Sumo vs Conventional deadlift, other questions..

[bmp]

So I've been thinking about the deadlift a bit lately. I haven't deadlifted in 9 months maybe, though I was doing rack pulls for most of that time. I think the best I got on the deadlift was 315 for 11 - 13 dead stop reps, 365 for 6. And then on rack pulls I think I got 455 for 6 dead stop reps. Not that strong...

I've always pulled conventional, though I don't know why. I think I somehow got it in my head that pulling sumo was "cheating", yeah dumb I know. I have long arms and longish legs. Would my biomechanics perhaps lend themselves better to a sumo stance? To be clear, my goal is to lift the most weight that I can. I guess my best bet would be to just try and see. What type of builds are usually better off pulling sumo?

What are the differences in muscles worked between the two styles? Do Sumo pullers need to do different assistance work then conventional pullers?

What do you guys think about training with a weightlifting belt? I've never used one.

[53greystreet]

Video both stances up to 80-90% and post them here. Then I can make an accurate suggestion on stance.

All around strong is where it is at so both stances may be used.

With my sumo pullers I have them do either RDL's or narrow stance squats as well so pretty much everything gets covered

[DCBliever]

Video both stances up to 80-90% and post them here. Then I can make an accurate suggestion on stance.

All around strong is where it is at so both stances may be used.

With my sumo pullers I have them do either RDL's or narrow stance squats as well so pretty much everything gets covered

I think training both is good, I'm starting to train both myself because I suck at sumo and squat wide

[13B-T]

Well... hate to hi-jack this thread but decided to record my sumo style rack pulls for critique on form... I've never filmed myself before and have not noticed I have been hyper extending so much. This is 2nd time doing rack pulls still getting used to them. (Usually RDL or sumo from floor) This was set 4 of 5.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0Iqqvl0JO0[/YOUTUBE]

[bmp]

so I hit a pretty intense leg workout at like 11am today, ATG front squats, stiff legged deadlifts, glute ham raises, leg extensions, lunges. Then around 630pm went to do legs again with my buddy visiting from Westpoint who powerlifts. He showed me how to do a high bar, wide stance squat, I did 3 sets of that.

finally we decided to do some deads and I ended up pulling 405 for a single. The first time I tried it it barely budged, took a break and tried again and got it.

I'm gonna work on uploading a video soon, which angles should I take vids from? Front and side??

BTW, the way my friend showed me how to sumo, his feet were as wide as they could be without the plates on the bar coming down and hitting his toes. It def felt weird, but it was my first time ever trying and I was fatigued from the leg workout earlier in the day...and I didn't wear a belt (never have). Not to make excuses or anythig tho, lol

[53greystreet]

Video from side and front should work, both stances