Sumo's

[Christopher Anderson]

I'm at 455, got 460 right to my knees but couldn't make it further.

[Meshuggah]

We are pretty even then. For stance width, I like my shins about 2" inside the rings. That's with feet spread, knees locked, and shins against the bar.
When I squat down to the bar, the shins are pretty much in line with the rings. I'm 5' 10", but I have a fairly long torso and shorter legs.

[Christopher Anderson]

At 5'7" my stance is a bit more narrow than yours. I just to get my shins right in the middle of the knurl between the outside rings and the inside rings at the middle of the bar. Biggest issue so far is getting the bar over the knees, but that will just take more practice.

[bean counter]

Chiming in since I've been training sumo for a few weeks now and will use it in competition this weekend.

My best conventional was 473 lbs (215 kg). Last week I managed 451 lbs (205 kg) sumo with something in the tank. Having dropped some weight I'm not sure I'm in a position to set an all time PR, but I'm hoping for 462 lbs (210 kg) on Sunday.

Shins about 1" inside the rings at 6' tall with a relatively long torso. My biggest challenge is getting into a good starting position and not letting the bar come forward off the floor.

[Dwayne_KONG_Wint]

Chiming in since I've been training sumo for a few weeks now and will use it in competition this weekend.

My best conventional was 473 lbs (215 kg). Last week I managed 451 lbs (205 kg) sumo with something in the tank. Having dropped some weight I'm not sure I'm in a position to set an all time PR, but I'm hoping for 462 lbs (210 kg) on Sunday.

Shins about 1" inside the rings at 6' tall with a relatively long torso. My biggest challenge is getting into a good starting position and not letting the bar come forward off the floor.

6'2" here. Shins are right at the rings if not 1 mm outside of the rings.
In general, I see the bar come away from the shins in folks who do this in their set up:
1. Set foot position
2. Bend over and grab bar w straight legs
3. Get air
4. Bend knees to make shins contact bar and kinda sorta but not really tighten back
5. Pull

Around step three, patience with a fully belly of air and pressure becomes an issue; so, they rush steps 4 and 5. This leads to either or combination of the following:
1. Kicking the bar forward with an aggressive dip of the shins toward the bar.
2. Lats are not engaged; so the shoulder blades roll forward
3. Overall system has not been rocked back to midfoot.

In either case, the bar will start forward.

Just something I've seen watching ppl lift. It occurs in conventional too but with sumo technique off the floor is so much more critical. You are forced to do it correctly in sumo if you want to lift much closer your true max. This makes it much harder off the floor but sets up your for a smooth and somewhat easy lockout. With conventional, we can be brute force around this.

So, I'm not perfect but I prefer to use this set up process which seems to work every time:
1. Set foot position
2. Bend over and grab bar w semi/straight legs
3. Bend knees to make contact with shins to bar. At this point my hip height in relation to mid food is set and does not go lower.
4. Feel your bodyweight slightly forward of my mid foot.
5. Get air
6. Rock back to midfoot while tightly squeezing lats down towards my back pockets (this also pulls slack out of the bar and locks the bar against my leg)
7. Stand up hard.

On step 6, I feel a big stretch in my posterior chain, and my lower back is tight in its normal anatomical lordotic curve.

If you are deadlifting, and you do not feel your lats all the way down your back, and you do not feel extension all the way down your back, then you aren't in the right position. Period. Feeling that is probably the biggest thing for not having the bar drift away from your body during the lift.

[Meshuggah]

At 5'7" my stance is a bit more narrow than yours. I just to get my shins right in the middle of the knurl between the outside rings and the inside rings at the middle of the bar. Biggest issue so far is getting the bar over the knees, but that will just take more practice.

How about a friendly race to a 500 Sumo for a little added motivation?

[Meshuggah]

Thanks for the tips, Dwayne.

[bean counter]

Much content, so informative

Thanks for the info-bomb Dwayne. I am definitely doing something closer to the first setup you described at the moment. I'm not going to try and change anything major before competing but I will try your alternative setup after. I don't think I've ever kicked the bar forward, but I have been guilty of both upper back rounding and not getting my weight back at times.

I'm sure my lats could still be tighter, but I do feel my back is much better engaged than it was with conventional.

[Christopher Anderson]

How about a friendly race to a 500 Sumo for a little added motivation?

I believe that is a requirement good sir!

Also thanks Dwayne for the tips and the info!

[Meshuggah]

I believe that is a requirement good sir!

Also thanks Dwayne for the tips and the info!

Great, I'm starting my Super Sumo Deadlift Cycle on Saturday.
Do you not have a training log?