Buffalo Barbell

When looking at the deadlift there are predominating two styles of the lift, sumo and conventional. If you don’t know what the difference is, the characteristics of a conventional deadlift include:

• Close “vertical jump” width stance
• Hands outside of the legs
• More horizontal back angle

 

The characteristics of a sumo deadlift sound just like you would think, like a sumo wrestler.

• Wide stance with toes pointed out
• Hands inside the legs
• A more vertical back angle

 

The question you might have is what is the difference? Which one is better? Or, why use a different style? These questions really depend on a few different things such as; your individual goals, body segments, and strong/weak points that you may have. We are going to break this down so we can understand why we use these different styles of the lift and what might be the best for your training.

Before we get into the actual lift, I am going to give you some background information so we can be on the same page.

• Moment arm: is the length between a joint axis and the line of force acting on that joint.
• Electromyography (EMG): is an electrical recording of muscle activity.

When looking at the deadlift we only have a single moment arm, the perpendicular line from the hips to the arms holding the barbell. This moment arm, along with a few other EMG studies looking at the deadlift are going to be the basis for understanding the deadlift.

As stated previously, the deadlift, sumo or conventional has a single moment arm in the lift. In the conventional deadlift it would look something like this:

 

In the sumo deadlift our moment arm will look something like this:

 

From these pictures we notice a few things such as, the moment arm length and different joint angles. Comparing moment arm lengths, we can see that the sumo deadlift has a much shorter moment arm than the conventional deadlift. This is why we see a shorter range of motion (about 19% shorter) in sumo pullers versus conventional pullers, and in powerlifting range of motion is everything. So, right off the bat we should think that sumo will always be better but that’s not always the case.

So which style is better for you? As stated in the first few paragraphs it ultimately it’s going to depend on whatever feels comfortable to you. There are benefits to using both which we will get into but first let’s see the benefits of each lift individually.

The conventional deadlift is going to be a less of a leg movement than the sumo deadlift. If you look above at the picture you will see the back joint angle is much greater in the conventional which can create a higher degree of lumbar loading. But for novice lifter even though this might sound like a bad thing, can really benefit from building up the lower back/posterior chain to help support greater loads when moving into more advanced stages of lifting. If you have issues with speed off the floor, the conventional might be your go to. Data shows that acceleration in the conventional is much quicker than in sumo. For those who have longer arms such as me, we tend to like conventional a bit more because we still have a rather short range of motion because we lock out much faster than those with shorter arms. As well as smaller back angle compared to a shorter lifter, which allows us to lift more weight with lesser degree of low back strength. So, being a taller lifter or just having longer arms with a short torso can create an advantage because now we benefit in both speed and a shorten ROM. To back that up, statistically we see that heavier weight classes lean more towards conventional styles of pulling.

In sumo we tend to see lighter weight classes for similar reasons why taller guys use conventional. It allows lifters with shorter arms/ longer torsos to shorten the ROM but with the loss of speed off the floor. But, while we see a greater degree of lumbar loading in the conventional we see a greater degree of leg (mainly quadriceps) activation in the sumo pull. This allows for a less taxing movement especially on that low back. This can allow you to pull heavy more than once per week because the low back is no longer a limiting factor. Sumo is about big strong legs and technique to really drive the weight up. Building the quadriceps and posterior chain muscles are going to create a very explosive pull especially off the floor, which is the hardest part of the lift in sumo. Really strong legs and solid technique will allow you to really push your knees out and practically imitate the bottom portion of a squat.

 

Knowing the benefits of each lift will help you to understand the benefits of doing both and knowing which style will help you lift the most. Although I stated how each lift activates different muscles significantly there is a lot of similarities is muscle acitvation. Both styles use the lumbar and Tspine, the posterior chain and upper back muscles to some degree. One study actually showed no difference in muscle activation in the L and T spine (shown above). But, doing each lift can help emphasize the muscles that used more in one vs. the other which could potentially carryover significantly to your main style. Also, just because you like the style you are using doesn’t nessecary mean you won’t like utilizing another, keeping both within close promixities in terms of weight can help you to better understand what style you can actually be more successful at. Just about every world record holder in powerlifting pulled sumo and some of them are long armed, taller lifters which goes against everything that I stated above but, for some sumo just works. So in closing, work both, find that perfect set-up, and start pulling.

