# Kettlebell Sumo High Pull: how to do it

- Main muscles: glutes, traps
- Also works: quads, side delts
- Equipment: kettlebell
- Level: intermediate
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/kettlebell_sumo_high_pull/43fb035d20/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Stand wide with your toes turned out and the kettlebell between your feet.
2. Squat down with a flat back and grip the handle with both hands.
3. Drive through your legs and stand up fast.
4. As your hips straighten, pull the bell up to your chin, elbows high and out.
5. Lower it to arm's length, then squat back down and touch it to the floor.

## Cues

- Legs first, then arms.
- Elbows high and wide.
- Keep the bell close.

## Common mistakes

- Lifting with the arms while the legs are still bent.
- Rounding your back to reach the bell.
- Letting the elbows drop below the hands at the top.

## The version in our demo

One kettlebell, two hands on the handle, from a dead stop on the floor each rep: a sumo deadlift whose hip drive carries straight into an upright pull to the chin.

## Starting position

The bell on the floor between the feet, its handle over the middle of the feet. Squat down to it with the knees pushed out over the toes, shins near vertical, flat back, chest up (trunk about 40° from vertical). Overhand grip with both hands on the handle, arms straight and inside the knees.

## The movement

Push the floor away: knees and hips straighten together, the bell rises straight up between the legs. As the hips reach full extension, pull with the arms: elbows lead up and out to the sides, the bell travels straight up close to the body until the handle is just under the chin. The shoulders shrug a little at the top. Lower the bell to arm's length, then sit back down with a flat back until it touches the floor.

## Breathing

Breathe in at the bottom; breathe out through the drive and pull; breathe in as the bell comes down.

## Tempo

0.15 s on the floor, 0.85 s up, the pull 0.5 s (it starts as the hips straighten), 0.2 s at the top, 0.45 s lowering to arm's length, 0.85 s back to the floor.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Heel spacing | 61 cm male / 50 cm female (about 1.7 × shoulder width) | 1.5–2 × |  |
| Toe-out | 35° | 30–45° |  |
| Knee flexion at the floor | 95–98° | 80–100° |  |
| Trunk from vertical at the floor | 40° | 35–55° |  |
| Knees at lockout | 4° | ≤ 8° |  |
| Handle at the top | 6–7 cm under the shoulder joints as they lift with the elbows (collarbone height) | collarbone to chin |  |
| Elbows at the top | 6–9 cm above the shoulder joints, 12–16 cm above the hands | above the hands, at or above the shoulders |  |
| Bell clearance | ≥ 0.5 cm off the legs, 1 cm off the trunk | never through the body |  |
| Arms | long: elbows 9–10° at the floor, soft (about 20°) standing so they pass in front of the trunk | never through the trunk |  |

## Sources

1. [StrongFirst, kettlebell standards and the "sumo deadlift" as the hip-hinge base for kettlebell pulls (wide stance, knees out, flat back, the hips finish before the arms)](https://www.strongfirst.com/)
2. [ExRx.net, "Kettlebell Sumo High Pull" (wide stance, bell between the feet, pull to the chin with the elbows high as the hips and knees extend)](https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Trapezius/KBSumoHighPull)
3. CrossFit Level 1 Training Guide, "Sumo deadlift high pull" (hips extend, shrug, pull with the elbows high and outside to just below the chin; return in reverse order).

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/kettlebell-sumo-high-pull