Deadlift stance

For deadlifts, do you keep your feet pointing forward? I saw a picture of a lifter with his feet spread pretty wide, toes pointing out, and his elbows inside his knees? Anyone use this stance before?

Yes, that's the stance they typically taught in high school, called the sumo deadlift with one hand palm up one palm down. Did it myself in high school. I personally prefer a narrower stance, both palms face down, called the Romanian deadlift.

I lift sumo. I can lift as much with a conventional stance, but I prefer a sumo stance. The one bad thing about sumo deads is that your shins are on the gnurling (gritty) part of the bar instead of the smooth part so your shins will get cut up. I don't mind this, but some people do. I have a good bit of scarring on my shins and when I do deads, I am always bleeding on my shins afterwards and pretty much always carry around scabs on my shins. It does make me look like a child who wrecked his bike, but I don't care.

I go with the sumo, also, for some reason it feels more natural than the regular stance-don't know why

try smearing some vaseline on your shins that will help a little with the bar friction

dorian123 said:

I go with the sumo, also, for some reason it feels more natural than the regular stance-don't know why

try smearing some vaseline on your shins that will help a little with the bar friction

Click to expand...

I will use baby powder on my thighs, but I like the friction and blood on my shins, as sick as it sounds, it's like adrenaline for me. That's half of the reason why I don't wear high socks like most guys (unless I'm in a comp where it's a must)