Your leg position during the deadlift depends on the type of deadlift you perform. Minimizing the strain on your lower back while maximizing your power allows you to get the most out of the lift. Minimizing the strain on your lower back also allows you to decrease your risk of injury. Consult a health-care practitioner before beginning any strength-training program.
Conventional Deadlift
During the conventional deadlift, you wish to bend your legs as much as possible at the start of the lift. With the barbell on the floor, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and grip the bar with your hands just outside your legs. Bend your knees and hips as much as you can, until your shoulders are behind the bar. This allows you to generate more power with your legs and use your back less when pulling the barbell off of the ground.
Sumo Deadlift
In the sumo deadlift, you also wish to bend your knees and hips as much as possible. However, you stand with your feet far wider than your shoulders, with your toes nearly touching the plates on the barbell. Your toes are turned out at least 30 degrees, possibly even as far as 45 degrees, depending on your build and flexibility. The lower you can get your hips by bending your knees and pushing them out over your toes, the more you can reduce the strain on your lower back and reduces your overall work, according to a 2000 study published in "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise."
Stiff-legged Deadlift
In the stiff-legged deadlift, your legs stay stiff but not locked. A slight bend should remain in your knees during the entire lift. All of the work gets done at the hip joint. By leaning forward at the hips without allowing your knees to flex, you heavily work your hamstrings. The stiff-legged deadlift works your hamstrings more than the barbell squat, according to a 1999 study published in "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise."
Dangers
In both the sumo and conventional deadlift, if you allow your legs to straighten early, you increase the shearing force on your spine. Shearing force is force directed at your spine at a sharp angle, and your spine does not tolerate this as well. Keeping your legs bent as long as possible allows your spine to compress under the weight, which allows your spinal discs to disperse the force evenly. Good lifting is not just about moving weight, but also about moving weight safely. Practice your deadlift using good technique, and increases in weight will occur naturally.
References
- "The Westside Barbell Book of Methods"; Louie Simmons; 2008
- "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise"; An Electromyographic Analysis of Sumo and Conventional Style Deadlifts; R.F. Escamilla, et al.; April 2002
- "The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Electromyographic Activity of the Hamstrings during Performance of the Leg Curl, Stiff-leg Deadlift and Back Squat Movements; Glenn A. Wright, et al.; May 1999
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