uneven bruising on delts-P.C's

[zaerpe]

Lord Rippetoe,
As my power cleans have been progressing, I've noticed bruises on the front of my deltoids. I wouldnt think twice about this, except for the fact that the bruising is much greater on my right delt. I assume this means im racking faster/ with more force on my dominant side. Is this necessarily a bad thing, or is it fairly normal? Thanks in advance.

[Mark Rippetoe]

To the extent that perfect symmetry is thought of as normal, it is abnormal to bruise one side of your shoulder with a clean. Perfect symmetry is, in fact, not common, so we have here a semantic conundrum. You should be able to rack a clean without enough bar crash to bruise your delts at all, so I think you have some technical issues to resolve. Explanations for the asymmetry could be a short leg, scoliosis, old shoulder or wrist injury resulting in a racking asymmetry, etc.

[zaerpe]

hmmm i see. I have been trying to be very agressive when racking the bar, focusing on driving my elbows and shoulders into the bar as i rack. With this cue i relinquished my tendency to catch the bar in my palms, but i digress. I suppose its time to de-emphasize said cue.

[Mark Rippetoe]

How about you posting a video?