The barbell paused sumo deadlift targets your posterior chain while emphasizing control and strength. This variation incorporates a pause to enhance stability and power.
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width, toes pointed slightly out.
- Grip the barbell with both hands inside your knees.
- Lower your hips and keep your chest up as you lift the barbell off the ground.
- Pause just above the floor for a moment before fully extending your hips and knees.
- Lower the barbell back to the ground with control.
How to perform the Barbell Paused Sumo Deadlift
- Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Barbell Paused Sumo Deadlift using your barbell.
- Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your glutes.
- Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.
Coaching cues
- Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
- Drive force through your glutes rather than momentum.
- Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.
Common mistakes
- Using too much weight and losing positional control.
- Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
- Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.
Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.
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