Conventional Deadlift vs Sumo Deadlift: Which Is Best for You?

Deadlifts are one of the key exercises to any strength training program and are great at building muscle and power.

However, choosing between conventional and sumo deadlifts is a hot topic that can make the decision challenging.

Each style has its own unique benefits and technique which will suit certain athletes training goals and body types.

So, we are going to break down the two movements to let you make up your mind on which type of deadlift suits you best.

Differences Between Conventional and Sumo Deadlifts

To get right into it, let's take a look at the main differences between the regular conventional deadlift and the sumo deadlift.

Although it might not look like there's much of a difference between these two exercises to someone who isn't experienced, the difference in technique and form matters.

With a conventional deadlift, you keep your feet hip-width apart and your hands just on the outside of your legs as you grip the bar. However, with a sumo deadlift, you spread your legs much further apart, with your hands being on the inside of the legs as you grip the bar.
Conventional deadlifts are best for exercising the entire posterior chain, whereas the sumo deadlift emphasizes working the quads and glutes.
While the conventional deadlift is all about the pulling motion that comes from the lower back, the sumo deadlift focuses very heavily on the legs.
Sumo deadlifts feature a much shorter range of motion from the ground to the lockout position than conventional deadlifts.

Similarities Between Conventional and Sumo Deadlifts

Now that we know what the biggest differences are, let's take a look at some of the key similarities shared between conventional deadlifts and sumo deadlifts.

For both of these exercises, you're going to need a barbell, some clips, and some round weight plates.
Although the focus is slightly different in terms of the muscles worked, both of these types of deadlifts are compound and full-body exercises that target a significant portion of your lower body.
Although the degree of involvement is different, both types of deadlift involve your core, quads, back, and hamstrings.

Main Muscles Worked by Deadlifts

Before we move on, let's take a quick look at the main muscles worked out by both the conventional deadlift and the sumo deadlift.

During the deadlift, you need your glutes to lock out your legs. However, with a sumo deadlift, because your legs are wider, it targets your glutes even more.
If you're looking to workout your erector spinae, then the conventional deadlift is by far the better of the two exercises, although it's also involved in stabilizing and supporting you during the sumo deadlift.
Your upper back is also involved in both types of deadlift to a high degree, particularly your lats and rhomboids, as both help to stabilize the bar during your lifts. With that being said, the conventional deadlift involves these muscles just a little bit more.
One of the main muscles targeted by both types of deadlift, whether conventional or sumo, is the quads. Your quadriceps take a lot of pressure during the deadlift, with the sumo deadlift putting even more pressure on them than the conventional deadlift.
Just like the sumo deadlift puts more emphasis on your quadriceps, the conventional deadlift has more emphasis on your hamstrings, or in other words, the back of your legs.

Who Should Do Conventional Deadlifts?

What you're probably wondering now is whether the conventional deadlift or the sumo deadlift is better for you. Well, there are a number of circumstances that warrant you doing regular deadlifts.

Beginners

Beginners should start by doing conventional deadlifts because the technique is a little easier to master.

Conventional deadlifts don't need as much hip mobility, making them a bit more comfortable.

You can also try using dumbbells or kettlebells for this purpose as well. The main point is that you need to get used to pulling something up from the floor before you move on to variations of the deadlift.

Building Functional Strength

For anybody who wants to build functional strength, the conventional deadlift is best.

The range of motion and the position is more natural for most people, as it relies on hinging at your hips.

Hinging at your hips is the key part of functional fitness. The functional athleticism you build doing conventional deadlifts translates to your everyday life much more than the benefits of sumo deadlifting.

For Competitions

Moreover, if you are a competitor, then you absolutely want to do conventional deadlifts. If you are in strongman or strong woman competitions, the conventional deadlift is the only legal type.

Generally speaking, a conventional deadlift stance is better for most competitors, because this type of training translates better to other movements.

Who Should Do Sumo Deadlifts?

Just like there are people who should do conventional deadlifts, there are also those who might benefit from doing sumo deadlifts.

Short Arms and Long Legs

The conventional deadlift can be difficult if you have very long legs or short arms, as the position can feel very unnatural.

If you have long legs and short arms, you might feel more comfortable doing a sumo deadlift due to the position. This allows you to take advantage of your natural range of motion much better.

Lifting a Lot

Another reason why you might want to try doing a sumo deadlift as opposed to a conventional deadlift is it generally allows you to lift more.

There is a reason why some people say that sumo deadlifting is cheating, it's easier to lift heavier loads.

If you want to feel good about yourself just lift as much as you can, then it's a sumo deadlift that you want to do.

For Those with Lower Back Pain

Because the conventional deadlift places a lot of emphasis on your back it's not always the best for people who have lower back issues.

Sumo stance doesn't put nearly as much pressure on your lower back, therefore making it better for people with lower back issues.

