[Zachary Chokr is a senior at North Carolina State University majoring in Psychology, minoring in Sports Science, and a Certified Personal Trainer under the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He is currently an Athletic Development Intern at Athletic Lab.] The deadlift is one of the truest measures of total body strength as it recruits muscles from all regions of the body from the ground up. On the surface, the goal of the deadlift is essentially to pick up some weight off the ground to an erect, standing position. While bending over and hoisting a weight off the floor may seem simple, form and technique can be different for each individual (DuVall, 2017). However, the complexity of this lift can be easily overlooked. Some of the most important factors of the deadlift, and any exercise for that matter, is not just strength but form and technique. In my last blog post, I talked about the high bar and low bar squat. Now I am going to introduce two basic forms of the deadlift, and how you can benefit the most dependent on a variety of factors including your goals. The conventional deadlift is performed with your feet roughly shoulder width apart, with your hands outside of them; whereas the sumo deadlift typically requires a wider stance, and hands placed on the bar between the feet. This difference in positioning places varying demands on the muscles. Escamilla et al. (2000) found that the primary lower extremity muscles involved during the conventional deadlifts are the hamstrings, gluteus maximus, gastrocnemius, and soleus, compared to the gluteus maximus, hamstrings, quadriceps, and tibialis anterior during the sumo deadlift using electromyography (EMG). The conventional deadlift requires greater spinal flexion, about 5-10%; whereas [...]