Foray into Sumo

[EstebanBrazoFuerte]

Thanks @mgil - I forgot that last time you said to video from the front. I rewatched Izzy’s video posted above which reminded me. (Probably have a little valgas (spelling??) knee going on.)

[chrisd]

Looks like you could probably drop your hips a bit more and get a bit more upright on the pull.

I have found that to cue myself for this, once the slack is out of the bar, a positive outward knee movement, still under full tension, lowers the hips and allows me to push through the feet and legs. It seems counter intuitive at first, hips go down (sort of forward and down) bar comes up, or it doesn't if I'm burned out. Just trying to move my hips into position is less useful as a cue, outward knees (really feel it in the abductors) seems to do it. As the bar breaks the floor I really feel it through the soles of the feet and then my knees go in and I'm standing, or I fall apart and fail just off the floor.

[Sumo]

Looks like you could probably drop your hips a bit more and get a bit more upright on the pull.

Maybe, I think it looks pretty good right now, I'd bet money that if he drops his hips lower they will end up shooting up during the pull befoe the bar breaks.

I'd suggest working on hip mobility to open up the taint and get the hips closer to the bar would be more beneficial. Also, slow it down mate it's not a race to get the reps out. @EstebanBrazoFuerte just be aware that technique makes or breaks a sumo pull, and if you're just starting out you'd be better off doing one of the following, or a combination of them:

1. low reps 1-3
2. lower the weight
3. reset all your reps fully

if you haven't seen this already it's a series of tutorial vidoes from JTS, and it also happens to be one of the best How To Sumo guides around

[EstebanBrazoFuerte]

@Sumo thanks so much man!! Sorry I’m a little slow checking the forum. I didn’t know there was a 5 pillars series on sumo, i’ll Definitely check it out. The 5 pillars on bench series fixed me right up....

My hips do rise *before the bar breaks off the floor* when I lower them *during set up*. It’s an active fight to keep them down. I am relatively clueless w regards to sumo though, of Course.

[bross84]

@EstebanBrazoFuerte One thing you can also try is a "top-down" approach to your set up. What I mean by this is instead of bending over and grabbing the bar, squat down to the bar while driving your knees out hard until you can grab the bar. I see you're pulling hook and this can make it a bit more difficult but it is something you could practice until you learn what it's supposed to feel like in the bottom of the pull. And as stated above, slow down, the sumo deadlift is an extremely technical lift and you have to be patient off the floor with it.

Along with the JTS stuff, Bryce Krawczyk from Calgary Barbell has some really good sumo technique stuff.

[Sumo]

@Sumo thanks so much man!! Sorry I’m a little slow checking the forum. I didn’t know there was a 5 pillars series on sumo, i’ll Definitely check it out. The 5 pillars on bench series fixed me right up....

My hips do rise *before the bar breaks off the floor* when I lower them *during set up*. It’s an active fight to keep them down. I am relatively clueless w regards to sumo though, of Course.

The height at which your hips end up as the bar break is generally where they need to be, and a good idea to try and work towards. A way to go about setting your hips at just the right height is to pull yourself down to the bar rather than lowering to what you think is your start positiong. I think that Bryce even talks about this in some of his videos on Sumo, you'll find that if you pull(correctly) yourself down to the bar your hips will naturally stop at the point where you're strongest.

If you have a look at the first clip, you'll notice how I engage and pull myself towards down to the bar, where it breaks the floor as get into position - this is me activelly pulling on the bar from the moment you see me engage lats and pull at the top:


This second clip is a slightly more refined version of it which I've settled on, I lower myself to where I roughly feel my hips need to be, grab the bar and then you see me do a little wiggle after which my hips change position slightly before the bar breaks. That little wiggle is me activelly pulling myself to the bar looking for the sweet spot:


An easy way to tell if you're pulling yourself down to the bar is feeling your thumbs being crushed, or not,(hook grip only) as you get into position.

EDIT: Also I second @bross84 suggestion to check out Bryçe's content.

[bross84]

@Sumo I notice you, like many other sumo pullers, drive your head back. What is your take on a more neutral head position, which is what I do, as it feels very unnatural to me to drive the head back like yourself. I plan on this dev block trying the head back approach just to see for myself if it does make a difference.

[Sumo]

@Sumo I notice you, like many other sumo pullers, drive your head back. What is your take on a more neutral head position, which is what I do, as it feels very unnatural to me to drive the head back like yourself. I plan on this dev block trying the head back approach just to see for myself if it does make a difference.

It makes a noticeable difference in a few areas for me, my chest position, my upper back tightness, and lastly a faster, stronger lockout. It actually feels different if I set my chin high or whether I throw my chin up as I pull. Generally I find that setting it high is better for control and it lessens the chance of a missgroove compared to forcefully lifting my chin as I pull. You can see from the difference in technique in the second clip, it's somewhere over 6 months after the first.

From a powerlifting perspective there are a few reasons why a high chin is better than a neutral head position, the 3 most noteable are:

1. It helps with lockout.
2. Actually helps to prevent back rounding
3. The majority of elite lifters display this in their pulling technique, whether it's sumo or conventional.

[EstebanBrazoFuerte]

@Sumo beautiful pulls man, thanks for sharing. Lots of info to digest here....! Thanks to all for your input!!

[Sumo]

@Sumo beautiful pulls man, thanks for sharing. Lots of info to digest here....! Thanks to all for your input!!

Thanks mate, I've put a lot of work into my sumo over the last couple of years, it's by far my favourite of the big 3 lifts.