How to do Conventional Deadlifts

Right now, we're going to go through a step-by-step tutorial on exactly how to do conventional deadlifts, so you can do them safely.

Place a bar on the ground with a reasonable amount of weight.
Your feet should be about hip-width underneath the bar. As you look down, you should see the bar sitting directly over the knot of your shoelaces.
Use a deadlift grip of your choice. Grip the bar just a little bit wider than your legs. Make sure to keep your spine neutral.
Create tension in your posterior chain, back, and core. Press your feet, specifically your heels, down into the floor, while pulling your shoulders back and puffing your chest out.
At this point, take a deep breath inwards and lift the bar up vertically, while keeping it close to your body.
Without hyperextending your hips, drive them forward to complete the lift.
Then lower the bar in the reverse order back to the ground again.

How to do Sumo Deadlifts

Now that you know how to do conventional deadlifts, let's take a look at how to do sumo deadlifts.

To start, choose how much weight you want to place on the bar.
Stand in front of the bar with a very wide stance, and your toes points outwards 45°. Your stance needs to be wide enough so that your elbows can stay on the inside of your knees when you reach down to grip the bar.
Grip the bar at shoulder width while keeping your torso nearly vertical and your back flat. It is recommended to use a double overhand grip.
Keep your core very tight and don't overarch your back. Start pulling on the barbell slightly while engaging your core, posterior chain, and shoulders.
While taking a deep breath inwards, drive through your feet, driving your heels into the ground, and lift the bar upwards.
Make sure to keep the bar close to your body and squeeze your glutes and hamstrings as you stand upwards. If you find that the bar stalls around your knees, drive your hips forward a little bit.
Unlike with the regular deadlift, instead of ending the lift by leaning back into the lockout position, simply stand up tall.

Equipment for Deadlifts

Something that we quickly want to touch on is that there are various pieces of equipment that you can use for deadlifting.

For instance, if you want to increase the amount of weight you can comfortably lift without injuring your back, using a weightlifting belt is recommended.

If you don't have that much grip strength and your back and leg strength are progressing faster than your grip strength, using some lifting straps can help.

You also need to make sure that you wear the right weight-lifting shoes while avoiding running shoes.

Running shoes don't allow for the best weight distribution when doing deadlifts, and may actually cause injuries.

Pros and Cons of Conventional Deadlifts

Just like every exercise out there, the conventional deadlift has both its advantages and disadvantages. Let's start by looking at the advantages.

Pros

The conventional deadlift is excellent for targeting your quads, hamstrings, and back. It's actually one of the best lower back exercises out there. Your hamstrings and erector spinae may also get worked out to a high degree.
Because of the positioning of the conventional deadlift, it doesn't place as much stress on your knees and hips as the sumo deadlift. Therefore, the conventional deadlift is good for people who have knee or hip injuries.
If you have longer arms, it means that there's less distance to pull the weight, which makes conventional deadlifts easier for people with longer arms.

Cons

Because of the way that you stand during the conventional deadlift, you can't lift as much weight as with the sumo deadlift. There's a long range of motion here, and that means that there's a lot of lifting for you to do.
Another drawback of the conventional deadlift is that it can be hard on your lower back. While it exercises your lower back to a high degree, this also means that it puts a lot of pressure on your lower back, and this could be bad for people who have lower back injuries.

Pros and Cons of Sumo Deadlifts

Just like conventional deadlifts have both positive and negative aspects, so do sumo deadlifts, so let's take a look at what these are right now.

Pros

Sumo deadlifts are great if you want maximum leg activation. It's a great exercise for your quads, glutes, and hips.
If you have a lower back injury, sumo deadlifting may be better for you as it places less stress on your lower back.
Another benefit of the sumo deadlift is that it helps to improve hip mobility, as your hips perform external rotation and abduction during the sumo deadlift.

Cons

Perhaps the biggest downside of sumo deadlift is that they just aren't legal in strongman and strong woman competitions.
Furthermore, if you're doing CrossFit, regular weightlifting, or Olympic lifting, the sumo deadlift just doesn't carry over to other exercises the same way as conventional deadlifts do.

Rounding Up: Which One is Better?

Now that have seen all the differences between the two types of deadlift, which one is better?

The answer will depend on your goals, but if you plan on powerlifting or entering strongman compeitions then convenitional deadlift is the better choice. Plus, conventional deadlift converts into everyday lift better than sumo deadlifts.

But if you want maximum leg activation and to lift as much as possible then sumo deadlift will be the one for you.

However, there's no reason that you can't do both types of deadlift, particularly if you are looking to reap the most possible benefits.

William Parrett

Will, co-founder of Home Gym Supply, launched the company in 2019 after 15-years in the fitness industry. His expertise stems not only from his professional background but also from his athletic pursuits. A former competitor in the World Beauty Fitness & Fashion (WBFF) and a competitive rugby player, Will has always been dedicated to health and fitness.

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