How to Sumo Deadlift
The sumo deadlift is a competition deadlift variation that uses a wider stance and more upright torso than the conventional deadlift. This stance shifts more work to the glutes and quads while reducing the demand on your hamstrings and lower back. As a result, the sumo deadlift can be an excellent option for those with lower back issues.
However, if you're unfamiliar with setting up a sumo deadlift properly, you may run into difficulties. You could struggle to break the bar off the floor or even tweak something. In this article, I'll cover everything you need to know to perform the sumo deadlift safely so you can maximize your gains and minimize your risk of injury.
The Importance of a Strong Setup
A solid and well-practiced setup individualized to your body proportions is essential to the sumo deadlift. Unlike the conventional deadlift, where your hips start higher and your torso leans forward more, the sumo variation relies more on leverage than brute strength. To get this leverage, you need to be in the correct position—for you.
A good setup generally involves several key steps: approach the bar, position your feet, engage your core, grip the bar, get tight, and lift the bar off the floor. However, there's more to it than that. Let's break down each part in detail.
Step 1: Get Set Up
The first and most important thing I want you to remember is that you should never move the barbell at any point in your setup. Set the bar where you want it, load the plates, and position yourself relative to it. Get yourself in position; do not roll the barbell to you.
Set Your Feet
Stand close to the bar with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out to around 2 and 10 o'clock.
Your shins should be about 1 inch away from the bar.
The bar should be directly over your midfoot (over your shoelaces).
Grip the Bar
With your feet set, let your arms hang straight with your hands beneath your shoulders.
Make your arms long, meaning straighten your elbows completely and pretend to reach for your knees with your hands.
Imagine squeezing oranges with your armpits to engage your lats.
Before you reach for the bar, take a big breath into your belly. Try to expand your belly 360 degrees.
With your chest up and arms long, hinge your hips back and lower yourself to the bar while maintaining a tight core.
Grip the bar inside your knees, hands about shoulder-width apart.
The bar should be at the base of your fingers, not held high up in your palm.
Use a double overhand or mixed grip (one palm faces forward, and the other faces you).
Make Final Adjustments
These are advanced refinements you can make to your setup if they apply to you. If you’re new to the sumo deadlift, you may want to skip this section and revisit it once you have more experience with the lift.
Pull up on the bar slightly without moving it so that you hear it click against the plates. This is called pulling the slack out.
If you gripped the barbell with one hand at a time, pull the slack out with each hand as you place it. If you gripped with both hands simultaneously, pull the slack out with both hands.
If necessary, drop your hips just enough to keep your chest up and your back straight, but avoid squatting down too deep or moving your shoulders backward—keep them just ahead of the bar.
More About Hip Height
The final step is unnecessary if your setup style involves lowering yourself down with your hips already in the correct position. How you go about this isn't written in stone; it just changes the instructions slightly. Here are a few examples of different setups:
Lower yourself into position: Some lifters like to lower themselves down slowly into their pulling position.
Bend over and grip, then adjust: Some lifters like to bend over and grip the bar without paying attention to their back position then set their hips and back.
Start with a bounce: Some lifters like to grip, then quickly raise and drop their hips before pulling to take advantage of the stretch reflex in their glutes and hamstrings. Whether or not this is helpful or effective is above my pay grade, but suffice it to say that most of us probably don’t need to be doing this.
Regardless of how you prefer to set up, the key is to find the right starting hip height for your body and use that position when setting up for every single set. One way to do this is to watch a video of yourself deadlifting from the side. Notice where your hips naturally end up between reps. This is a great starting point for your hips in your setup.
Final Setup Tips
Speaking of videos, it's always a good idea to record at least some of your sets so that you can analyze your form, notice helpful patterns and bad habits, and make corrections if needed. Here are some general tips on setup position when you're looking at your body from the side:
Your back should be straight—no excessive arching or rounding.
Your armpits should be right over the bar, which places your shoulders slightly in front of the bar.
Your hips should be slightly above your knees but below your shoulders.
Step 2: Execute the Lift
Now that you are set up, braced, and ready to go, the next step is to actually lift the weight. Here's a rundown of your next steps.
Break It Off the Floor
Drive your feet through the floor to initiate the lift. Imagine pushing the ground away rather than pulling the bar up.
Remember that the deadlift is a push, not a pull. Your arms do not pull the bar; they only hold it. Think of them as hooks.
Your hips and knees should extend simultaneously. If your hips shoot up before the barbell moves, try setting up with your hips slightly higher on your next set. Your hip height between reps is usually a clue to your ideal setup position.
Lock It Out
As the bar passes your knees, push your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to lock out the rep.
The rep is locked out when your joints are stacked—hips directly under your shoulders, knees locked out, torso tall.
Do not lean back past this point. This is hyperextension, and doing it with a heavy load is a recipe for sadness.
Remember that lockout is about your hips reaching extension (meeting the bar), not about leaning your torso backward.
Step 3: Return to the Floor
Initiate the eccentric (lowering) part of the rep by pushing your hips backward as you return the barbell to the floor.
Lower the bar along the same path along which you lifted it. The bar should always move up and down in a straight line over your midfoot without drifting forward.
Do not skip the eccentric by dropping the bar, as this part of each rep is where a significant portion of your muscle growth is stimulated. Maximize your gains by using your muscles to lower the barbell rather than let gravity do it for you.
Let the plates touch the floor between reps and try to set the bar down quietly (relatively) instead of slamming it down, as this demonstrates solid control of the eccentric.
You may reset between reps—by pausing or even letting go of the bar, standing up, then regripping it—or you may perform touch-and-go reps. For hypertrophy, touch-and-go reps are probably the play.
Here’s a quick video to show you what it looks like when it’s all put together.
Final Thoughts
Although the sumo deadlift may seem simple, there is more to it than just squatting down and picking up the bar. A dialed-in and well-practiced setup is arguably the most important part of the lift, as it can be the difference between breaking a heavy load off the floor and missing your first rep.
Investing time in refining your technique—including but not limited to your foot position, grip, bracing, hip height, and shin distance from the bar—will make you a stronger and safer deadlifter. Record your sets frequently, analyze them, and make one tweak at a time until your setup feels automatic.
