conventional vs sumo DL form?

[leeniepie]

due to injury I've been unable to lift consistently for months. slowly getting back to it now. today is the first day I've deadlifted without pain in months, so I kept the weight super light and reps low. i'd really appreciate some advice on my form as I feel its really gone to poop, and whether I should switch to sumo or stay conventional (some people have recommended switch to sumo as there is less stress on your back apparently?)

many thanks

https://youtu.be/l8irN7_qVro
https://youtu.be/ZAgdgtI7WXs

[3SchnitzelsAday]

You have good build for deadlifting, your conventional looks good.
That said, if its light weight, it doesnt matter. Its about keeping the form with the heavy weights.
Maybe video with heavier weight would be better.

[leeniepie]

You have good build for deadlifting, your conventional looks good.
That said, if its light weight, it doesnt matter. Its about keeping the form with the heavy weights.
Maybe video with heavier weight would be better.

Yes I know heavy weight is the test. I'm slowly getting back at it after injury so trying to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong now before it gets heavy.

[VeganBarbell]

Form looks good. My only suggestion would be to open your toes outward a bit. It will help you to engage your hips and glutes more effectively. Better hip drive, less strain on the back. You may also want to sit back with your weight closer to your heels to get a solid push through floor rather than a pulling with the back motion; if that makes sense.

[Dincho98]

Form on both deadlifts looks fine to me.

In my personal experience, while doing sumo, I can lift much, much more and I don't get enormous back soreness.
Whether I do convetional, I get biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig muscle soreness (it could be because I'm not performing it on a weekly basis, but in my opinion, it's also because lower back is working more on conventional).

Due to your back injury, I'd stick with sumo if I were you.

[sooby]

sumo is less stressful and safer on the lower back.

imo tho if you are going to go sumo do some direct lower back work like weighted back extensions. sumos work the quads and the glutes but the lower back not so much.

[arcticnova]

Sumo's main advantage is it directs some of the back work to the glutes/quads and there is a shorter range of motion. This can be advantageous to competitor lifters that mainly care about the # that shows on the scorecard and little else. However, for strength training and physical fitness, the compound exercise with the largest range of motion is always king. Doing sumo deadlifts also makes for a larger muscle overlap between the deadlift and squat.

I strongly disagree with all the people recommending sumo simply because it is less back intensive. That ignores the whole point of working out. To get stronger. That INCLUDES your back and core. Back soreness is OK. Back PAIN is not. If you are doing the movement with the right form, there should not be pain. The best way to rehab your back and make sure you don't pull it again, is by making it stronger. Not by ignoring it! If your back is being hit disproportionately hard and you have the correct form, then just add weight a little slower so that your back can catch up to the rest of your muscles. Nothing wrong with that. But atleast your back is getting stronger and beefed up, instead of ignored and prone to injury.

I suppose it is possible that you had some debilitating injury that injured your back permanently to the point that heavy load on it should be avoided for the rest of your life. I doubt that is the case though and even if it is, I would not recommend you do sumo deadlifts either then.

At the end of the day though, doing sumo instead is not the end of the world. It's way better than doing no deadlifts and if doing sump keeps you deadlifting (VS dropping them from your routine) then it is great. It's still a GREAT exercise.

[leeniepie]

Form looks good. My only suggestion would be to open your toes outward a bit. It will help you to engage your hips and glutes more effectively. Better hip drive, less strain on the back. You may also want to sit back with your weight closer to your heels to get a solid push through floor rather than a pulling with the back motion; if that makes sense.

Thank you. Sitting back is something that I struggle with and will work on. I will try toes out.

[leeniepie]

Form on both deadlifts looks fine to me.

In my personal experience, while doing sumo, I can lift much, much more and I don't get enormous back soreness.
Whether I do convetional, I get biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig muscle soreness (it could be because I'm not performing it on a weekly basis, but in my opinion, it's also because lower back is working more on conventional).

Due to your back injury, I'd stick with sumo if I were you.

Thanks for your advice

[leeniepie]

Sumo's main advantage is it directs some of the back work to the glutes/quads and there is a shorter range of motion. This can be advantageous to competitor lifters that mainly care about the # that shows on the scorecard and little else. However, for strength training and physical fitness, the compound exercise with the largest range of motion is always king. Doing sumo deadlifts also makes for a larger muscle overlap between the deadlift and squat.

I strongly disagree with all the people recommending sumo simply because it is less back intensive. That ignores the whole point of working out. To get stronger. That INCLUDES your back and core. Back soreness is OK. Back PAIN is not. If you are doing the movement with the right form, there should not be pain. The best way to rehab your back and make sure you don't pull it again, is by making it stronger. Not by ignoring it! If your back is being hit disproportionately hard and you have the correct form, then just add weight a little slower so that your back can catch up to the rest of your muscles. Nothing wrong with that. But atleast your back is getting stronger and beefed up, instead of ignored and prone to injury.

I suppose it is possible that you had some debilitating injury that injured your back permanently to the point that heavy load on it should be avoided for the rest of your life. I doubt that is the case though and even if it is, I would not recommend you do sumo deadlifts either then.

At the end of the day though, doing sumo instead is not the end of the world. It's way better than doing no deadlifts and if doing sump keeps you deadlifting (VS dropping them from your routine) then it is great. It's still a GREAT exercise.

Thankyou for your advice. I understand what you mean about strengthening the back rather than ignoring it. I am doing weighted back extensions to try to strengthen without causing pain. I might just do a mixture of both whilst my back is still recovering.