Is the sumo deadlift high pull bad for your shoulders?

It is not inherently bad, but the top of the pull puts the shoulders in the same narrow-grip, elbows-high position that makes the Barbell Upright Row a concern for sensitive shoulders. Lifters with pain-free shoulders usually tolerate it at the light loads it is done with, while anyone who feels pinching should finish lower or swap it for another lift.

How is it different from an upright row?

An upright row is a strict shoulder exercise done standing, with the arms doing all the lifting. In the sumo deadlift high pull the bar starts on the floor and the legs and hips drive it most of the way, so the arms only finish a pull that is already moving.

How high should the bar go?

Pull it to about upper-chest or chin height, with the elbows high and outside and above the bar. If your shoulders object, stopping at the upper chest with the elbows level with the shoulders keeps the training effect for the hips and upper back.

How heavy should a sumo deadlift high pull be?

Much lighter than your sumo deadlift, because the bar has to move fast and the arms have to finish the pull. CrossFit's beginner options often sit between 35 and 75 lb (about 15 to 35 kg), and the right load is one you can move quickly without the arms taking over or the back rounding.

Can I do it with a kettlebell?

Yes. Holding one kettlebell by the handle with both hands between your feet keeps the same wide stance and sequence with a lighter, closer load, which makes it a common home or beginner version. The Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift is a good way to learn the bottom half first.

Barbell Sumo Deadlift High Pull

What Is the Barbell Sumo Deadlift High Pull?

Barbell Sumo Deadlift High Pull is a compound exercise that primarily targets the glutes, quads, upper back and shoulders, and also engages the adductors, lower back, hamstrings and arms. It is an intermediate-level movement that joins a wide-stance pull from the floor to a fast shrug and an elbows-high pull that carries the bar up the body to about upper-chest or chin height.

The lift is best known from CrossFit, where it is one of the nine foundational movements and a regular part of conditioning workouts such as Fight Gone Bad. Its value is in the order of events: the legs and hips drive the bar first, the shoulders shrug as they finish, and only then do the arms pull. Learning to let the hips do the work before the arms bend is the same timing used in faster pulls like the Barbell Clean Pull and Barbell Power Clean, which is why coaches use it as a stepping stone toward them.

The bottom half is a Barbell Sumo Deadlift: wide feet, toes turned out, hands inside the knees and a more upright torso than a conventional pull. That stance shifts more of the work onto the quads and inner thighs, and an EMG study of college football players lifting 12-rep-max loads recorded more vastus lateralis and vastus medialis activity in the sumo deadlift than in the conventional style. The top half works the trapezius and deltoids, with the biceps and forearms helping to bend the elbows and hold the bar. A single kettlebell held between the feet makes a lighter version of the same pattern, while the Dumbbell High Pull and Cable High Pull keep the upper-body pull and drop the wide-stance pull from the floor.

Loads are much lighter than for a sumo deadlift, because the arms have to finish the pull and the bar should move quickly. It suits lifters who want power and conditioning work that uses the whole body, provided they can already pull from the floor with a flat back and have pain-free shoulders with the elbows raised. Anyone new to it should first own the Barbell Sumo Deadlift or Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift, then add a shrug at the top, and only then add the arm pull.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Deltoid: Primary
Gluteus Maximus: Primary
Upper Trapezius: Primary
Vastus Lateralis: Primary
Adductor Magnus: High
Erector Spinae: High
Vastus Medialis: High
Biceps Brachii: Medium
Biceps Femoris: Medium
Brachioradialis: Low

Instructions

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder width and your toes turned out, with the barbell on the floor over your midfoot and close to your shins.
Push your hips back and bend your knees, pushing them out over your toes, and grip the bar overhand with your hands close together inside your knees.
Set a flat back with your chest up and your shoulders over or just in front of the bar, arms long.
Drive your feet into the floor and stand up, keeping your arms straight and the bar close to your legs.
As your hips and knees reach full extension, shrug your shoulders up hard.
Pull the elbows up and out, keeping them high and outside and above the bar, so the bar rises close to your body to about upper-chest or chin height.
Finish standing tall with your heels down, without leaning back.
Lower in reverse: straighten your arms, let your shoulders drop, then push your hips back and bend your knees to return the bar to the floor along your legs.
Reset your flat back before the next rep, and repeat for the planned number of reps.

