How to do a sumo deadlift
Stand with your feet wide, toes turned out, and your shins close to the bar. The bar should be over the middle of your feet.
Bend down and grip the bar with your hands about shoulder-width apart, inside your legs, arms straight.
Push your knees out over your toes, drop your hips, lift your chest and flatten your back.
Brace and pull the slack out of the bar until you feel tension.
Push the floor apart with your feet and stand up, keeping the bar close and your chest up.
Finish standing tall with your hips straight, then lower the bar under control the way it came up.
These steps describe common technique. If something hurts, stop and ask a qualified coach or clinician.
Common sumo deadlift mistakes
Hips shooting up first
Keep pushing your knees out and your chest up, so your hips and shoulders rise together.
Knees caving in
Push your knees out over your toes the whole way up.
Stance wider than your hips allow
Go only as wide as lets you get to the bar with a flat back and your knees over your toes.
Bar drifting forward
Keep it against your shins and over the middle of your feet.
How to track your sumo deadlift
Log the weight and reps of every set. Over a few weeks, the heaviest weight you lift and your estimated one-rep max show whether you are getting stronger, even when your sets use different rep counts.
Estimated 1RM, Epley formula
140 kg × (1 + 3 ÷ 30) ≈ 154 kg
A set of 3 at 140 kg estimates a one-rep max of about 154 kg.
