They are the worst idea anybody ever had for competitive Olympic lifters, but if you want to do them, fine.
After some time off I have resumed training with a linear progression. I have pushed my weights up pretty fast, and just suffered a mild back tweak deadlifting. Yesterday I decided to do some cleans as an alternative to heavy deadlifts, give my back a little rest. I found catching the bar pretty awkward. I am 50 years old and I had more or less given up on cleans due to wrist pain and other issues when I try to progress them to heavier weights.
I know Rip is against high pulls because there's no way to objectively measure whether you completed the rep. But would it really be wrong to use them as a light/dynamic pulling alternative? I tried them yesterday and they felt a lot better than the cleans did. All the explosive pulling, none of the awkwardness and wrist stress. Also, my gym will get mad if I drop the bar, and it is easier to let the bar down from a high pull than from the clean rack position. I hope to keep myself reasonably honest by touching the bar to the same spot on my chest with each rep. But I am not competing and I don't really care what my max high pull is. I guess I would think of them more like an assistance or accessory movement.
Bad idea? Considerations?
They are the worst idea anybody ever had for competitive Olympic lifters, but if you want to do them, fine.
You don’t have to drop the bar when Power Cleaning. Just unrack it and lower it down like you would a deadlift.
Yeah, I know you don't have to. But I find lowering the bar from the rack position more difficult than from the top of a high pull. The bar is at a dead stop and one has to get it back fully into the hands, reversing the elbows-high movement that got it to the rack. That puts some stress on my wrists. And I have a tendency to lower it in two stages, dropping it to hip level and catching it there, then lowering it the rest of the way. Catching it at hip level causes a jolt. When I high pull, I already have a good grip on the bar at the top and I find it easier to lower it in one smooth motion to the floor.
Ok thanks, glad to know that this at least isn't an absolutely terrible idea.