Power clean check

[Mark Edward]

My cleans have felt like a big pile of dogshit lately. Any criticism is welcome.

Here is 280x3. This weight is light enough that I can muscle it up if the bar bath is off. This set felt pretty awkward and ugly.



And here is a miss at 315. I was cleaning this weight reliably a few months ago, but now it just won't rack.

[Steve Hill]

First, your set up is incorrect - your hips are too low.

Second, it appears to me that you're cutting off your jump (or second pull) and not getting extended fully. Think tall at the end of the pull. Then get under the bar.

[Mark Edward]

I'll get some video tomorrow with a higher hip setup. Could the bar being too far out in front because of the bad setup explain me cutting off the second pull too early?

[Steve Hill]

I'll get some video tomorrow with a higher hip setup.

Just use the deadlift set-up. If you're not aware of it, it's here.

Could the bar being too far out in front because of the bad setup explain me cutting off the second pull too early?

It's possible. A more horizontal back angle let's you accelerate the bar earlier in the pull as the back angle whips towards vertical while the bar is passing the knee. This means the bar is travelling faster when you're eeking the last dregs of acceleration by finishing your 2nd pull.

[Mark Edward]

Thanks for the help. I tried some reps today with higher hips. It felt a bit better, but I still was missing the rack at 315.

Here is 3x275.


And here are a couple misses at 315. It seems to me that I'm allowing the bar to loop out a bit, and maybe that's what's fucking up my second pull. Or maybe I'm just being a pussy and failing to commit to racking the bar. (First rep is at :40, second is at 1:20.)

[Steve Hill]

You're still setting up with your weight back on your heels - note the angle of your arms at the start. The 3rd rep, you've dropped your hips. All this makes the bar swing towards you off the floor - note your arm angle change in the first 3" of the pull. So the bar is swinging back towards you and then strikes your mid thigh - which probably impedes your 2nd pull a bit, as you're still not fully extended at the top. A cut-off 2nd pull usually means the bar is going forward instead of up.

Do you have video of a heavy DL?

[Mark Edward]

Here is 520x3 from last November. My current pulls probably look a bit different, since I've stopped wearing the Olympic shoes for deadlifts. I can get you video on Tuesday if you like.

[Steve Hill]

Note your arm angle as the bar comes off the ground. Remember that the angle is different. If you pull heavy on Tuesday, take some video from the end of the bar (like your cleans).

That being said, impressive lifting. Some minor technical stuff to clean up - I think you're trying to extend your hips early in your DL as well as your clean (easier to do on the clean as you note - if the weight is light, you can muscle it up), and this is why you're not out over the bar later in the pull (around the knees). That little backwards hook to the bar at the top in the DL is the same artifact that's putting the bar back behind midfoot in the clean. I think it's impeding your hip extension (not to mention bouncing off your thighs away from you) and with the bar moving away, you're having trouble racking it.

[Mark Edward]

Here's 495 for a pretty easy double. I tried to put my weight a little more on the balls of my feet rather than all on my heels like before. Am I on the right track?

Sorry about the weird angle; my normal platform was busy and I had to improvise.

http://youtu.be/oBoY9L7n-O8?t=18s

[Tom Campitelli]

Your second rep looked solid. You didn't push the bar forward right before breaking it off the ground like you did on the first and your back angle did not change off the floor. Rip's handy setup for the deadlift makes sure this happens every time. Nice pulls.