Power Clean?? form check

[mun.1010]

Can anyone give some pointers and critique on my power cleans? if you can call them that. It seems that I am still reverse curling the bar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akxTs...ature=youtu.be

Any tips on how to improve my form is much appreciated thank you

[veryhrm]

My PCs are nothing to write home about either, but here's some things i can see. (oh, and if you close the blinds you'd prob get a better video that would show things more clearly).

a) The bar isn't in contact with your shins and i'm not clear that you're actually touching your thigh before the jump. If you ARE touching, touch a bit higher because you're jumping early (which is causing the bar to go forward)

b) the main power is supposed to come from explosive extension of the hips (and knees and ankles in there too) , but your hips (and knees) never actually straighten out. They're still somewhat bent even with your feet on the floor

c) It could be that the weight is just too light and that's why you're not putting your full power into it. The bar does go quite high and it doesn't look to me like you're reverse curling it.

d) keep looking forward. By the jump you're already looking up like 45 degrees and at one point you really look straight up at the ceiling. Your face is horizontal!

Anyway, that's what i see. Let's see what other people think.

[mun.1010]

Thanks for the input ) I will try to practice my hip extension with a broom and correct my head posture, will also try to think about touching my hips and shins next session. thanks again

[PFerrari]

A lot of this is because the weight is light so you can get away with less than desirable form.

Focus also on keeping your butt back which will help to keep the back tight. It looks like you lose tension in the back and the hamstrings (which you can get away with because it's light). Eventually you will have to rely on your hamstrings and low back being loaded up like a spring.

[mun.1010]

Here is my latest Cleans session
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOe1d...=youtu.be&t=10
I really feel that I should practice some more, I tried to extend my hips here, but my head really wants to look up, I am trying to focus at a point but if I think of shrugging my shoulders, my head wants to go up.

[veryhrm]

do you have the book ? that's not what that's supposed to look like! :-)

Look at this video: that's what it's supposed to look like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tXcS0Xp1aE
(i wish i could do PCs like that... )

1. you're looking straight forward even when you set-up (possibly there's a mirror there?) instead look down at ~30 degrees when you set up. Pick something specific to look at, like the place where the floor and the wall meet. Or put down a plate to look at.

2. The transition is supposed to be much faster. Squeeze off the floor... touch JUMP! no pause at all. Definitely no pause to rebend the knees.

3. why are you doing singles? You have to reset your hands, esp if you're doing hook grip, so a sec or two or three while you do that is fine, but you don't have to walk away from the bar. (if there's some reason you want to do singles that's fine, but by default the program calls for sets of 3 )

[mun.1010]

I have read the second edition, and currently waiting for the third edition to arrive at the bookstore will take a month :-(

-I set up a figurine on a table as a guide for my eyes :-D
-Got it, I need to memorize my jump position this weekend with an empty bar so I could make it one fluid motion. I tend to stop to find my mid thigh :-D
-ahahaha I was trying to get in 5 for more practice, but almost went out of gas thats why I walked away from the bar.

[toonttm]

I'm learning these as well so I may be wrong here, but it looks like you are catching the bar at the top in oyur hands in front of your shoulders then putting it on to your shoulders, I don't even think when you are putting it onto your shoulders the bar leaves your hands. I think you need to aim to land the bar on your shoulders, not in empty space with your hands.

Also stop mucking around in between each rep. Get some fluid motion going.

With the small weights maybe start from the hang or jumping position? this might also stop you bending your back so much.

And as above, you need to get your head down.

[toonttm]

Look at this video: that's what it's supposed to look like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tXcS0Xp1aE
(i wish i could do PCs like that... )

Wow, they do look good...I need to slow that video down to study it better.

[Simma Park]

Raise the bar up on something at the bottom to bring it to mid-shin height as would be the case with full-sized plates.

I will try to practice my hip extension with a broom

Don't do that. A broomstick will not give you the proper feedback and is not an effective learning tool for the power clean. It's just too light.

It looks to me that you have 2 main problems:

1) Your rack is off. Have you practiced this lift as directed in the book, i.e., from the top down? Hard to tell 100% from the video angle/lighting, but right now, it looks like you're catching with the elbows down and the bar floating ahead of the body and then turning your elbows upward and raising the bar closer to your neck. This is wrong. When you catch the bar, the elbows should already be rotated forward and up, and the bar should be caught on the delts. You may need to play with grip width and point your elbows in toward the center of the body at the rack. Get video of your rack from the front so we can see what's going on.

2) You're not keeping your hips back long enough. Keep your hips back as long as you can, until the moment of explosion. You look like you've been watching too many CrossFit videos about training "the scoop". Is that what you're trying to do? If so, don't. Trying to practice "the scoop" leads you to overthink this transition and break it down, incorrectly, into too many parts. Don't do that. Just remember--slow off the floor, accelerate as the bar moves up the leg, jump with commitment when the bar gets half way up your thigh. If you keep your hips back, keep the bar in contact with your legs the whole time, and brush your shirt with the bar on the way up, you will perform the scoop automatically.