Sumo Deadlift Advice?

JUST LEARNING SUMO DEADLIFT. I INCLUDED A VIDEO AND WOULD APPRECIATE ANY ADVICE.

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Doesn’t look too bad to me, Im assuming thats close to a 1rm? So form might deteriorate to a point. I would say work on driving through the heels, keeping your chest up and behind the bar and maybe even start with the bar slightly further from your shins. But all in all not a bad looking lift.

I would agree. The only advise I could give is to drive through the heels.

Thank you fellas. My PR is 480 Sumo and this was my 500 attempt after that. I didn’t finish this lift obviously but it was not to far off. I just switched to sumo from conventional about 3 weeks ago. My best conventional pull was 540, so i got some work to do to catch that. I need to work on my form/technique and I also need to bring up lagging muscles. I was thinking my glutes looked weak in this video. What is your opinion on not spending to much time in the “hole” and firing out of the hole fast? Can you explain that a bit? I am confused by what people mean when I read articles on sumo technique.

Thanks. I just switched from conventional 3 weeks ago. My max pull conventional is 540 and my max pull sumo is 480. I definitely have some work to do to beat my conventional pull, but I definitely like the feel of sumo much better.

What do they mean by not staying in the hole long and making sure you fire out of the hole fast?

Also, what do they mean by unlocking your knees?? Is there a certain way to do that?

[quote]Ngk85 wrote:
Thank you fellas. My PR is 480 Sumo and this was my 500 attempt after that. I didn’t finish this lift obviously but it was not to far off. I just switched to sumo from conventional about 3 weeks ago. My best conventional pull was 540, so i got some work to do to catch that. I need to work on my form/technique and I also need to bring up lagging muscles. I was thinking my glutes looked weak in this video. What is your opinion on not spending to much time in the “hole” and firing out of the hole fast? Can you explain that a bit? I am confused by what people mean when I read articles on sumo technique. [/quote]

I wouldnt say that your glutes looked weak per say, its just your hips shot up a little early so they werent really involved with the lockout portion. Whats helped me get past that is having the bar run directly over the middle of the foot, that way you dont have to bend so far forward and wont be as hunched initiating the lift. And by spending time in the “hole” im not really sure what they mean, maybe just a euphemism for being explosive?

[quote]Ngk85 wrote:
Thanks. I just switched from conventional 3 weeks ago. My max pull conventional is 540 and my max pull sumo is 480. I definitely have some work to do to beat my conventional pull, but I definitely like the feel of sumo much better.

What do they mean by not staying in the hole long and making sure you fire out of the hole fast?

Also, what do they mean by unlocking your knees?? Is there a certain way to do that? [/quote]

With a sumo pull, you drop your hips a little lower than a conventional pull in order to keep the distance between your hips and the bar as small as possible. This gives the greatest leverage, and keeps your torso as close to vertical as possible. However, you don’t want to drop your hips into position and stay down there for very long, because you lose the little bit of stretch reflex you’re building in the hip flexors. (Think bottom position of a squat, and how much harder pause squats are) That’s really the only problem I can see with your form; your hips are a little high at the start, so you lean forward to use more lower back and overcompensate. Its probably just some carryover from all the conventional pulling you did.

Thanks again guys. Do you have any suggestions for getting the hip flexors stretched out good? I feel like my hips are stiff and it is hard for me to get low without leaning forward. My left hip joint always feels inflamed and once in a while feels full of pressure and will pop loud… then I get some relief. I’m thinking I need to get some good stretching going on. I have bands and a foam roller, so if you guys know any good stretching or exercises to help with my flexibility and technique feel free to pass it on. I like to get as much advice as possible so i learn the correct way.

Any advice on stretching the hips good before doing deads? My hips and groin feel stiff when I get low and it makes my body lean forward to compensate for my body not being flexible. I have bands and a foam roller so if you guys have any advice I would really appreciate it. My left hip has a lot of pressure in joint area it feels like… Once in a while it will pop and I will get some relief… I don’t really know what is going on with it.

Any advice on stretching or bettering my technique is appreciated. I like to get my form tore up so I learn the correct way! Thanks again !

[quote]Ngk85 wrote:
Any advice on stretching the hips good before doing deads? My hips and groin feel stiff when I get low and it makes my body lean forward to compensate for my body not being flexible. I have bands and a foam roller so if you guys have any advice I would really appreciate it. My left hip has a lot of pressure in joint area it feels like… Once in a while it will pop and I will get some relief… I don’t really know what is going on with it.

Any advice on stretching or bettering my technique is appreciated. I like to get my form tore up so I learn the correct way! Thanks again ![/quote]

I had the exact same problem when I first started pulling sumo, “popping” hip included. Sumo is pretty irritating for the hips, but for me it was something that went away with time. Unless you’ve been squatting super wide without briefs or something, you’re just not going to be in-tune with this kind of movement.

For the time being, hip flexor lunges should help a lot. Lunge forward so that your front knee is a bit out in front of your foot, with the opposite foot as far back as possible with that knee on the ground. Lean back a bit by flexing your glutes and raise your chest. Its going to hurt like hell, but try and hold it for a while on each leg. Also, you may have to adjust your foot position on a day-by-day basis; go a little bit narrower and see where the irritation stops, then work out from there as you feel comfortable.

Turn your toes out more, hips need to be lower at start, upper back is weak, losing arch and rounding back, do more speed work and practice technique

Awesome… Thanks for the responses guys. What are some good exercises to build upper back? Yeah, TB, my hips feel fried after I squat and dead… I definitely need to work on those areas and stretch them more.

You need to keep your upper chest pumped out at the start of the lift. Like what was said before, you’re not incorporating as much hip drive as you should be. It’s pretty apparent that you’re a conventional puller just from watching this vid. Just practice and learn how to drive with your hips, that really is the key

rack pulls, shrugs on a chest supported row (keep arms strait),thoracic extensions with a SS bar ( put the bar on shoulders, round your upper back, then return to starting posistion). Matt Wennings has a good video of this exercise. It’s on his so you think you can squat videos. Standing rows from a low pulley (real good exercise). Also include alot of db power cleans, external rotations, rear laterals, and face pulls

Tech wise- pull back and up with your head shoulders while you shoot your hips forward.

What generally works best for me is simply sumo pulling often, 1-2x per week. That and front squats with a wide-ish stance. I’ve Sumo DL’d 685 at 200ish lbs bodyweight.

Speed off the platform. Also, i think i get some good cross over if i sumo for my regular deadlift, then do rack pulls conventionally

I am going to definitely apply all of your advise and stick to what works and weed out what doesn’t work for me. The biggest factor right now is learning the correct technique and focusing on my weak areas.

The biggest factor I deal with right now that limits me a bit is the fact my left hip always has a lot of pressure in the socket area and once in a while groin area. I am trying to work on that at times to get that healed up as well. Thanks again…Stay strong!

-Pull the slack out the bar before the pull.
-Your chest started in a good position, but quickly got lost. Keep it up/out.
-More heel drive.

Both should help with raising the ass too fast.