Form check - Deadlift - Conventional and Sumo (sumo looks 'better')?

[rorywatts]

Hi all,

I'm 6"0', about 200lb (putting on weight), have fairly short arms, and a long torso.

I wanted to post some videos of me deadlifting in conventional and sumo to raise a broader question, which is:
Are there some body shapes where sumo is a better way to deadlift, while still adhering to starting strength principles?
The videos are side-on as to highlight some issues that I am concerned with.

Here are two videos of me lifting conventional

1. Form check - deadlift - conventional - YouTube
2. Form check - Deadlift - Conventional - YouTube

Some notes about lifting conventional:

• When I deadlift conventional, it feels okay, but mainly the tendons around my glutes are left feeling painful and itchy (presumably some nervous irritation)
• One flaw I note, is my upper back is not tight enough, leading to the bar dangling out in front of me as the bar travels past my knees
• My biggest concern, is it looks like my lower back is rounding, nearly immediately. I've illustrated this in the attached image.
• Of course, the reason I find this concerning is that I don't want to injure my lower back while deadlifting, and I associate this kind of curvature with an increase risk of injury. Is that incorrect?

Here are two videos of me lifting sumo, on the same day with the same weight

1. Form check - Deadlift - Sumo - YouTube
2. Form check - Deadlift - Sumo - YouTube

Some notes about lifting sumo

• When I deadlift sumo, it feels hard, but generally feels like things are moving appropriately. It feels as though the weight of the barbell is being distributed over my centre of mass, rather than hanging out in front of me.
• I feel far less concerned about my lower back angle, which looks straighter, as shown in the attached image.

comparison.jpg

To reiterate my question, are there body types where sumo is the more appropriate choice for strength training (i.e. moving the most weight over the longest range of motion), given that the range of motion is very similar, and sumo seems to be a more appropriate technique for that body shape?
This is a genuine question, and I'd be really happy to be corrected on anything I'm thinking incorrectly about.

Thank you for your time,

[Pete Troupos]

Need a video that follows the sticky guidelines to be able to help. Set of 5 from the prescribed angle. Looks like you just need to learn to set your back and do the lift correctly and you'll be ok. If you've come to get reinforcement that you should pull sumo, you've come to the wrong place.

The exercise selection criteria starts with "use the most muscle mass", meaning training the prime movers and postural muscles. You give some of this up with sumo. So it wouldn't be in line. "longest effective ROM" seems fairly self-evident with regard to which finishes at a higher point off the floor typically. Again, sumo doesn't fit as well as conventional for that point and it's a little more involved than what I'll type out here right now. "move the most weight" may go to sumo. But even so, we've violated 2 of 3 criteria in service of the last. Not saying you're doing this, but people like to conflate what's good for competition (moving the most weight within the rules of the movement) with what's important for training strength (exercise selection criteria).

[rorywatts]

Need a video that follows the sticky guidelines to be able to help. Set of 5 from the prescribed angle. Looks like you just need to learn to set your back and do the lift correctly and you'll be ok. If you've come to get reinforcement that you should pull sumo, you've come to the wrong place.

The exercise selection criteria starts with "use the most muscle mass", meaning training the prime movers and postural muscles. You give some of this up with sumo. So it wouldn't be in line. "longest effective ROM" seems fairly self-evident with regard to which finishes at a higher point off the floor typically. Again, sumo doesn't fit as well as conventional for that point and it's a little more involved than what I'll type out here right now. "move the most weight" may go to sumo. But even so, we've violated 2 of 3 criteria in service of the last. Not saying you're doing this, but people like to conflate what's good for competition (moving the most weight within the rules of the movement) with what's important for training strength (exercise selection criteria).

Thanks for the feedback Pete, appreciate the reply.
I'll work on setting my back first and foremost.

[MrTambourineMan]

I wanted to post some videos of me deadlifting in conventional and sumo to raise a broader question, which is:
Are there some body shapes where sumo is a better way to deadlift, while still adhering to starting strength principles?

I feel uncertain as why you want to adhere to "SS principles." The exercise selection criteria seems arbitrary to a degree. I find the sumo more complex than the conventional, so I find it better for coordination purposes.

[Pete Troupos]

I feel uncertain as why you want to adhere to "SS principles." The exercise selection criteria seems arbitrary to a degree. I find the sumo more complex than the conventional, so I find it better for coordination purposes.

It's pretty far from arbitrary. We're trying to elicit a physiological adaptation and increase strength. If you don't understand, that's fine. But it certainly isn't arbitrary.
The hip extensors go through a greater ROM with conventional and the spinal extensors have to work harder with a more horizontal back angle at the start.