The Deadlift....You're Doing it Wrong!

A couple evenings ago I was at the gym doing my Wednesday night training session of deadlifts. I had my headphones in and my best "don't talk to me face" on because I was in the zone and really didn't want to be bothered, as per usual when I'm doing a tough workout.

I hadn't even made it through my warm-up set of 135 pounds when I could feel the eyes of the same man who hovered over me during my squats watching me deadlift. I finished the set, put the bar down, and pretended like I didn't see him walking over to me because, well, I just really didn't want him to bother me during my deadlifts like he did during my squats. He made it clear he had something to say and since I'm nice to a fault a took my headphones out to see what his deal was this time. (at the squat rack earlier right as I had the bar on my back about to start a set: Him: "Hey how many sets you got left??" Me: "I'll be done when I'm done, bro, don't you see this bar on my back??")

Anyway.

I decided to see what he had to say about my deadlifts. Maybe he had some great secret that was going to change my deadlift forever! Doubtful, I mean, we are at the YMCA, after all. Besides, I had first doubted this man's credibility when he asked how many sets I had left on the squat rack and proceeded to wander over to the smith machine to do squats with considerably less weight than I was doing and a super tight belt that he left on for his entire workout (bicep curls and all) Anyway, back to the deadlift conversation:
Him: "You know you're doing that all wrong!"
Me:  "How so?"
Him: "It's that wide stance, sweetheart. What are you doing? I've never seen anyone do that without getting hurt."
Me: "It's called a sumo deadlift. Don't you see how long my legs are? This is a thousand times better for my build than a conventional stance."
Him: "No, sweetheart, you're wrong. You're just setting yourself up for failure with that."
Me: "Well, I'm a personal trainer and a powerlifter and my coach is an elite level powerlifter. He and I both think sumo is the best for me and it feels way more natural than conventional so I think I'm just going to stick with it.
**Put my headphones back in and went about my business.
The conversation continued for a few more minutes but those were the high points. As a side note, I hate when strangers call me pet names.

 

I was both intrigued and annoyed by this little situation. I used to pull conventional and had such bad low back pain it hurt to live my daily life some days. After switching to sumo, all the pain has completely disappeared. Seeing that I am a very curious person by nature, I decided to further research the topic today.

I found a great article by Eric Cressey, one of the best strength coaches in the industry, and this is what he had to say about sumo pulls: "I like the sumo deadlift quite a bit for those who aren’t quite mobile enough to get all the way down to the bar for conventional deadlifts from the floor.  It’s also grown in popularity among powerlifters over the years because it shortens the distance the bar has to travel."

I have had some mobility issues that I am currently in the process of correcting. My hip mobility and hamstring mobility left a lot to be desired. I found that with the sumo stance it was quite a lot easier for me to get to the bar as opposed to conventional. A lot of times, I do some warm-ups in the conventional stance because I think it's important to be proficient at both. I have found that as my mobility issues improve, my comfort in the conventional stance is also improving.

Photo courtesy of elitefts.com

(note the sumo stance)

Another thing I found in was quest for knowledge was a recent article published on elitefts.com where Zane Getting had this to say: "I’ll start by saying that everyone is built different. We all have unique leverages, strengths, and numerous other contributing factors that will dictate what the best form is for each of us to use. The first thing that every lifter needs to do when approaching the deadlift is take a look at how they are built and what their strengths/weaknesses are, and then pick the form that best suits them."

I found numerous other credible sources that validated my belief that pulling sumo is not wrong.
 When it comes down to picking which stance to use, remember to consider a few things:

1. Do you have mobility issues? If so, you might find it is easier and more comfortable to be in the sumo position.
2. How are you built? If you have long legs like me, you might find the sumo stance will be your best bet. If you have short arms and a long torso, you also might find sumo is best, whereas if you have monkey arms and a short torso, you'll probably like conventional.
3. Which one feels most natural to you? When it comes down to it, you just have to experiment with sumo and conventional to see which one is the most comfortable. There are probably tons of people built similar to me who prefer conventional stance. It's all about finding what works for you.

Sumo pulls are not wrong, nor are conventional; it really comes down to personal preference. And to the man at the gym whose name I did not even get: next time you want to offer criticism make sure it's constructive and you're not just picking apart something that someone has clearly worked hard on. And just a word of advice, you may want to make sure you're not making yourself look silly by offering criticism on a topic you evidently know nothing about. Oh, and one more thing, sir, I apologize if you were insecure that a girl was lifting more than you.

Basically, just make sure you do your research and know why you do what you do. If you are injury free and seeing progress, then chances are you are doing something right. I guess in the future I just need to work on my "don't talk to me face" at the gym.