Wife's Sumo

[LexAnderson]

So my wife has been training with me for several months, and she has made a lot of great progress in her lifts. But the one lift that we consistently have issues with is her deadlift. Now I am no coach, nor am I claiming to be good at coaching anyone in lifts, but I am trying to help her the best that I can. So now I am turning to the forum to help both of us, I know that the issue right now may be the height of the bar, being that we don't have access to bumper plates or anything and that makes it difficult for her. But if you guys could give us some input then that would be great. She really loves lifting and wants to keep going.

[damufunman]

So my wife has been training with me for several months, and she has made a lot of great progress in her lifts. But the one lift that we consistently have issues with is her deadlift. Now I am no coach, nor am I claiming to be good at coaching anyone in lifts, but I am trying to help her the best that I can. So now I am turning to the forum to help both of us, I know that the issue right now may be the height of the bar, being that we don't have access to bumper plates or anything and that makes it difficult for her. But if you guys could give us some input then that would be great. She really loves lifting and wants to keep going.

She all legs or just the bar height messing with starting position? Can you grab a few extra plates stacked and set the bar on that? Any reason for sumo over conventional? Reason I ask is I've got my wife doing a narrow sumo since she's having trouble setting her back with a narrow stance, but she's still fairly horizontal and out over the bar.

[cgeorg]

Can you grab a few extra plates stacked and set the bar on that?

This. Also, even when she initially gets very low hips, where the hamstrings slack and there should be no force countering lumbar extension, she doesn't seem to set her low back. Maybe one of the "stick your butt out" kind of cues would help?

[thejosef]

She all legs or just the bar height messing with starting position? Can you grab a few extra plates stacked and set the bar on that? Any reason for sumo over conventional? Reason I ask is I've got my wife doing a narrow sumo since she's having trouble setting her back with a narrow stance, but she's still fairly horizontal and out over the bar.

Yeah, I was curious why she's going with sumo over conventional also...

It's very tough when you starting at a disadvantage from the start. Any yoga blocks nearby or something to prop up the starting weight? 10lb bumpers are great for this, but doubt a normal gym will have them. Seems like a higher starting height will have her be able to set her back better.. You could also have her work in a power rack and set the safeties at proper starting height. My wife did that when she was starting out.

That's awesome that your wife lifts!

[LexAnderson]

@damufunman we've tried stacking some plates up, but its difficult since they want to roll off, but I'll give it another try and see how it goes.

@cgeorg yeah, I've mentioned this about her lower back, and how her hips seem to just shoot up fast and she's basically doing a stiff leg deadlift when that happens. She says that she feels like she is keep her back straight and not rounding. So, I'm not sure how to explain it to her how its suppose to feel, but the butt out cue may help!

She has tried conventional, but since the plates are so low at this point she feels sumo is a better fit for her. I honestly haven't thought of the power rack idea, it just slipped my mind!

[KOTJ]

Try doing a deadlift complex.

Have her start from the top.

1. Top to above knees x4

2. Top to below knees x4

3. Top to an inch above ground x4.

Start off with 1, then 1 +2, then 1+2+3

Once that is good and consistent, do 2+3+ pull from a dead stop on the floor.

[damufunman]

@damufunman we've tried stacking some plates up, but its difficult since they want to roll off, but I'll give it another try and see how it goes.

@cgeorg yeah, I've mentioned this about her lower back, and how her hips seem to just shoot up fast and she's basically doing a stiff leg deadlift when that happens. She says that she feels like she is keep her back straight and not rounding. So, I'm not sure how to explain it to her how its suppose to feel, but the butt out cue may help!

She has tried conventional, but since the plates are so low at this point she feels sumo is a better fit for her. I honestly haven't thought of the power rack idea, it just slipped my mind!

Power rack idea is great. Have you tried having her do the "superman" thing to feel contracting lower back muscles? Maybe cue her to keep her back angle constant or show her video so she can see what she's doing with hips shooting up?

[LexAnderson]

Try doing a deadlift complex.

Have her start from the top.

1. Top to above knees x4

2. Top to below knees x4

3. Top to an inch above ground x4.

Start off with 1, then 1 +2, then 1+2+3

Once that is good and consistent, do 2+3+ pull from a dead stop on the floor.

Would she do this in conventional, or sumo?

@damufunman I've shown her video of her hips shooting up, but idk how to get her to stop doing that, or what to say she should do.

[KOTJ]

Try doing a deadlift complex.

Have her start from the top.

1. Top to above knees x4

2. Top to below knees x4

3. Top to an inch above ground x4.

Start off with 1, then 1 +2, then 1+2+3

Once that is good and consistent, do 2+3+ pull from a dead stop on the floor.

Would she do this in conventional, or sumo?

@damufunman I've shown her video of her hips shooting up, but idk how to get her to stop doing that, or what to say she should do.

Just depends on which one she wants to do.

[simonrest]

she's starting with her knees too far forward, and the bar too far forward. If she wan't to pull sumo (and by all means she can pick whatever style she wants) she should be aiming for a more vertical shin. Check out the shin angle at set up:

start.JPG

consequently there's not enough tension in her posterior chain so as she starts the pull she gets rounded. Also the bar is only leaving the ground once she gets her shins vertical and gets some tension in her hamstrings:

pull.JPG

My advice would be to sit further back and keep her shins more upright (she may need to bring her feet closer together to do so) and get tighter before she pulls. Remember too that sumo uses a lot of contraction of the inside of the legs as opposed to the quads to initiate the drive. She almost looks like shes trying to use conventional pull mechanics here.

2 videos to watch:

[KOTJ]

Yeah, gotta keep the thighs parallel to the feet.

[LexAnderson]

Thanks @simonrest for that break down, and the videos to watch for her! Thanks everyone for the advice and input!!!