It is no secret that in order to achieve any training related goal (size, strength, structural balance, performance, etc.), you should be training the hip extension movement pattern.
There are many different hip extension exercises to choose from but the king of the jungle has been and always will be the bent knee deadlift.
There are only two basic styles of a bent knee deadlift: conventional style and Sumo style.
Which one is better? This question has practically been argued to death. That’s why I decided to write this post and give you my opinion, based on my 20 years of coaching these lifts.
At first glance, the two lifts appear to be very similar. They both involve lifting a barbell off of the floor until you’re body is in a vertical position.
There are, however, two major differences between these two styles: the width of stance and the width of grip.
In the conventional style (Fig. 1), I recommend setting your feet close together (shoulder width or closer) and positioning your grip so your arms pass right outside your legs.
Figure 1- Notice the narrow stance utilized during the conventional deadlift
In the Sumo style (Fig. 2), a moderate to wide foot stance is utilized with a close handgrip to allow the arms to pass inside the legs.
It has been stated that the Sumo style is biomechanically more efficient than the conventional style because the bar does not travel as far during the lift. In fact, studies have shown that Sumo style can decrease vertical bar distance by 10%.
This is true, but since conventional lifters hold more world records than their Sumo style counterparts, further investigation is clearly warranted.
Figure 2- Check out the closer grip and wider stance in this Sumo pull
After decades of analysis involving many lifters using both techniques, my findings are as follows:
In the set position, conventional lifters knees are considerably more extended. This raises the hips up higher and eliminates wasted energy from shooting your hips up during your pull before the bar leaves the floor.
At liftoff the trunk angle is considerably more upright in sumo lifters. My speculation is that by having a more vertical body posture, sumo lifters will experience more leg activity and less activity in the erector spinae muscles.
This hypothesis corresponds well with many EMG studies that showed more activity from the vastus medialis and vastus lateralis in the Sumo style.
A number of my subjects over the years had a greater one rep max with conventional, but at a percentage of their max did more reps using Sumo. Could this be coincidence or could the different styles emphasize different muscle groups with different fiber makeup?
Some similarities are apparent early in the lift (the first pull). In both styles knee and hip angle both increase, indicating a dominance of knee extension over hip extension during this segment of the lift. During the top portion of the lift (the second pull), mostly hip extension is noted, although this is more pronounced in the conventional style.
After collecting the data, I am of the opinion that for muscle building and strength training, conventional style is a better staple exercise.
That being said, you may choose to utilize either style depending on which muscle group you need to emphasize according to your individual strengths and weaknesses.
I hope this puts an end to the deadlift debate once and for all. Please leave your comments below and share your experiences with us about these two lifts.
Dedicated to your success,
John Alvino
Hi John, I have never done Sumo style. Is it something I should try for variety?
@Gina: You certainly could but quite frankly, I haven’t pulled sumo in at least 5 years
Awesome post and blog. I just found it and I’m loving the info. Keep it up man, its much appreciated
@Tony: You got it, Tony
I’ve got a broken L5, so I switched to Sumo, hearing that it would put less strain on my back (and that it might activate the glutes more, which is important to me as a sprinter).
Almost immediately, my 1RM went up by 40 pounds.
But I can’t say that the pressure was much less.
Lately, I’ve been using a trap bar… It starts me slightly higher, so I’m pulling more weight. But it’s wide enough that the arm position (not straight down) feels weaker.
I’m tempted to switch to single-leg variations just to reduce the weight and pressure on my spine.
@Steven Sashen: Hey Steve, I hate to hold anyone back but due to your injury, I probably would suggest losing the deads and opting for safer alternatives.
The best for you would be sled pushing and pulling. And sprinting. Supplement these exercises with some single leg variations and you’re golden. Good luck
@Steven Sashen:
Steve
I have lumbar problems also and find single leg deadlifts with dumbells to be a great alternative. They also introduce a strong balance component.
Regards
Colin
I find sumo an easier lift and can lift more, I guess because my back is more vertical which takes a bit of strain away.
The conventional I prefer as I feel it works more muscles groups than the sumo.
Raymond
@Raymond-ZenMyFitness: Hey Raymond, sounds like your legs may be stronger than your back. I definitely prefer conventional also and would suggest that you stick with them
Hi John, thank you for sharing this bit of information with us.
