How many sets and reps of the sumo deadlift should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Find your stance with an empty bar first, then work at around 70 percent of your best pull for 3 to 4 sets of 5, resting two to three minutes. Keep the reps at five or fewer, because the start position is the technical part and it decays quickly under fatigue. Add 2.5 to 5 kg a week while all five reps break the floor the same way, and pull heavy once a week, not three times.

What can I do instead of a sumo deadlift with no barbell?

A kettlebell sumo deadlift keeps the wide stance and the upright torso, with less weight available. A pair of heavy dumbbells held between the legs works as well, and a wide-stance band deadlift covers the pattern at home. None of them will load you as heavily, so add reps to make up the difference.

Who should do the sumo deadlift instead of a conventional one?

The wide stance shortens the pull and keeps the torso upright, which shares the work between glutes, hamstrings and adductors and asks less of the lower back, so it suits long-limbed lifters and anyone whose back objects to conventional pulling. Skip it if your hips cannot open enough to keep the shins near vertical, and do not expect much carryover if the pull you actually need to improve is a conventional one.

Advanced

Sumo Deadlift

The sumo deadlift widens the feet and brings the hips closer to the bar, cutting the range of motion and sharing load between the glutes, hamstrings, and adductors. It keeps the torso more upright, easing lower-back demand for many lifters. A strong choice if you have long limbs or a cranky back with conventional pulls.

Equipment: Barbell
Body part: Glutes, Hamstring
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus
Browse by movement: Hinge

How to do it

1
Set a wide stance with toes turned out and the bar over mid-foot.
2
Drop your hips and grip the bar inside your knees with arms vertical.
3
Spread the floor with your feet, set a tall chest, and brace hard.
4
Push through the whole foot and drive your hips straight to the bar.
5
Lock out by squeezing the glutes with knees and hips finishing together.
6
Reverse by pushing the hips back and guiding the bar down your legs.

Tips

Externally rotate the knees to track over your toes and open the hips.
Keep the bar tight to your body; drifting forward stalls the lockout.
Wedge your hips down and forward before pulling to remove the slack.

Variations

Common mistakes

The hips shoot up first while the bar is still on the floor, which turns a sumo pull into a stiff-legged one from a poor angle. Hips and shoulders should rise together.
A stance stretched wider than your hips can open forces the shins to slant and the knees to collapse in. Narrow it until you can sit down between your feet with a flat back.
Grip is often the first thing to fail, because a sumo bar leaves the floor slowly and hangs in your hands longer. Use a hook grip or alternate hands so your fingers do not decide the set.
Lockout gets finished by leaning the shoulders back behind the hips, which loads the lower back at the one moment the lift is already over.
Letting your weight roll to the front of the foot as the hips drop into position takes the floor away from the drive; the whole foot stays planted from setup to lockout.
A back that rounds to reach the bar is worth ending the set over, since the wide start already asks a lot of the hips and spine before the bar has moved.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the sumo deadlift should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Find your stance with an empty bar first, then work at around 70 percent of your best pull for 3 to 4 sets of 5, resting two to three minutes. Keep the reps at five or fewer, because the start position is the technical part and it decays quickly under fatigue. Add 2.5 to 5 kg a week while all five reps break the floor the same way, and pull heavy once a week, not three times.
What can I do instead of a sumo deadlift with no barbell?: A kettlebell sumo deadlift keeps the wide stance and the upright torso, with less weight available. A pair of heavy dumbbells held between the legs works as well, and a wide-stance band deadlift covers the pattern at home. None of them will load you as heavily, so add reps to make up the difference.
Who should do the sumo deadlift instead of a conventional one?: The wide stance shortens the pull and keeps the torso upright, which shares the work between glutes, hamstrings and adductors and asks less of the lower back, so it suits long-limbed lifters and anyone whose back objects to conventional pulling. Skip it if your hips cannot open enough to keep the shins near vertical, and do not expect much carryover if the pull you actually need to improve is a conventional one.

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