Legs · Compound

Sumo Barbell Deadlift

A deadlift variation with a wide stance and narrow grip that emphasizes the quads, adductors, and glutes more than the conventional pull. The upright torso it allows takes strain off the lower back, which is why many lifters with longer legs or cranky backs pull more comfortably this way. It is a technique-heavy lift where patience off the floor decides everything.

By Macros Inc Team Verified by Alex Dedmon Updated August 2026

Advanced Barbell Compound Hinge
sumo-barbell-deadlift-poster
  • Level Advanced
  • Equipment Barbell
  • Primary Muscles Adductors, Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back, Quads, Traps
  • Movement Compound Hinge

Demonstration

Watch the Form Demo

Technique

How to Do the Sumo Barbell Deadlift

  1. Take a wide stance with your shins close to vertical and toes turned out around 30 to 45 degrees.
  2. Grip the bar with your hands inside your knees, arms hanging straight down.
  3. Push your knees out, drop your hips, and lift your chest until your back is flat.
  4. Pull the slack out of the bar, brace, and push the floor apart with your feet to break the bar off the ground.
  5. Drive the hips through to lockout, standing tall without leaning back.
  6. Lower under control and reset your position fully between reps.

Anatomy

Muscles Worked

legs
Primary muscles
Adductors Hamstrings Quads
Secondary muscles
Glutes Lower Back Traps

Do This

Form Cues

  • Take a wide stance with the toes turned out and grip inside the knees.
  • Push the knees out and drop the hips before the pull.
  • Keep the chest up and the bar against the shins.
  • Be patient off the floor. The sumo pull starts slow and finishes fast, and rushing the start ruins the position.

Avoid This

Common Mistakes

  • Starting with the hips too high, which turns it into a stiff leg pull.
  • Letting the knees cave in as the bar breaks the floor.
  • Jerking the bar rather than building tension first.
  • Setting the stance so wide that the knees have nowhere to go and cave inward off the floor.

More to Explore

Variations & Related Exercises

Variations of this lift

Trains the same muscles