Which deadlift form do you do/prefer?

missADS1981

Since there are so many varieties, would love to open a discussion on which one you prefer to do and why.

Romanian? Trap Bar? Stiff Leg? Sumo? Conventional?

DopeItUp

Conventional FTW.

arghbowl

Sumo FTW!

More than anything it's because I know I can go much heavier without sacrificing my form.

born2drum

Conventional. THe others (aside from sumo) are pointless. Romanian is ok. Stiff legged will jack your back if not done properly. Great for strecthing the Hams,though.

born2drum

Sumo FTW!

More than anything it's because I know I can go much heavier without sacrificing my form.

CHEATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol.

CarlKRobbo

Conventional for me...

Sumo suits people with long limbs, not tried trap bar.
I do think is depends on how you prefer to setup tbh - I compete in powerlifting (5ft 7 tall, 93KG class), as does one of the bigger guys (Over 6ft tall, in the 120KG class) in my gym, we both lift conventional, but with a different stance (My feet are close together, his are wider), and he can Sumo Deadlift close to his conventional 1RM. I can only hit around 440Lbs Sumo, compared to 562Lbs conventional.

RDL\SLDL I see as Deadlift assistance in that they focus more on the Hams\Glutes as opposed to seeing them as Deadlifts

missADS1981

I love the trap bar. It helps me to keep a neutral spine and lift heavier. I have a hard time with conventional as I lift heavier with always hitting my knees

SweetPea_7

i love conventional... but i will admit, Romanian is my favorite of them all.

just_Jennie1

Stiff legged which if leg day falls on back day I'll kill two birds with one stone.

HMVOL7409

Conventional. I will add RDL at times for more isolation stuff but nothing beats traditional DL for me. Trap bar and sumo are eh.

missADS1981

which form would you say targets the posterior more than anterior?

mdizzle99

Conventional for me. I lack the hamstring flexibility to do straight leg properly. I do some RDL as assistance work.

tequila09

I do sumo dead lifts, Romanian and stiff leg! I like doing all of these equally!

IronPlayground

I prefer conventional. I've lifted slightly more with the sumo, but don't really like it much. I tried the jefferson deadlift for fun. It's a good variation for training purposes.

The conventional will target the posterior more.

Savyna

I prefer the stiff legged.

Lleldiranne

I must still be a lifting N00b, I didn't know there was a difference between Romanian and stiff leg :embarassed:

I think I do the Romanian ones … I keep my knees soft but lift more with the hams/glutes than whole leg (this is the deadlift I was taught years ago by a trainer). I want to expand to traditional at least, but keep sticking with my normal. I guess I need to watch a few more youtube videos to feel familiar with the form.


EDIT: Google-fu! Looked it up and I do the RDL (gentler on the back, yay)

Gwen_B

Stiff legged

Myhaloslipped

Conventional. I feel like I get the most out of those.

Serah87

Stiff legged.

wilmnoca

Stiff and sumo. I'm pretty tall so sumo works well for me.

marvybells

conventional.

although when i was doing a lot of stiff legged ones my hamstrings had a lot more shape to them & i really liked it. i am tempted to start incorporating some of those into my routine even though i've read not to add anything additional when you are doing stronglifts

mscrystallee

Due to knee issues, I tend to do leg presses and then Romanian Deadlifts.

AlongCame_Molly

Conventional.

Huffdogg

For max attempts I pull conventional. That and sumo are really the only *actual* deadlift variations. The others are modifications of the lift designed to be more isolating movements. They're training accessories, not "main lifts."

murphy612

I have long legs so I prefer Sumo, but second favorite is conventional. RDL is ok and I've never tried trap bar.

MMulder68

Romanian all the way!

Capt_Apollo

conventional barbell and trap bar. according to wendler the trap bar is the only real substitution for actual dead lifts.

LoveMyLife_NYC

Stiff leg! I want to like conventional, but I can't get the hang of it. Always feel like I'm going to fall backwards. :grumble:

Huffdogg

conventional barbell and trap bar. according to wendler the trap bar is the only real substitution for actual dead lifts.

I have a hard time believing Wendler thinks sumo isn't a real deadlift since you can use it on the platform.

Capt_Apollo

conventional barbell and trap bar. according to wendler the trap bar is the only real substitution for actual dead lifts.

I have a hard time believing Wendler thinks sumo isn't a real deadlift since you can use it on the platform.

i never said, and he never said either, that sumo isn't a real dead lift.

what he says is that the trap bar is the only acceptable dead lift option for strict dead lifting.

singingflutelady

RDL because I hurt my back doing conventional and I am now scared of them I also like single leg RDL a lot