3 Popular Deadlift Variations

grisselle3
Nov 8, 2020
2 min read

There are a variety of deadlifts and some of the top three which include the following: Conventional, Romanian, and Sumo.

Now, what exactly does that mean and what makes them so different?

They differ based on which muscles are incorporated and/or emphasized, in conjunction with stance--placement and distance of your feet. For example, the Romanian deadlift includes feet hip-width and/or shoulder-width distance. The Romanian deadlift (i.e., “RDL” for short) has the shoulders in line with the hips and emphasizes the hamstrings (i.e., back of the thigh) and glutes more than say a conventional stance. The conventional stance is with feet hip-width and/or shoulder-width distance; the shoulders will be higher than the hips, and hips will be higher than the knees. Deadlifts technically include hamstrings and glutes (among other muscles), but the RDL among these three will be a bit more aggressive. Plus, they can be another alternative for people with knee pain; it is common for either physical therapists, certified athletic trainers (ATC) or seasoned strength and conditioning coaches program this for clientele/patients as a way to deadlift while working around their knee injury and/or pain.

Finally--what is the sumo deadlift? It means that your feet are more than hip-width and/or shoulder-width distance. Think of a sumo wrestler. Literally--think of their stance. Imagine that with either a barbell, kettlebell, dumbbell, T-bell, powerblock or any other object used for weights between your legs. This deadlift variation can be an exercise that helps provide a slow introduction towards a conventional style deadlift (e.g., feet are hip-width and/or shoulder distance). An example would be someone who deadlifted conventional style with the heaviest kettlebell, has graduated from a trap bar/hex bar and is now playing with a barbell. The sumo stance provides

less pressure or strain on the lower back. The conventional stance for a barbell will engage the erector spinae, a muscle, in the lower back; it can be common for newbies to the barbell to experience pain if either not instructed properly or carelessly lifting the bar. The sumo stance can be beneficial for these other reasons: individuals who are longer limbed and don’t feel comfortable with conventional stance, lower back pain and slowly introducing deadlifts while either injured or in physical therapy and/or rehabilitation, emphasis on the adductors (e.g., muscles in the inner thighs).