major muscle group in the body and especially the muscles of the legs, core, and back.
Legs
As the athlete pulls a heavy load from the ground, the muscles of the legs, including the hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and even the calves, receive a tremendous stimulus. The sumo deadlift emphasizes the quads more than the conventional deadlift.
Core
During the sumo deadlift, the muscles of the core, including the spinal erectors, abdominals, and obliques, isometrically contract to lock the spine in place and transfer forces from the ground to the bar as the athlete moves through the required range of motion.
Back
The sumo deadlift imparts less stress on the spinal erectors than the conventional deadlift due to the more upright posture lifters can assume. However, the stress on the lower back is still substantial. The erectors contract isometrically to lock the spine in place and preserve the strong, safe natural “S” curve of the lumbar spine. In addition, the sumo deadlift greatly stresses rhomboids, lats, and traps. These upper-back muscles work hard to retract the shoulder blades and prevent the upper back from collapsing as the weight is pulled from the ground.
How to Prepare for the Sumo Deadlift
Preparing to sumo deadlift requires assembling the proper equipment and performing a general and specific warm-up to get the body ready to move through the range of motion required.
Equipment Needed
To train the sumo deadlift, an athlete can use a PVC pipe or barbells of various weights, from 10 to 45 lb, as needed. The weights used can be either rubber bumper plates or metal plates, although rubber plates are preferred in case the athlete needs to drop the weight at any time during the movement.
How to Warm Up for the Sumo Deadlift
To warm up for the sumo deadlift, the lifter should perform general movements that work every joint through its full range of motion. Air squats, ring rows, lunges, shoulder circles, and push-ups are good choices for the general warm-up. For the specific warm-up, a great option is Romanian deadlifts with a pause in the bottom position. Another one is a 3- to 5-second tempo sumo deadlift on the way down and a 1-second count on the way up with a PVC pipe or empty bar. The athlete should then be ready to transition to their warm-up sets in the sumo deadlift.
How to Do the Sumo Deadlift
Performing a sumo deadlift requires mastering the setup, the liftoff to full extension of the legs and hips, and the descent.
Setup
The initial setup for the sumo deadlift has the feet set slightly wider than the shoulders, with the knees in line with the toes. The hands are placed inside the legs, approximately hip width, symmetrically on the bar. The bar starts above the midfoot, against the shins, and the shoulders over or slightly forward of the bar. The arms are locked out with the insides of the elbows facing each other, the chest is up to lock in the natural “S” curve of the lower back, the abdominals are braced, and the shoulder blades are slightly retracted and depressed. The lats and triceps are contracted and pressing into each other, and the glutes and hamstrings are stretched and active, creating tension through the entire posterior chain. This is the strong, active start position from which the athlete initiates the pull from the ground.
The Lift
To initiate the lift, the athlete fills their belly and chest with air with a deep breath and pushes their feet (with an emphasis on weight in the heels) into the ground to “squeeze,” not jerk, the bar off the ground. With the wider stance, the athlete must also keep driving the knees out so they do not cave in. As the bar leaves the ground, it stays in contact with the legs, traveling straight up, and the torso’s angle of inclination — which is generally more upright than for a conventional deadlift — remains constant as the shoulders and hips rise at the same rate while the bar is below the knees. Once the bar passes the knees, the hips extend, and the shoulders rise to directly above the hips in the finish position. Throughout the lift, the head looks straight ahead, the lumbar curve is maintained, and the arms remain locked out.
The Descent
To return the weight to the ground from the top position of the sumo deadlift, where the athlete is standing holding the barbell, the athlete has two choices. First, the athlete can simply drop the barbell. In a workout where many sumo deadlift reps are cycled, this may become the preferred method as an athlete fatigues. It is also an option when very heavy reps are being done and the athlete is not concerned about working the eccentric or lowering portion of the rep.
Also note: For safety reasons, an athlete should drop the weight at any time during a rep where form — especially low-back position — breaks down. Of course, this method requires rubber bumper plates to be used.
The other option is for the athlete to initiate the descent by hinging at the hips and lowering the bar along the legs until it passes the knees. Once the bar has passed the knees, the athlete will bend their legs and drive the knees wide to track with the toes and lower the bar to the ground, where they reset into their activated, strong starting position before beginning the next rep. Working the eccentric portion of the rep in this manner helps groove proper technique, as well as improve strength.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The common mistakes in the sumo deadlift mirror those of the conventional deadlift.
Loss of Lumbar Curve
Although the athlete generally has a more upright torso position in the sumo deadlift, which places slightly less stress on the lower back, it is still not uncommon for athletes to lose their lumbar curve into flexion during the performance of the lift. This rounding of the lower back is a vulnerable position for loading the spine and may put the athlete at a greater risk of injury. By losing the proper lumbar position, the athlete is also losing midline stability, and the forces generated as the legs drive into the ground will not be efficiently transferred to the bar, making the lift hard to complete. To avoid losing the lumbar curve, athletes should focus on maintaining a tall, “chest up” posture as they drive their feet into the ground to lift the bar. Adequate stretching and mobility work for the hamstrings will help ensure tight hamstrings are not pulling the athlete into a rounded position.
