Power Clean into the balls

[jeremyfirth]

While learning to power clean, with the cue of "keep the bar close to the body" and "keep the arms straight as long as possible" I seem to have the perfect timing for pulling the bar directly into my balls. I want to extend fully and get under the bar, but now I have the fear of smashing my balls, and my form has gone to shit. I have started arm-pulling to get the bar up past the balls before I extend my hips.

Any tips for power cleaning with good form while at the same time protecting my balls?

[Mark Rippetoe]

If you learn the clean from BBT, the bar is never anywhere near your nads, no matter your mastery of manhood. The bar leaves the mid-thighs when you jump, and will be an inch or 2 away from your crotch as it passes that level. You need to relearn the movement according to the book.

[Misanthrope]

I drove the barbell into my nads one time in the early stages of learning cleans. It never happened again. It's a strong motivator to learn proper technique.

[FROGGBUSTER]

If you learn the clean from BBT, the bar is never anywhere near your nads, no matter your mastery of manhood. The bar leaves the mid-thighs when you jump, and will be an inch or 2 away from your crotch as it passes that level. You need to relearn the movement according to the book.

hey mark, what if you have really short arms? i.e. locking out at the top of the deadlift = barbell touching mid-penis

i always brushed up against my balls when i power clean but i think i have pretty good form, just really short arms. wearing supertight briefs solved it.

[b33k4y]

What is worse in my opinion is getting hit in the chin on a light warmup set when I forget that I don't have to do a strong pull and shrug and the barbell literally flies up and out of my hands.

[TravisRussellDC]

That's the exact reason why I quit doing heavy power shrugs with a barbell. Never had that problem with a power clean though. I've always had the bad habit of swinging it too far away from my body.

I'm sure you'll find, like I have, that no matter how proficient you become at a lift, you can always benefit from going back and reading about the way it should be done. I catch a little something myself every time I reread the book.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Even if your arms are short, the bar still is at the mid-thigh when you jump, so it isn't anywhere near your balls.

[XTrainer]

Once you start training in compression shorts, you never go back. At least I didn't. Keeps everything in place.

[Polynomial]

I've had similar fears. As Rip says, correct technique will help avoid that, but my other recommendation is for guys to wear boxer-briefs instead of boxers. Boxer-briefs tend to stop your junk from flying up when jumping during the power clean. That and, ladies seem to like them more.

[Draco]

The bar-to-the-balls thing has happened to me when form was sloppy - usually a bad starting position causing a messed up bar path. But seriously, I find the recent threads about bars and balls to be weird. It's pretty difficult to hit yourself square in the nuts so that you actually hurt yourself. All this talk of people's balls and dicks in the way during deadlifts, cleans, and whatever else just seems silly. And by "silly" I mean slightly gay.