Developing lower body strength and muscle mass is critical when competing in strength and conventional sports. Whether an athlete is focused on being as strong as possible or being as athletic and fast as possible, the lower body training adaptations will have the most significant effect on sports performance. Not only will this training dictate how fast an athlete can run or how strong an athlete is, but proper lower body training also provides beneficial physiological adaptations, helping athletes become more resistant to bone and soft tissue injury.

The deadlift is an exercise that can be used in various ways to provide positive lower body strength training adaptations. This movement places great emphasis on posterior chain strength while helping to improve anterior chain strength as well. At Westside, we typically perform a max effort deadlift once every three weeks and execute dynamic effort deadlifts weekly. 

Over the years, our deadlift training has resulted in some of the strongest deadlifts in powerlifting. We have had countless 800lb+ deadlifts in the gym and in competition and a handful of 900lb+ deadlifts in competition. It is safe to say that the Westside Barbell approach to deadlift training works.

The deadlift is typically executed using one of two primary stances: conventional and sumo. The conventional stance calls for an athlete to set their feet no wider than shoulder-width apart and places great emphasis on the hamstring, glutes, lower back, and mid-back. The sumo stance involves an athlete setting their feet in a similar position as they would with a wider stance squat, and the emphasis is placed on the glutes, adductors, quadriceps, and anterior hip. 

Westside has extensive experience developing conventional and sumo deadlifts, with our 900lb+ deadlifts executed using both stances. When training strength athletes, we choose the stance based on the athlete's strengths and biomechanical advantages. When working with conventional sports athletes, we are often biased towards the sumo stance while still executing some conventional stance work with exercises such as Romanian deadlifts. 

Today, the sumo deadlift has become more popular than ever. Some of the heaviest deadlifts pulled in the last few years have been executed using a sumo stance, and you see more and more powerlifters choosing the sumo stance over the conventional. However, the conventional deadlift stance is a great way to train the posterior chain and is sometimes the most advantageous stance for an athlete to deadlift massive weight.

Below, we will discuss the benefits of using the conventional deadlift stance and provide advice to help you improve your conventional deadlift programming and execution. 

An Introduction to Conventional Deadlifts

The conventional deadlift is one of the two primary stances used when performing a competition-style deadlift. This stance emphasizes the posterior chain and helps strengthen the hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and mid-back. Essentially, the conventional stance deadlift trains the posterior chain from the ankles to the ears and even helps address some anterior chain muscles as well. 

While the sumo deadlift focuses on the anterior chain most, the conventional stance still targets the adductors, quadriceps, and hip flexors. The conventional stance is often used in strongman and powerlifting competitions and can be included in the training of conventional sports athletes as well. 

When it comes to success with the conventional deadlift stance, it all boils down to proper training weight choices and strict execution. Unfortunately, this stance has often become demonized, particularly in the sports performance world, due to poor execution and training weight choices.  

It is crucial to remember that few, if any, foundational strength training exercises are inherently dangerous. What makes a reasonable exercise dangerous is the athlete performing the movement and the coach programming the training. 

The conventional deadlift's brute strength and posterior chain development benefits are challenging to mimic with other exercises outside of squat and good morning variations. Some exercises are better at addressing specific posterior muscles or muscle groups when hypertrophy is the ultimate goal. However, the strength adaptations provided by a multi-joint concentric-only movement, such as the conventional deadlift, cannot be matched by any isolation exercises. 

Conventional Deadlift vs. Sumo Deadlift

The conventional deadlift is primarily used to improve the strength and muscular development of the posterior chain. This movement focuses significantly on the hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and mid-back. The anterior chain also plays a role, with the abdominals, hip flexors, and quads helping to move and lock the barbell out. 

As a strength athlete, deciding whether to use a conventional or sumo deadlift stance will all come down to individual biomechanical advantages. Considering the goal of strength sports is to lift the heaviest weight possible, choosing a technique that provides a disadvantage wouldn't make sense. While many may hate sumo for various reasons, these folks would also pull sumo if it helped them deadlift 1000lbs. 

