Sumo Deadlift
A deadlift with a wide stance and hands inside your legs: a more upright torso and more work for adductors and glutes.
Also known as: sumo pull, wide-stance deadlift
- Level
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Type
- Compound
How to do it
- Take a stance well wider than your shoulders, toes turned out, bar against your shins.
- Drop your hips and grip the bar inside your legs with straight arms.
- Push your knees out, lift your chest and brace your back.
- Spread the floor with your feet and raise your hips and chest together until you stand tall.
Form cues
- Knees track over your toes.
- Your torso stays more upright than in a conventional pull.
- The bar never leaves your legs.
Common mistakes
- A stance so wide your knees can't follow your toes: find a width where they track together.
- Shooting your hips up first: you lose the sumo advantage and load your back.
- Letting your knees cave as you rise: keep pushing them out the whole way.
Sets and reps
3-5 sets of 3-6 reps with 3 minutes of rest for strength, or 3-4 sets of 6-8 for muscle. Once or twice a week.
Variations
Same movement, different equipment. Pick based on what you have and what you want from the sumo deadlift.
Kettlebell sumo deadlift
One kettlebell between your feet: perfect for learning the stance.
How to do it
- Stand in a wide stance with toes pointed slightly out, a kettlebell on the floor between the feet.
- Hinge down with a flat back, knees tracking over the toes, and grip the handle with both hands.
- Drive through the floor and extend the hips and knees together to stand up.
- Squeeze the glutes at the top.
- Lower the bell under control back to the floor by pushing the hips back.
- Primary
- Glutes, Quads
- Secondary
- Adductors, Lower Back, Hamstrings, Traps
FAQ
Sumo or conventional?
It depends on your build: long legs or good hip mobility often suit sumo. Try both and keep the one where your form is best.
Is the sumo deadlift easier?
It has a shorter range and a more upright torso but demands lots of hip mobility. It isn't cheating, it's a different technique.
Does it work the glutes more?
It works the glutes and adductors a bit more than conventional, and the lower back a bit less.
What muscles do the sumo deadlift work?
They mainly work the glutes and the quads, with help from the lower back and the hamstrings.
Add the sumo deadlift to your next workout
Log your sets and weights, and see how each muscle progresses in the app.