Weight in the Toes
When an athlete begins to pull the barbell off the ground and their weight shifts toward the balls of the feet, they decrease the contribution of the powerful muscles of the posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings) to the lift. To eliminate this inefficiency, athletes should focus on shifting their weight back toward their heels as they push their feet into the ground to lift the bar. Actively engaging the glutes and hamstrings to lift the bar will also help keep athletes from being pulled forward toward their toes.
Shoulders Behind the Bar in the Setup
Even with the wide stance of the sumo deadlift, athletes may set up in a “squatty” stance, allowing their hips to go so low that their shoulders move behind the bar, resulting in a less effective starting position. By pushing the hips up and straightening the legs slightly to activate the glutes and hamstrings, the athlete will move their shoulders to a position above or slightly in front of the bar for a position with better leverage.
Bar Loses Contact With the Legs
Both on the way up and on the way down in the sumo deadlift, the bar must remain in contact with the legs. A common coaching cue to remind athletes of this point is the phrase “feel the steel.” When the bar drifts away from the lifter, the weight moves away from the athlete’s center of gravity, creating a longer “moment arm,” thereby making the lift harder and less efficient. As the bar moves away from the legs, the muscles of the core, back, and legs are put in a less advantageous position, and the shear forces increase on the lower back, increasing the risk of injury. To keep the bar close to the body, athletes should use their lats to guide the bar back along the legs.
Hips Rise Without the Chest Rising
During the execution of a proper sumo deadlift, the hips and shoulders/chest rise together when the bar is below the knees. This keeps the torso angle constant in this initial phase of the lift. If an athlete’s butt shoots up as they pull the barbell off the ground, they may need to slow down and work on squeezing the bar off the ground instead of jerking the bar off the ground. Or they may need to raise their starting position slightly, keep the bar closer, or work on not extending the knees too early in the lift.
Shoulders Rise Without the Hips Rising
In this scenario, the fault of the shoulders rising without a matching rise of the hips as the barbell is pulled from the ground may be due to a “squatty” setup position, where the shoulders are behind the bar. Even with the wide-stance setup of the sumo deadlift, the shoulders should not be behind the bar. This fault may also be due to an athlete focusing too much on keeping their chest up and attempting to initiate the lift with their low back instead of a leg drive.
Hips Do Not Move Back to Initiate the Descent
To properly lower the bar from the top of a sumo deadlift requires the athlete to push their butt back first so the legs remain straight and the bar can travel straight down past the knees. If, instead, the athlete initiates the descent by bending the knees, the bar will have to travel around the knees to get to the ground. This is an inefficient movement pattern for lowering the bar and puts the athlete in an awkward, compromised position.
Sumo Deadlift Modifications
In training the sumo deadlift, modifications can be made to the stance, grip, equipment, and load to accommodate any lifter.
Stance
In the sumo deadlift, an athlete can use a foot position anywhere from shoulder width to all the way out to the edge of the plates on the bar. The athlete may also choose a squattier or straighter-leg stance. The stance a lifter uses at any given time depends on their fitness goals, injury history, and body proportions.
Grip
Sumo deadlifts can be done with a standard grip (knuckles facing forward), mixed grip (knuckles of one hand facing forward and the palm of the other hand facing forward), a hook grip, and with varying-width grips inside the legs.
Equipment
Sumo deadlifts may be done with a standard barbell, an elevated barbell to accommodate a lifter with poor mobility, from a deficit (such as standing on plates to increase toe range of motion), dumbbells, kettlebells, or a whole variety of odd objects like sandbags or stones.
Load
The load in the sumo deadlift can be adjusted from very light to as heavy a weight as can be loaded on the barbell.
Sumo Deadlift Variations
Common variations of the sumo deadlift are centered around the equipment used. Sumo deadlift variations can be done with sandbags, dumbbells, kettlebells, or any odd object.
Common Sumo Deadlift Workouts
For any workout that uses the deadlift, the sumo deadlift can be used as a substitute unless otherwise stated in the workout description.
CrossFit Total: Sum of the best of 3 attempts at each lift: Back Squat/Shoulder Press/Deadlift
Ranch Deadlift Ladder (2016 Games): 1 rep is performed every 30 seconds through a series of 20 barbells that each increase in weight.
Women: 275, 285, 295, 305, 315, 325, 335, 345, 355, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385, 390, 395, 400, 405, 410, 415 lb
Men: 425, 435, 445, 455, 465, 475, 485, 495, 505, 515, 525, 535, 545, 555, 565, 575, 585, 595, 605, 615 lb
Donny: 21-15-9-9-15-21 reps for time of: deadlifts (155/225 lb) / burpees