There are also cases where strength athletes, regardless of build, are better suited for a particular stance due to incredible strength within certain muscle groups. For instance, an athlete with extremely strong hamstring, glutes, and back muscles would be better suited for a conventional deadlift. Meanwhile, an athlete with stronger hip flexors, adductors, and quads may be better off going with a sumo stance. 

The sumo stance is often used by athletes due to its ability to strengthen the hips and the focus on lateral force production. This emphasis on lateral force production also helps to improve adductor and quadriceps strength. However, while our athletes often use the sumo stance during max effort training, there are many other times we implement a conventional deadlift stance. 

Exercises such as Romanian deadlifts, deficit deadlifts, and rack pulls are performed using a conventional deadlift stance. Our athletes often alternate deadlift stances wave to wave during dynamic effort lower training. While the conventional deadlift may not be the primary stance our athletes use, it is certainly a stance they are familiar with and competent in. 

It's simple: strength athletes should choose the stance that allows them to deadlift the most weight, and conventional sports athletes should choose the stance that best translates to sport. 

Proper Conventional Deadlift Technique

As mentioned previously, an athlete's success or failure with the conventional deadlift stance will often depend upon the strictness with which the athlete executes the movement. When performed incorrectly, the conventional deadlift can undoubtedly result in excess stress and flexion in the lumbar and thoracic spine. However, this does not automatically render the conventional deadlift dangerous.

As an athlete, you control how dangerous an exercise is or isn't. Knowing the potential for excess spinal flexion and the injuries it can cause, athletes must make a point of becoming consistent in their execution. With the conventional deadlift stance, there is no room for laziness during max, dynamic, or repeated effort repetitions. 

One of the most important aspects of the conventional deadlift is how the feet are set. This will dictate the distance of the barbell from the body and can significantly impact the athlete's ability to produce force and complete the lift. Ideally, we want to set the feet so the barbell remains close to the body, providing optimal positioning to achieve peak force production. 

When setting the feet, we want to set them under the barbell. Then, we will look down at our feet and see where the barbell is in relation to the toe and heel. Ideally, our initial foot positioning underneath the barbell should look as if the barbell is cutting the feet in half when looking down.  

This is often a good starting point for most when finding optimal foot positioning with the conventional deadlift. However, athletes may move the barbell slightly towards the heels or toes to find optimal foot positioning. 

Next, we want to set the grip. Ideally, we want our hand positioning to allow the hands to trace the side of the body as the barbell is lifted from the ground. This helps to lengthen the arms, which reduces the overall range of motion. It is important to note that hand positioning will also depend on the athlete's size, with larger athletes having to grip the barbell slightly wider to accommodate a larger torso. 

Once we have our foot and hand positioning dialed in, we will establish our trunk brace. This is done by breathing into the diaphragm, creating intra-abdominal pressure to help maintain a neutral spine. While a degree of spinal flexion is expected during the conventional deadlift, it is our goal to always remain as close to neutral as possible.

If you want to protect your back, learn to brace. This is where a good powerlifting belt and time spent practicing enter the equation. Most people struggle to brace properly at first, but after enough practice, they become proficient in the matter. 

Now, it is time to shorten the hamstrings and set the hinge. Ideally, we want to sit into the deadlift, shortening the hamstrings as much as possible to achieve as strong an initial pull as possible. This will ensure athletes achieve optimal leg drive off the floor and keep the torso as vertical as possible during the initial pull.

Achieving proper depth with the hip hinge allows an athlete to get the chest behind the bar and raise the torso more vertically. This alone increases the likelihood of a successful rep, considering many conventional deadlifts are missed once the hips rise and the chest goes over the barbell. 

From this point we will exert force and break the weight from the floor. We want to maintain an upright torso as the weight moves by keeping the trunk brace locked. Some spinal flexion will likely occur, and we must be mindful to avoid excess flexion. If the hips shoot up and excess lumbar and thoracic flexion begins, it is often best to drop the barbell, especially when training at max effort intensity. 

If our form remains optimal, we will move to lock the barbell out. This is where the anterior chain enters the game, helping to achieve hip extension. As the barbell is locked out, we want to lock out in a neutral spine position. As many beginners often do, we do not want to lean back into lower back extension. 

