Jan 5, 2011
Posted by Marianne in Kettlebell Exercises, Tutorials | 9 Comments
Kettlebell Sumo DeadLift – Exercise Tutorial
Hi Everyone,
Following on from the Kettlebell DeadLift Tutorial, the Sumo Deadlift will exercise more into the glutes and inner thigh. The main differences are the stance, the foot position and the position of the Kettlebell.
Teaching Points:
- Stand over the Kettlebell with a stance wider than shoulder width and the feet turned well out (further than a squat)
- Sit back using the hips and knees (under control, keeping the core tight).
- With the back upright and the shoulders back and down, reach down and grip the kettlebell/kettlebells (over hand grip).
- Using the glutes, quads and inner thigh muscles, squeeze and stand tall, lifting the kettlebell up. The arms stay straight and hang down.
- At the top of the movement, squeeze the glutes and ensure the shoulders have not rounded forward with the weight they are holding.
Key Pointers:
- Keep the head looking forward in line with the spine.
- During the upward phase of the lift ensure the knees do not bow inward by tightening the quads and push the knees down and out.
- Use the upward phase of the exercise to really activate the glutes by squeezing them throughout.
- Watch the weight does not pull you forward, keep the movement up and down.
This is a great exercise to use to work on other areas of the legs. The inner thigh is often problematic for most females, and I have found great results using it. The other benefit is, you can afford to use a heavier weight as you have a wide stable base and, you are not relying on upper body strength – although this exercise will also work your grip and upper back muscles.
Have fun and be safe 
Cheers
Marianne
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Thanks!
Bianca
Just out of curiosity, your u-tube says kitty8tim. I guess that was your u-tube name before myomytv.com What does kitty8tim stand for and does any of your co-workers do your workouts. As always thanks for the videos.
Jim
LOL Jim, thanks for asking about my YouTube name. I set it up in Dec 2009 and myomytv was born in Jan 2010, so I hadn’t thought of a website name. Kitty is our Black cat (aka Cutie), Tim is our Tabby. They are brother and sister, and they used to play fight all the time. Tim would be a bit of a bully, but Kitty would always get him in the end. Thought it would be funny to suggest she ate him for breakfast LOL
As for my work colleagues… let’s just say I get a bit of stick for being so into fitness and most of them just talk about wanting to lose weight or exercise but never do. There are a few who watch my videos, and one of the surgeons and his girlfriend were inspired to come to our classes by watching my workouts. Also I know of a few other friends and a colleague of Andrew’s who do my workouts, or use them to plan theirs. But I don’t think any of my work colleagues realise just how many people are getting something from this site, if not from me, then from everyone else
Cheers
Marianne
Hi Marianne,
this is off-topic (doesn’t have anything to do with the sumo deadlift), but I have just read your comment to me on Melissa’s site, regarding the “squatting too low, thus causing back problems”.
If you have time in the future and if you think it’s worth it, I would love to see a video with this proper explanation and demonstration: I can’t quite understand what you mean when you say “rounding your back” and it would be great to see a demonstration of this.
But of course don’t worry if you don’t have time or if you think this issue is not so relevant to all.
Cheers
Bianca
Will do Bianca
Off to work now, but will put on my “to do” list
Take care
Marianne
Hi Marianne..
I can’t get the width on my feet spacing you do and still squat without some sort of surgery being involved..lol If I stay as wide as I can and go as low as i can…is it still beneficial? Would doing that gradually stretch me out? Most of your workouts I’ve done haven’t had the sumo squat, but I’ve been on the kttlebell blast the past few days and the sumo isn’t exactly my signature move.
Thanks!
Hi John, for the sumos, you only need to squat to parallel at the most. As long as the knees and feet flare out and remain in line with each other, you should be fine. This exercise focuses on the inner thigh and butt, taking pressure off the back.
Cheers
Marianne
hmm, so this is actually sumo squat, not sumo deadlift? Thanks for the video.
Hey Ville, Knowing what I do now, compared to last year, yes, this looks more like a squat than a deadlift. However, sumo deadlift can be performed from a more parallel position too.
My plan is to update these tutorials and tweak them using what I have learned