How to Deadlift: Conventional and Sumo Technique for Beginners

Deadlifting is the simplest powerlifting movement: you lift the bar from the floor and stand up straight. But simple doesn't mean easy. What separates a safe and effective pull from a back-breaking wrestle are a few essential basics.

Conventional vs Sumo

There are two styles allowed in competition. Neither is cheating, and neither is automatically better than the other.

Conventional: Feet about hip-width apart, hands outside the knees. The bar travels a longer distance, and the back does more work. Most people start this way because it feels more natural.

Sumo: Feet wide, toes close to the plates, hands inside the knees. The bar's range of motion is shorter, the hips and adductors do more work, and the lower back is less stressed. The technique usually takes more time to learn, but for some body types it is more suitable.

Try both for a few weeks. You'll probably prefer the one that allows you to keep your spine neutral even with heavier weights. It's also not a permanent choice, and you can change your style later.

Conventional Setup

Walk to the bar. Position yourself so that your feet are about hip-width apart. The bar should be over the midfoot, about an inch from the shins. Don't look down, as the midfoot is closer to you than it feels.

Step 1. Bend down and grab the bar just outside the legs without moving the bar. Use a double overhand grip at first.

Step 2. Bend your knees until your legs touch the bar. The bar does not move, but the legs come to it.

Step 3. Lift the chest up. This will bring the back into a straight or at least neutral position. Think of showing the logo of the shirt to the front. The hips will find their place on their own, so you don't need to think too much about their height.

Step 4. Take a breath and brace. Take a big belly breath, create 360 degrees of pressure and hold it.

Step 5. Push off the floor. Don't think about pulling the bar up, think about driving your feet through the floor. The bar will come off the ground as a result of the leg drive.

Step 6. Once the bar is past your knees, bring your hips forward and lock out the lift. Stand straight, shoulders back, hips fully extended and knees locked.

That's one rep.

Sumo Setup

The sumo deadlift feels different. It's more like a squat and pull than a pure pull.

Get into a wide stance position. The appropriate width depends on your hip structure, but a good starting point is with your feet on the edges of the platform or just inside the plates. Turn your toes 30-45 degrees outward.

Reach down and grip the bar with your hands about shoulder-width inside your knees. Legs should be vertical or nearly vertical.

Lower your hips, open your knees towards your toes and lift your chest up. The torso should be more upright than in the conventional pull.

Brace the midsection strongly and push the floor apart with the feet. Think of spreading the platform under your feet. This activates the hips and adductors.

The final lockout is done by pulling the hips strongly forward. The sumo lockout is often easier than the conventional pull, once the bar has been brought off the floor. If you can get it moving, you can usually get it all the way up.

Grip Options

Double overhand grip: Both palms facing you. Use this as long as you can. It develops the strength of the grip best.

Mixed grip: One palm towards you, the other away. This prevents the bar from rolling out of your hands. Most people switch to this when the double overhand is no longer enough. Between sessions, alternate which hand is supinated so you don't build imbalance.

Hook grip: The thumb is wrapped around the bar and the fingers over the thumb. Very firm grip, but painful at first until the thumbs get used to it. Usually 2-4 weeks of tightness, after which the grip starts to feel normal. This is the preferred grip of many competitive lifters.

Straps: use them sparingly in training if the grip fails before the back and legs. Raw grip strength should still be developed, as straps should not be used in competition.

Common Deadlift Mistakes

Rounding of the lower back. This is the single most important error to avoid. Some upper back rounding is often seen with near max deadlifts, but lower back rounding under load is a direct route to injury. If the lower back is rounded, there is too much weight or your setup is wrong. Correct your starting position and lighten the load.

Hips rise first. If the hips shoot up before the bar releases the floor, the deadlift effectively becomes a stiff-legged pull. Reset the height of the hips and think: feet first.

Hitching. The bar is pulled upward along the thighs in a ratcheting motion. In competition this is illegal, and in training it's bad form. If you have to hitch, the weight is too much.

Tearing the bar off the floor. The pull does not start with a blast. If you rip right away, your back will round before the bar even moves. First take the slack off the bar, i.e. pull until the bar bends slightly and you feel the tension, then drive through smoothly.

**The bar should remain attached to the body throughout the pull: against the legs, knees and thighs. If it drifts forward, you'll have to fight against longer leverage. Long socks or trousers protect the legs.

Breathing and Bracing

For sets of less than five reps, reset the setup and rebrace with each rep. Lower the bar, rise if necessary, rebuild the starting position, breathe again and pull again. Dead-stop reps are heavier than touch-and-go reps, but they develop more strength and reinforce proper technique.

For longer sets, you can do touch-and-go reps, but keep your bracing intact at all times. Once the intra-abdominal pressure disappears, the set is effectively over.

The Deadlift Often Becomes Your Biggest Lift

Most people can lift more in the deadlift than in the squat or bench. It puts the most strain on your muscles, and your first 100 kg deadlift can come after just a few months of training.

But don't let rapid progress make you sloppy at lifting. With light weights, deadlifting makes it easier to forgive small errors in technique, but with heavy weights it gives nothing for free. Build good habits now, while the load is still under control.

Film your lift from the side. Look at the position of your back, the path of the bar and the height of your hips. Adjust, try again and repeat.