Common Mistakes

Pulling with the arms too early
Bending the elbows or shrugging before the hips and knees finish extending cuts off the leg drive and turns the lift into a heavy upright row.
Elbows low and inside
Letting the elbows drop below the bar or tuck toward the body lets the bar swing away from you, so drive them high and outside on every rep.
Rounding the lower back
Losing the flat back as the bar leaves the floor, often late in a timed set, shifts the load onto the spine instead of the hips and legs.
Bar drifting away from the body
A bar that travels forward instead of straight up the legs and torso pulls you onto your toes and adds strain to the lower back.
Knees caving in
Letting the knees fall inside the feet in the wide stance takes the hips out of the pull, so keep them pushed out over the toes.
Leaning back at the top
Throwing the shoulders behind the hips to get the bar higher arches the lower back, so finish standing tall with the hips and knees just locked out.

Injuries

Barbell Sumo Deadlift High Pull is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Most of the stress lands on two places: the lower back, which has to stay flat while the bar leaves the floor, and the shoulders at the top of the pull. The risk climbs in timed conditioning workouts, where fatigue and speed make it easy to round the back off the floor or yank the bar up with the arms.

The top of the pull combines a narrow grip, upper arms turned inward and elbows raised high and outside, at or a little above shoulder height. That position narrows the space under the top of the shoulder and can pinch the rotator cuff tendons, the same concern raised for the Barbell Upright Row. Drive from the hips moves the bar quickly through this range, but it does not remove the pinch. If the shoulders feel it, finish the pull at the upper chest with the elbows no higher than the shoulders, or leave the arm pull out and end each rep with a shrug. Anyone with a history of shoulder impingement may be better served by other pulling and hip-drive exercises.

To protect the back, start every rep with a flat spine, the bar close to the shins and the knees pushed out over the toes, and keep the load light enough that the bar never drifts forward. Build up from the Barbell Sumo Deadlift or Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift, add a slow and then a fast shrug, and add the arm pull last. Once the sequence holds up at speed, the Barbell Clean Pull is a natural next step.

Stop the set if you feel pinching or sharp pain at the front or top of the shoulder, pain running down the outer upper arm, or sharp or worsening pain in the lower back. In a timed workout, also stop or drop the load once your back starts to round or your arms start pulling before your hips finish. Pain that lingers after training is a reason to rest from the lift and see a healthcare professional.

Overview

Primary Focus: Full body
Equipment: Barbell
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the sumo deadlift high pull bad for your shoulders?: It is not inherently bad, but the top of the pull puts the shoulders in the same narrow-grip, elbows-high position that makes the Barbell Upright Row a concern for sensitive shoulders. Lifters with pain-free shoulders usually tolerate it at the light loads it is done with, while anyone who feels pinching should finish lower or swap it for another lift.
Q: How is it different from an upright row?: An upright row is a strict shoulder exercise done standing, with the arms doing all the lifting. In the sumo deadlift high pull the bar starts on the floor and the legs and hips drive it most of the way, so the arms only finish a pull that is already moving.
Q: How high should the bar go?: Pull it to about upper-chest or chin height, with the elbows high and outside and above the bar. If your shoulders object, stopping at the upper chest with the elbows level with the shoulders keeps the training effect for the hips and upper back.
Q: How heavy should a sumo deadlift high pull be?: Much lighter than your sumo deadlift, because the bar has to move fast and the arms have to finish the pull. CrossFit's beginner options often sit between 35 and 75 lb (about 15 to 35 kg), and the right load is one you can move quickly without the arms taking over or the back rounding.
Q: Can I do it with a kettlebell?: Yes. Holding one kettlebell by the handle with both hands between your feet keeps the same wide stance and sequence with a lighter, closer load, which makes it a common home or beginner version. The Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift is a good way to learn the bottom half first.