Barbell Sumo Romanian Deadlift

1. Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width, toes turned slightly outward, and the barbell over your midfoot.
2. Grip the bar with both hands just inside your legs.
3. Brace your core and keep a slight bend in your knees.
4. Hinge forward at the hips, pushing your hips back while lowering the bar along your thighs.
5. Keep the bar close to your body and your spine neutral throughout the descent.
6. Lower until you feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings and inner thighs, typically around shin level.
7. Drive your hips forward to return to standing, squeezing your glutes at the top.

Common Mistakes

• Rounding the lower back: Letting your spine curve as you hinge forward increases injury risk. Keep your chest up and back flat through the whole range.
• Bending the knees too much: Excessive knee bend turns the movement into a squat instead of a hip hinge. Keep a slight, fixed knee bend and hinge from the hips.
• Letting the bar drift away from the body: Allowing the bar to swing forward away from your legs increases strain on the lower back. Keep it tracking close along your thighs.
• Standing with too narrow a stance: A stance that's too close together reduces the emphasis on the glutes and inner thighs that defines the sumo variation. Set your feet wider than shoulder-width with toes turned out.