Thread by @MennoHenselmans

Is sumo cheating? We did a study to find out

Is it cheating to use a wide sumo stance for the deadlift? Officially, the sumo stance is accepted, but unofficially, many people claim that sumo is cheating. The idea is that it's easier to lift a given weight with a sumo stance than with a conventional stance.

Many arguments have been put forth about this question, usually citing powerlifting records or biomechanics. However, to my knowledge, our study is the first to test sumo and conventional deadlift 1RM strength within the same subjects.

We also tested a wide range of bodily dimensions to see if a certain body structure lends itself better to either style: we measured the ratios between height, weight, upper arm, forearm, hand length, wrist and ankle girth, seated height, thigh length and lower leg length.

We did the experiment in physically active individuals without considerable strength training experience to avoid confounding the results by training experience. Obviously, people tend to be better at the deadlift style they have more experience in.

After teaching our subjects how to deadlift, we found no significant differences in 1RM strength between deadlift styles in either men or women.

Without any baseline advantage for either style, it's tough to argue either style is easier than the other. It would have to be biomechanically advantageous yet more difficult to learn somehow, which in itself in a way means it's not easier.

Moreover, we found that none of the bodily dimensions significantly favored either style, except a small, barely significant effect of relative torso length. People with relatively long torsos may have a slight - I would say trivial - advantage in the sumo deadlift.

Overall, these data support the biomechanics and powerlifting data. The sumo deadlift has equal hip extension demands - which is usually the limiting factor in a deadlift - as the conventional deadlift.

The sumo stance reduces the ROM a little, but this makes you have to sink into a deeper 'squat' position which puts greater demands on the quads.

Powerlifters on average tend to prefer a conventional stance and most of the top world records are done conventionally, although the sumo stance is more popular in the lighter weight classes.

In conclusion, sumo is not cheating.

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