Sumo deadlift bar path

[SVRao]

I've been doing sumo deadlifts on the Hypertrophy program and really enjoying them. I have noticed that on the descent the bar tends to hit my knees on some reps. I watched Jordan's video where he did sumo deadlifts and it seems like the bar isn't in contact with the legs during the entire descent, which is different from the conventional deadlift.

Is the correct form for the sumo to have the bar slightly in front of the legs on the descent?

Thanks for any guidance.

Sunil

[Austin Baraki]

The bar should be in contact with the legs on the way up as a matter of technical efficiency.

It doesn't really matter whether it's in contact with your legs on the way down, since gravity takes care of that part of the lift. We usually try to lower it relatively quickly, straight back down over the mid-foot, but this does usually involve it being a little bit off the legs, which is fine.