Sumo technique

[PatrickD]

Do you have any favorite resources for learning to deadlift with a "sumo" stance? This is unfortunately not covered in The Book.

Thanks,
Patrick

[Austin Baraki]

Hm. I don't think I have a "favorite" video to teach this, and I just tend to coach it myself. I know there are lots of video tutorials on it out there.

We'll see if anyone else has input.

[PatrickD]

Let me ask a few more specific things, then. 1) Does the rule about keeping the weight over the midfoot still apply? I've heard people suggest levering back against the bar, which seems to place the weight on the heels. (Dumb question -- just seeking confirmation here.) 2) Is "vertical shins" a good cue for the setup? 3) Does the advice to "push the floor in the first part of the movement and pull in the second part" in the conventional DL still apply? 4) What are the most common sumo errors you see?

(This is related to my motor learning thread, btw. I'm going to pull a bunch of singles at 80%, alternating stances.)

[Austin Baraki]

Let me ask a few more specific things, then. 1) Does the rule about keeping the weight over the midfoot still apply? I've heard people suggest levering back against the bar, which seems to place the weight on the heels. (Dumb question -- just seeking confirmation here.) 2) Is "vertical shins" a good cue for the setup? 3) Does the advice to "push the floor in the first part of the movement and pull in the second part" in the conventional DL still apply? 4) What are the most common sumo errors you see?

1. Yep. Though the "1 inch from the shins" typically doesn't work to accomplish that anymore. You'll probably need to set up close to the bar, and depending on stance width/toe angle your shins may even be in contact with the bar right off the bat.

2. I would recommend against that. Maintaining front-to-back balance is tougher on sumo due to the foot angles, so it's easy to fall on your ass if you pull a rep and it either goes up faster than expected, or if you get out of position.

3. Vertical from what perspective?

4. Yep. It requires a lot more patience to "quad" it off the floor. Most people transitioning from conventional want to pull it off the floor with their backs, like they're used to.

5. Mostly related to stuff discussed above, along with other typical things like not keeping the bar close, not getting the knees out enough at the start, etc.

[PatrickD]

This is super helpful, thank you. Re: 3, I meant vertical from all perspectives.

I couldn't find any good written resources on sumo technique and if you're ever looking for a BBM article idea, I think "how to sumo" would be well received!

[Austin Baraki]

I think vertical from the front is a reasonable starting point for coaching the lift, unless the person has compelling reasons (like ... winning) to go wider. I'm not as confident in saying they should always be vertical when viewed from the side, though. Will have to think about it more.