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Sources:

An electromyographic analysis of sumo and conventional style deadlifts, by Escamilla, Francisco, Kayes, Speer and Moorman, in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2002

 

It’s relatively easy and important to watch your progression on heavy compound lifts. Most your programming should be revolved around those whether it’s based on percentages or auto-regulation. But, what about the lifts after your compounds? The ones that are suppose to help assist your weak points. How do we measure progress on those? Or, how do we even progress on these lifts? The easiest way to do so, is to break them down into three different steps:

1. Pick an appropriate amount of volume and set-rep schemes.
2. Choose weights you can hit sets across for the volume you see fit.
3. Make sure the lifts are actually necessary to obtain your goals.

Accessory work, unless it is a variation to your compounds, should be performed at a higher “hypertrophy” rep range. So when adding in curls, tricep work, extra shoulder work, etc. they should be in the 8 to 12 rep range. Doing this will allow you to produce a greater amount of metabolic fatigue within a fewer amount sets. There is no need to be doing 5 sets of curls or lateral raises, especially if you’ve already done some overhead pressing or chin-ups earlier your training. These smaller muscle groups will mostly likely be fatigued from your heavier lifts that will and should take priority. If they’re not fatigued then up the intensity or volume on the main compound work as they will benefit you far greater than accessory/isolation work will. The amount of work sets for a given accessory lift depends more on the individual because as stated before, accessory lifts should be focused on YOUR weak points and YOUR goals. For example, if your goal is primarily performance than do you really think you need to be doing 15-20 sets of bicep curls a week? Probably not, because your already going to be hitting them relatively hard in your rows and chin-ups. Now would it hurt to throw in 1 to 2 sets at the end of your training? No, not at all. Or if you’re a bodybuilder, do you think you’re going to need to do speed work to increase explosiveness on given a lift? No but, hopefully you see the point, that your accessory work needs to stay focused.

Progressing on accessory lifts should work just as you would for a sets-across type set-rep scheme but, it will be much slower as it is harder to progress on some of these smaller lifts. So for example, say were doing dumbbell curls and we can hit 25 pounds for sets of 8 and say were doing 3 sets for 8 to 12 reps. What we want to do is every week try to add reps to each set until we can 3 sets of 12 reps with 25 pounds. Than, increase the load and repeat the process. This will give an easy way to gauge your progress on lifts such as the bicep curl.

Being able to gauge your progression on accessory lifts can be very important. Just as you would with a compound, you want to continually overload the muscles to continue to get bigger and stronger. From experience I know it is very easy to get lazy with accessory work but, this can be a very valuable tool to keep yourself on top of these lifts to bring up weak points in your lifts and/or in your physique.

 

In the picture above is all the equipment I own and utilize on a day-day basis. Here is a list of everything that I think every serious lifter should own or have access to and why.

• Foam Roller – These are awesome for overall recovery and flexibility purposes. They will allow to really get into the areas that you are experiencing an increased level of soreness or tightness and work those areas out so you can feel 100% for your next training session. I use mine on a daily basis to really work into my hamstrings, quadriceps, and back. Just be aware that it doesn’t always feel pleasant when your working in those really sore and tight areas.
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• Bands – These can be used for a few different purposes but, I mainly use the collection of bands I have for mobility purposes and accommodating resistance on various exercises. They’re great for doing band deadlifts, squats, and bench but, I also like them a lot for face-pulls and hyperextensions. They come in varying resistances and the more they stretch the greater the resistance you’ll get out of the bands.
  • http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?cid=493
• Chalk – This should seem kind of obvious why you’d want to use chalk. Personally, I don’t like wrist straps and I’d rather be able to use my own hands to lift the weight rather than relying on straps. Its one thing if you blow your hand out but, I think the more you can use your own hands and just slap some chalk on them when you need it, the better your grip will become and it won’t ever really be an issue. 

