Power Clean & Press vs Power Clean

[Andrea]

Hi Mark

I don't know if anyone already asked this but I would like to know your opinion on doing power clean and presses (with some sort of jerk-like drive) instead of power cleans during the novice linear progression, same sets and reps as you prescribe.
I am talking about trainees who already got a bit of press strength to sustain overhead the weigth they can clean. In my opinion, this may be useful to add some press volume to the program, since as far as I have heard the upper body musculature can tolerate more volume than the lower one can.

Nice to know your opinion about this.

[Szymon]

NLP got enough press volume.

You wont need more until intermediate programing. Even then I would stick to the basic lifts for as long as you can add weight.

[Dalton Rankin]

Szymon is right on the money. The press increases linearly like all the other lifts in the program, and three sets of five work better than any other permutation. While the upper body is more tolerant of volume, this does not mean that adding pressing volume is ideal. Also, pressing with a "jerk-like drive" is not a press; it is a jerk, which is an explosive Olympic weightlifting movement, or a push press, which is the bastard variation of the press (at least among novices). Furthermore, I press more than I power clean, and while this is not the case for everyone--sometimes it is the opposite--usually the power clean and press are NOT at the same weight used. As a result, you are either training the power clean harder than the press or vice versa. Do both of the lifts individually, and if you want to be a press specialist after your NLP, go ahead and do that.