How to do the Sumo Deadlift
- Stand with a wide stance, toes turned out, bar over the middle of your foot.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees to grip the bar inside your legs.
- Push through your feet, keeping the bar close to your legs.
- Stand up tall, extending your hips and knees fully, then lower.
Full technique — 8 steps
- Stand with a wide stance and toes turned out, with the bar over the middle of your foot.
- Bend at the hips and knees, then take a grip inside your legs with straight arms.
- Set your shins close to the bar and flatten your back.
- Take a breath and tighten your stomach hard, pull your hips down toward the bar, and create tension before the bar leaves the floor.
- Push your knees out and drive through your feet as the bar rises vertically.
- Keep the bar close to your legs while extending the knees and hips together.
- Stand tall at the top with hips and knees fully extended and shoulders directly over your hips.
- Lower the bar by hinging back first, then bending the knees once the bar passes them.
Common mistakes
- Hips shooting up early
- Bar drifting away from legs
- Knees collapsing inward
- Starting with hips too high
- Leaning back at the top
Form cues
- Push knees out
- Pull hips down toward bar
- Keep shins nearly vertical
- Drag bar up legs
- Finish with glutes