• Footwear – I am going to include both pairs of shoes and the socks in this section. I pull in socks, I don’t like wearing shoes on deadlifts unless the gym doesn’t allow me to walk around with just socks on. But, Chuck Taylor’s are a great shoe if you are looking for a shoe to lift in. They’re cheap and you can beat them up pretty good before needing a new pair. But, the main reason I’d get Chuck’s over an athletic shoe is because of the flat and not so cushy sole. Running shoes are designed to run in, which is why they have a lot of cushion throughout the shoe and do not have a flat bottom. When you are performing a squat or deadlift you want the force you’re producing to go through the legs and into the floor to drive the bar up, and not to be cushioned by a running shoe. This leads into the olympic shoes, in my the case the Adidas Adipowers. The Adipowers allow you to squat deeper than you would in a regular shoe or barefoot because of their elevated heel. Like the Chuck’s, even with the elevated heel these shoes have a flat bottom with the heel made of a very hard, sturdy plastic to allow you push through them and drive up the weight. Having high socks in your gym bag for deadlifts is a must. Soccer, football, or baseball socks all would work fine but, they do make deadlift specific socks which are made to allow the bar to slide right up your shins without cutting and bruising them like it has done to me plenty of times in the past.

• A GOOD Belt – I want to emphasize that if you were only looking to get one thing out of everything I have listed, this is what you want. A good belt does not mean I’m talking about the 20 dollar ones you buy at the sporting goods store. I’m talking about a real 10-13 mm. thick belt that you can use the way a lifting belt is suppose to be used. One of these right here, will be a game changer in your lifting career. I personally have a 10 mm. Inzer Lever belt in the red, white, and blue color way. I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about training. Be prepared to get bruises on your abs when you first start using it, the thick leather is really stiff until it breaks in which can take awhile. But, a belt like this will allow you push your abdominals against the belt creating intra-abdominal pressure which allows you to be more stable and supported in a given lift.
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The deadlift, as I have said in the past is my favorite lift. It is nothing super technical and depth or range of motion isn’t questionable, it’s simply raw strength. With that in mind, your setup is crucial to create the best mechanical advantage to provide the most explosive/powerful position you can be in. Stand width is probably the biggest issue I see in the set up of the conventional deadlift. I want to start off by taking you away from the deadlift and I want you to think about vertical jumping. Maybe your trying to grab the rim on your basketball net, or doing box jumps, or anything of that nature. What does that stance look like? Try it out and take note of it, because that’s the stance you should be in. In the deadlift you want lift something off the floor and stand up with it right? Well why wouldn’t you want to be in the stance that allows you to get the highest of the ground. That is going to be your most explosive/powerful stance off the floor and as I’ve said in the past, the faster you get the weight off the floor, the better chance you have of locking it out.

My current stance/setup in the conventional deadlift

A further explanation from the “Deficit Deadlift” post why pause/dead-stop work is superior to touch-and-go. The squat, deadlift, bench press, and overhead press can all incorporate some pause work. In general, pause work is going to take the myotatic or stretch reflex out of the movement, mainly in the bench and squat (there isn’t really a stretch-reflex in the deadlift). A myotatic or stretch reflex is essentially a muscle contraction in response to a stretch in the muscle. Think of when your at the doctor’s office and the doctor taps your knee, the “knee-jerk reflex” is an example of  stretch reflex. Now relating this back to training, when we work with the stretch-reflex we are going to stimulate a more forceful contraction out of the bottom of a given movement. When we take out that reflex in pause work, we now need to be stronger at the weakest joint angles or “sticking points” of a given movement. With this, pause work can be applied to the big 3 lifts: Squat, Bench, and Deadlift.

Squat:

The squat as main lift should be worked without pausing at the bottom of the movement and should be worked with the stretch reflex. But, there are a few benefits when working a pause squat. The pause squat works like this;

 

Essentially, we should all know how to back squat but, this should be the depth (at least this but, ATG is better) and position you want when performing the pause squat. Get comfortable with the bottom of your squat position. From here you are going to sit in this position for a second then, drive back up as you would for a normal squat. You might notice a few things while performing this movement. For one, you are going to have the drop the load pretty significantly but, you might notice that your glutes and core might be more fatigued than usual or your form might break down a lot more than it usually does. Along with greater strength out of the hole, these are why the pause squat can be beneficial. It will allow us to locate and strengthen weak points, strengthen and hypertrophy very important muscles in training, and carry over into a stronger, more explosive back squat and deadlift as well.

Bench Press:

The bench press and overhead press should be almost always worked as a pause bench/overhead press for similar reasons. The dumbbell bench press is going to stimulate a greater stretch reflex than a barbell bench press due to ROM but, not many people use a full range of motion in the dumbbell bench to get the benefits. Alright let me ask you guys a quick question, how many people do you see in the gym use partial reps on the bench press? Personally, I see a whole lot doing this and most of them have very poor chest development and I would say strength but, its not impressive when your doing partials on bench for no other reason than your ego. Want to know how to get an awesome chest? Pause bench press.

