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Sumo deadlift

Also called sumo barbell deadlift, wide-stance deadlift, sumo deads.

What is a sumo deadlift?

The sumo deadlift is a barbell deadlift performed with a wide, turned-out stance and the hands inside the legs. The hips and knees extend together to lift the bar from the floor, training the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and adductors while the trunk and grip hold the load.

Front-view anatomical illustration of a man performing a wide-stance sumo barbell deadlift, with the glutes and inner and rear thighs highlighted.

How do you perform a sumo deadlift?

Set up

  1. Stand with the bar over midfoot, take a wide stance you can hold comfortably and turn your toes and knees in the same direction.
  2. Bend your hips and knees, grip the bar with straight arms inside your legs, then brace and pull the bar tight without lifting it yet.

Execution

  1. Push the floor away and straighten your knees and hips together, keeping the bar close and each knee following its toes.
  2. Stand tall without leaning back or bending your elbows.
  3. Lower the bar by sending the hips back and bending the knees as it passes them, then let it settle on the floor before the next rep.

Common mistakes

  • Forcing an excessively wide stance

    Wider is not automatically better. Use the widest stance that still lets your knees track with your feet and your hands reach the bar comfortably.

  • Letting the knees collapse inward

    The feet and knees stop pointing together and the start becomes unstable. Narrow the stance or reduce the load until alignment holds.

  • Jerking the bar from slack

    A sudden pull changes the starting position before the plates leave the floor. Brace and make the bar taut first.

Where it fits in a session

Use it as the main floor pull in a session or as a wide-stance alternative to the conventional deadlift.

Keep the stance width and toe angle consistent when comparing technique and logged load.

Muscles worked

Front
Front — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.
Back
Back — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

Primary

Secondary

Select a muscle name to locate it.

Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

The hips and knees extend together while the trunk and grip transmit force to the bar. The list does not claim one universal ranking between the hip and thigh muscles.

Variations

  • Anatomical illustration of a barefoot male figure performing a conventional barbell deadlift, drawn twice side by side against white. On the left he is at the start: hips back, knees bent, torso angled forward over a loaded barbell held in a double-overhand grip with both palms facing him, arms straight and hands just outside his knees. The glutes and the backs of both thighs are shaded red. On the right he stands upright at lockout, seen from behind, the bar held at arm's length across the front of his thighs; the shading is on the glutes, the backs of both thighs and the calves, with a faint wash over the upper back and rear shoulders. The lower back is not shaded in either frame, and the fronts of the thighs are not in view.
    Conventional deadliftUses a narrower stance with the hands outside the legs.
  • Two frames of the same anatomical figure, a woman, performing a barbell Romanian deadlift, shown from the side against white. Left: the bottom of the rep, hips pushed back, torso close to horizontal, knees clearly bent rather than locked, arms hanging straight with the bar at about knee height just in front of the shins. Right: the finish, standing tall and upright with the bar held at the hips. The barbell carries one plate a side. Highlighted in red on both frames are the glutes and the hamstrings down the back of the thigh, with the shading continuing into the calf; in the standing frame the fronts of the thighs and the forearms are shaded as well. The lower back is left unshaded in both.
    Romanian deadliftStarts from standing and emphasizes a controlled hinge rather than each repetition beginning on the floor.
  • Sumo deadlift high pull — Adds an upright pull after hip extension and is a different exercise from the deadlift taught here, where the arms stay straight.

Related tools

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does the sumo deadlift work?

It trains the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and adductors while the spinal erectors and grip muscles hold the trunk and bar.

How wide should your sumo stance be?

Use a wide stance that lets your knees follow your toes and your hands reach the bar inside the legs without forcing the hips. The best width varies with the lifter.

Should the knees point out?

They should track in the same direction as the toes through the pull rather than collapsing inward.

What is the difference between sumo and conventional deadlifts?

Sumo uses a wider, turned-out stance with the hands inside the legs. Conventional deadlifts use a narrower stance with the hands outside.

Sources

  1. Henson B, Kadiyala B, Edens MA. Anatomy, Back, Muscles. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537074/
  2. Elzanie A, Borger J. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Gluteus Maximus Muscle. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538193/
  3. Hu Y, Raja A. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Hamstring Muscle. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546688/
  4. Jeno SH, Launico MV, Schindler GS. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Thigh Adductor Magnus Muscle. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534842/
  5. Bordoni B, Varacallo MA. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Thigh Quadriceps Muscle. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513334/

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