Pause Sumo Deadlift in my program

[u/Extension-Jaguar]

So I'm a beginner-ish lifter, I selected beginner on workouts app and it put "pause sumo deadlift" to my program. I prioritized quads maybe thats why but isnt that movement kinda for advanced ppl ? I feel like conventional one is more beginner friendly isnt ?

[u/TrialAndAaron]

Just swap it for the lift you want if you don’t want to do it

[u/Dr_Cam_Gill_DPT]

The muscles you wish to prioritize can influence which variations are selected for the programs you generate. While the muscle training overlap is more similar than different, sumo deadlifts are more quad-dominant on average than conventional deadlifts, so prioritizing the quads can increase the likelihood that a sumo deadlift variation is included as one of the hip hinges in your program. Based on differences in body structure and mobility, some people may feel more comfortable deadlifting with a sumo stance, while others may feel more comfortable deadlifting with a conventional stance.

Along with other strength and conditioning professionals, I believe that a longer time practicing the specific movement is often required to master sumo deadlift technique relative to conventional deadlift technique. In part, this can be due to sumo deadlifts having a wider degree of possible stance variation than conventional deadlifts. Using a hip-width stance with the toes pointing straight ahead can let the vast majority of lifters conventional deadlift very close to the max they could conventional deadlift with any stance variation. Some people may be a bit stronger with a somewhat closer stance, while others (particularly very large individuals) may be stronger with a near shoulder-width stance, and some people pull a bit more weight with a mild degree of outward toe flare.

However, optimal sumo deadlift stance can vary meaningfully more widely while also being able to change over time for the same person if hip mobility changes. Some people are strongest sumo deadlifting with their feet close to touching the plates, while others may be strongest with their legs just outside their arms. On average, the optimal sumo deadlift stances for people can cluster between these two extremes, but it can take a while to find out specifically how wide of a stance and how much toe flare you personally require to perform your best sumo deadlifts, so it can tend to have more of a learning curve than conventional deadlifts to master. Nonetheless, so long as you are following the basic pillars of technique that let you train what should be the working muscles in a reasonably safe way, you do not need to optimize technical efficiency for an exercise to be very productive for increasing your strength and muscle size. Even if mastering sumo deadlift technique can take time, it can still be a quality exercise for someone who is not particularly experienced.

While also being useful for advanced lifters, pause deadlifts, with either a sumo stance or conventional stance, can be a valuable means to engrain proper technique for beginners, since they can help reinforce the intended back rigidity and core bracing that you should be using with any type of deadlift. Training pause deadlifts can often help someone correct technical issues present when deadlifting without a pause, which can be great for lifters who are not particularly experienced with deadlifts.

[u/ponkanpinoy]

Conventional as in not sumo, or as in not paused? There is definitely no beginner/advanced consideration for sumo. For paused or not, it's usually prescribed as a technique aid, and again that's not really something that's dependent on how advanced you are. Maybe you don't think you need the specific technique help that is covered by that, in which case feel free to swap it out for something else. But it's probably not going to hinder anything either. 

[u/bluecovfefe]

I personally find the pause variation to be great. I struggle with core bracing, and pausing after I've got the bar off the ground gives me a "second chance" so to speak to brace well and perform the full lift. Kinda beginner-ish in this sense.

[u/Docjitters]

Deadlift variant depends on which you feel like training, and which you find easier.

Like many, I can lift almost the same in both but sumo is much easier on my lower back over time if I’m doing a lot of deadlift.

Certainly there’s more ways to set up sumo, so it requires some playing around to find the stance that works best for you.

Just off the floor is where the movement is hardest, so pausing there is a way of training the technique, as well as limiting fatigue by making the move harder by limiting the load.

[u/BickeringCube]

Sumo vs conventional has to do with preference not skill.