 

It is very similar to the pause squat, bringing the bar in down to your chest, letting it dig into your chest for a second than press the weight up. Look at some powerlifters that have strong bench numbers, this is how you have to press in a meet and I guarantee that if they are a raw lifter, they have a very impressive chest. In order to press the weight off your chest from a dead-stop you need to develop really strong pec muscles. When working a pause bench you are going to train that bottom part of the lift really hard where the chest works the hardest to drive the load up. Those who are using partials or even touch-and-go are selling themselves short of their chest development because, while their numbers might be impressive, they are working the movement in a way that isn’t going to build up their chest.

Deadlift:

The reason why dead-stop is superior to touch-and-go was discussed in the “Deficit Deadlift” post. But for those that haven’t seen it, even without the deficit you are still going to be stronger off the floor in dead-stop because you are pausing on the floor, resetting, than pulling each rep. Unlike the touch-and-go, where you are using momentum from the eccentric portion of the previous rep to help lift the weight off the floor to perform the next rep. Similar to the bench, you are just not as strong as you could be out of the bottom of the lift. But, the deadlift is different, there is no myotatic reflex in the deadlift. There is no stored energy from the eccentric contraction because you start with the concentric contraction in the deadlift. So why work a pause deadlift? If you have issues with thoracic or lumbar rounding or lockout in your deadlift it could be very beneficial. The pause deadlift works like this;

You pull from the floor to about you shins, pause for a second then, finish the lift. Basically, you’re pulling twice in one rep. But, this allows you work on keeping a neutral spine through the entire lift. Most people that have a lot of flexion or back rounding usually occurs right off the floor. Their hips shoot up and their back rounds creating a very unsafe environment for the lower back. This could be your set-up but if it’s not that, the pause deadlift allows you to work on keeping your hips down when initiating the lift and keeping a strong, safe neutral spine position while helping to strengthen lockout.

If you find that you can benefit from any of these to bring up weak points in your physique or training let me forewarn you, they are not easy lifts. Don’t think you can use anywhere near your normal lifts, you will get crushed. As stated they are great lifts for weak point training and can benefit trainees one way or another.

 

Everyone knows that compound/multi-joint lifts are superior to isolation/single joint movements in both strength and muscular development. Yet constantly see people half-ass these movements (especially the squat) then, go on to do a million accessory lifts like they are the key to size and strength. If you took a program such as Madcow’s 5×5 it has you squatting, rowing, and benching 2-3 times a week, with deadlifting and over-head pressing just once a week. Every time I recommend this program to someone they almost always look at me like I’m crazy. SQUATTING 3 TIMES A WEEK?! Why not right? I have a few pet-peeves, if you will, in the training world, one of them being the whole “leg day” bullshit. Well here it is, if you trained legs more than once every 5 to 7 days you wouldn’t have DOMS for 3 days after every session. Look as someone who wants to be a lifetime natural lifter, you are going to want to hit body parts more than once a week. You can’t have the “bodybuilder mentality” where you just throw things in if its not working. Which is why they run 2-3+ grams of gear a week (Test, Tren-A, Insulin, IGF-1, GH, EQ etc.). You’ll bury yourself with this mentality and kill your progression. Look even if you don’t care one tiny bit about strength (which any lifter especially naturals should) and only care about bodybuilding/aesthetics you should still want to utilize higher frequency training. But why? Well because after you train, muscle protein synthesis in that muscle will occur up to about 72 hours after that training session. So, after those 3 days that muscle is not receiving any stimulus to grow bigger and stronger. What high frequency allows you to do is hit these muscles every 3 days to continually make gains. This is also why guys running a lot of gear can get away with their style of training because their muscle protein synthesis, along with other things, are already elevated. Also, what is really mind blowing is this is not a new concept. Look at guys before the “Golden Era” of bodybuilding (so before Arnold). Steve Reeves being the most popular one that comes to mind, you want to know how he trained? 3 days a week full body routines. In addition, people need to understand that lifting is a skill, the skill of squatting, deadlifting, benching, pull-ups etc. Remember when you first tried to do perform these lifts? Maybe you felt awkward, uncoordinated, weak, and uncomfortable but, over time you are now able to perform them with control, confidence, and strength. Lifting is like anything else, you want to be better at a sport? You’re not going practice only once a week are you? If someone kidnapped your mother and told you that the only way your going to see her again is if 3 months from now you have to add 100 pounds to your squat, are you only going to squat once a week? Probably not. The point is if you want to get bigger and stronger from lifting, do the lifts more often.