We will lower the barbell to the ground once the weight has been properly locked out. While it is important to lower the barbell in a controlled fashion, we want to avoid excess time under tension during the eccentric phase of the deadlift to reduce the chance of injury further. 

Common Conventional Deadlift Mistakes

Now that we have discussed proper technique and execution, we will cover some common mistakes athletes make when executing a conventional stance deadlift. While we aim to hit perfect reps, errors will occur. 

Here are a few of the most common mistakes made when performing a conventional deadlift:

Chest Over the Bar

Excess spinal flexion causes a loss in thoracic posture and causes the chest to move from behind the bar to over the barbell. As this happens, spinal flexion increases, resulting in a loss of force production and, at worst, injury. This can also be due to poor initial setup, with athletes starting with the torso leaning over the barbell. 

We want to focus on maintaining our trunk brace throughout the movement to avoid this. 

Rising Hips

Rising hips refer to losing the initial hip hinge depth, which raises the hips and moves the barbell further from the torso. This also results in excess spinal flexion and missed lifts. 

To prevent this, we want to set the hip hinge depth at a point that best allows for leg drive, alleviating the demand placed on the lower back. The less stress on the lower back, the greater the ability to produce force throughout the rep. 

Wide Grip

When executing any deadlift, the goal is to use biomechanical advantages to reduce the overall range of motion. To do this, we want to ensure our grip is set so that the hands remain tight to the body, lengthening the arms as much as possible. However, some beginners will pull with their hands a bit wide, like a snatch grip deadlift.

This results in the barbell needing to travel further to reach lockout and will place added stress on the low and mid-back. To fix this we will simply bring our grip in closer to the body, preferably tracing the outside of the legs as the lift is performed. 

How to Program the Conventional Deadlift 

The Conjugate Method provides several opportunities to include the conventional deadlift in our training. First, we can use it as a max effort exercise. This method also includes a variety of variations used to bring about specific training adaptations. 

Next, we can use a conventional deadlift stance when executing our speed deadlifts. This allows us to focus on rapid vertical force production, improving the rate of force development in key posterior chain muscles such as the hamstrings and the glutes. Most often, we will alternate deadlift stances from wave to wave. 

Finally, we can utilize the conventional deadlift stance during accessory exercises. Movements such as Romanian deadlifts, Dimel deadlifts, and various other conventional stance-related movements can be performed using the repeated effort method to improve lower body posterior chain strength and work capacity. 

Here are a few recommended max and dynamic effort conventional deadlift exercises:

• 2-4" Deficit Deadlift
• 2-4" Mat Deadlift 
• Rack Pull

Here are a few recommended repeated effort conventional deadlift exercises:

• Romanian Deadlift
• Dimel Deadlift
• Trap Bar Deadlift

It is important to note that accommodating resistance can be added to each exercise mentioned above. This triples the total number of conventional stance-focused main and accessory movements, as each variation can be performed using plate weight, bands, or chains. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is the conventional deadlift different from sumo?

A: The conventional deadlift is biased towards the posterior chain, while the sumo deadlift places significant emphasis on the lower body anterior chain. 

Q: What are some common conventional deadlift mistakes?

A: Improper setup, improper bracing, and suboptimal training weight selection. 

Q: What muscles are trained when performing a conventional deadlift?

A: The conventional deadlift is a posterior chain-focused movement, with the anterior chain involved somewhat. The primary muscles trained during the conventional deadlift include the hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and mid-back. 

Q: Is the conventional deadlift safe for beginner-level athletes?

A: As long as proper technique is observed and training weights are properly selected, beginners can utilize the conventional deadlift stance. 

Q: Should athletes wear a belt when performing the conventional deadlift?

A: Yes, especially when training at heavy or max efforts. A proper weightlifting belt helps to establish a proper trunk brace and will help prevent excess spinal flexion. 

For more information about the conventional deadlift and all other types, check out the WSBB Squat and Deadlift Manual and the WSBB Blog.

Sources:

Simmons, L. (2007). Westside Barbell Book of Methods. Westside Barbell.