My question pertains to the conventional deadlift that I’m currently doing. As my gym only has hexagonal plates to load the bar, I have been deadlifting off pins set at the lowest position. This results in the end position being a few inches higher than a normal deadlift. Do you think this could work as a viable way to train for the deadlift?
@Clement: Oh man, I hate those hex plates. They suck for any exercise going to the floor. You can use the lowest position in a power rack, or just do a series of singles to the floor (just be sure to kind of drop the weight towards the bottom then take your time to re-set before pulling again). This is a pain but it is an option.
I am a bigger fan of conventional deadlifts because I get a better response from my upper back and traps. I did sumo deadlifts for a while, they were initially tough on my inner thighs. But, yeah, later, I felt that more pressure was on my legs. So I switched to conventional deadlifts.
@Rajat: Hey Rajat, thanks for sharing your experiences with us. I have found the same to be true for me and my clients
Interesting post, John. After experimenting with both lifts (have never tried the trap bar), I agree that there is different muscular emphasis with both lifts. Ultimately, I prefer the conventional. Then again, I do not have low back issues.
I found that the conventional lift is easier for my clients to master. As their confidence grows, they can experiment with the sumo then depending upon their individual goals and/or restrictions, can eventually change to the sumo-if they want to.
Great article, thank you.
@Jini Cicero: Hi Jini, I agree, I would stick with conventional with most of your clients. When they get advanced, you could give them sumo once in awhile for variety.
I had always trained using conventional deadlifts and I had stopped at around 315 lb before switching to sumo deadlifts for a while where the lifts felt a lot easier but the weights weren’t going up not as fast as I wanted anyway but when I switched back to conventional suddenly I got it up to around 365-375 lbs in no time really (no time is a few months not actually zero time hahaha) so I’d say conventional deadlifts is the way to go for me at least…
I don’t know my numbers are not really impressive but for a guy who 5’7 or 5’8 at around 145-150 lbs lifting such a weight (more than twice my weight) makes me really happy that’s why I will always be indebted to conventional deadlifts.
PS I got a few pointers from that really helped me raise my game so its not all me hahaha
@Abdulaziz AKA The_Lazy_Nerd: Hey Abdulaziz, at 150 lbs, pulling 375 is quite good. Keep at it. You are not far from pulling 3 times bodyweight. Now that’s a nice pull! Good luck to you
BTW I got so excited I actually forgot what I came here to do and that is to say that I agree with the article itself so yeah John I have to say that I agree with you 100% and as always thanks for sharing your experiences with us
John
What is your opinion of Trap bar deadlifts? Being a bit taller, I find that not having to clear the knees with the bar much more comfortable. I also find it much easier to adjust torso lean/hip placement to mimic both the styles mentioned in the article and emphasize quad or posterior chain involvement depending on goals at the time.
Regards
Colin
Thanks for your recommendations! I’ll be going for the pins option. Hex plates are seriously the worst, most unnecessary creation ever, aren’t they?
@Clement: They make no sense and truly suck.
Hey John,
How do you feel about the trap bar deadlift?
I find that if I focus on it for a few months, it functions as a great exercise, but isn’t quite as good for the posterior chain as the conventional deadlift, and there does not seem to be a good carry over between the two.
Do you think it is good to include in programs or is better to just keep hitting the conventional with a linear periodization scheme and trying to progressively get stronger one lift.
Thanks,
-Chris
The trap bar deadlift is not as good as the conventional deadlift for the posterior chain. The (main) downsides of the trap bar are:
1) It allows the knees to travel forward
2) It allows the weight to shift to the ball of the foot
3) Arm position can be wide for some lifters
4) Some lifters can’t find the correct hip position in the lockout position
The benefits of the trap bar are:
1) High handles reduce range of motion for tight lifters
In other words, if you’re too tight to pull conventional, use a trap bar with high handles. If not, you can use occasionally for variety
which is better for spine health?
@Levi: Since you can maintain a more vertical position during a Sumo deadlift, the Sumo would put less stress on the spine. But that being said, I wouldn’t recommend doing either version if you have serious spine injuries
This was a great read.
Thanks John