Most people can handle working the same muscles/muscle groups twice per week. Three times a week does work extremely well at the novice/intermediate but, might be too much for some people. But, try not to set-up your routine so that your hitting similar muscles on back to back days. For example, we can take a basic Upper/Lower split vs. a Full Body Routine:

• Monday: Upper Body
  • Bench Press
  • Overhead Press
  • Weighted Chin-ups
  • Tricep Extensions
  • DB Curls
  • Lateral Raises
  • Face-Pulls

• Tuesday: Lower Body
  • Squats
  • Deficit Deadlifts
  • Glute-Ham Raise
  • Ab Work

• Thursday: Upper Body
  • Overhead Press
  • Bench Press
  • Weighted Chin-ups
  • Hammer Curls
  • Tricep Extensions
  • Lateral Raises
  • Face-Pulls

• Friday: Lower Body
  • Deadlifts from the floor
  • Pause Squats
  • Glute Ham Raise
  • Ab Work

Full Body:

• Monday:
  • Squats
  • Bench
  • Barbell Row

• Wednesday:
  • Squat
  • Overhead Press
  • Weighted Chin-Ups
  • Deadlifts
  • Lateral Raises

• Friday:
  • Squats
  • Bench
  • Barbell Row
  • Dips
  • DB Curls
  • Tricep Extensions

This could be a 2 or 3 time per week style program that it fits in the 72 hours that was mentioned before and has minimal day-to-day overlap in muscle groups. The accessory work can be changed based on your individual weak points but, this could be a basic layout of both heavy compounds and variations along with some “bro” type accessory work with the capabilities of throwing in cardio on your 3 to 4 off days as long as you’re recovering properly. Don’t set it up so you’re squatting monday and deadlifting on tuesday (or OHP on monday and bench tuesday). There’s too much overlap there and even though I’m preaching a higher frequency, you still need to let yourself recover because this could effect your progression and can be very taxing on your body.

I want to finish this up stating that yes I understand that you can make tremendous strides in both strength and size only hitting body parts once week. But I’ll you ask this, could you have gotten to where you are in your training faster or surpassed where you are now? I would say yes, based on my experience. From running body-part split programs my number were:

• Squat: 290 LBS.
• Bench: 195 LBS.
• Deadlift: 480 LBS.

I discovered Bill Starr’s work when I got to this point in my training. I took these numbers and ran Madcow’s just this past August until the end of December 2013. When I did a test day after New Year’s my numbers were:

• Squat: 405 LBS.
• Bench: 225 LBS.
• Deadlift: 505 LBS.

This not only shows how well linear progression works but, how much you can improve on a 3 day-a-week full body routine with nothing more than heavy compound lifts. Then, I decided to move into the great undulating/wave periodization type training. Jim Wendlers’ 5/3/1 Big But Boring Template. In the test day I uploaded just a few days ago, that is my fourth training cycle on this program my numbers were:

• Squat: 415 LBS.
• Bench: 250 LBS.
• Deadlift: 535 LBS.

Enough Said.

We don’t always have access to premiere equipment especially competitive powerlifting equipment (deadlift bars, mono-lifts, competition benches etc.). If you’re training at a commercial gym sometimes you’re going to have to make due with what you have. But, here is something worth a try if you want a grippier bench to help dig those traps for a more powerful pressing position. If you have access to bands or have your own (like I do) you can wrap them around the bench like so:

 

These bands are basically giant rubber bands, so you can kind of imagine how they’ll feel on a bench. You can also you use chalk if your gym allows it (I think most do but, it can be messy so this might be a better option). So if you feel like your arch is slipping in your bench or could be better, I would definitely give this a try. Another reason I like this as well, is it allows you to get your feet more underneath you because your upper body won’t be slipping around so much. This will allow you to engage your glutes (butt muscles) in the lift (the bench press is a full body lift). Definitely give this a try if you feel it could benefit your pressing game.

 

Bands from pictures:
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