The bar's out over your toes a little, which means you could stand to have a little higher ass and a more squeezed-up chest, with the bar rolled back a little, which would also fix the kyphotic problem you had noticed.
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Power Clean form check.
Hey Rip, wanted to get a form check on my 1 RM power clean. This was yesterday, and it's 235#: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-JAgW084Iw
Some self analysis: I think I pulled a little bit early with the arms. I also need to be more aggressive at the top of the second pull, and am working on keeping my lats tight to keep the bar in close. I feel like I can move a lot more weight soon with some form adjustments.
Also, as you can see the in the video, I have a kyphosis in my mid/upper back. It's gotten a lot better recently, but is still persistent, and I think it's having an effect on my pull. Any insights on how best to deal with this?
Thanks in advance.
TMPHBITEU
The bar's out over your toes a little, which means you could stand to have a little higher ass and a more squeezed-up chest, with the bar rolled back a little, which would also fix the kyphotic problem you had noticed.
Member
I know you want him just to jump with a load, but what about the slow elbows and the wide landing stance? Looks like there's more concern about power cleaning 235 than being correct off the floor.
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Thanks Coach. Could you elaborate on what you mean by a "squeezed-up chest"? I'm guessing you mean more thoracic extension, but I'm not entirely sure.Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
TMPHBITEU
I couldn't see the elbows or the landing stance very well from that angle, or at least they didn't attract my admittedly short attention. And most people lose concentration for detail when attempting a PR, the time it's most important.
Yes, thoracic extension. Do this as hard as you can just as you start the pull.
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JLascek: My slow elbows are a problem I've been working on for a while (as well as the wide stance, though that is less of an issue.) I'm not going to deliberately use lighter weight than I am capable of to work on my form when I'm trying to go heavy. That's what my warm-up is for.
Coach: Thanks. I will be more aggressive with the thoracic extension next time.
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Coach, this brings up a question regarding the stomp. Is the stomp supposed to happen straight out of the jump? I.e., does one continue upward until the deadpoint of the jump, and then the landing part is the stomp? Or does the jump happen, second pull, feet hit the floor again for a microsecond, and then you pick them back up and stomp them for the rack?
I tried reviewing the above video, but video compressed for internet doesn't seem to have enough frames per second (or YouTube doesn't permit fine enough frame-by-frame viewing) to allow for particularly close analysis of a fast lift. I have also scoured the cleans chapter in SS:BBT, and I couldn't find an answer to that particular question.
At any rate, when I clean, I feel like it is a pretty slow and lumbering affair, with just barely enough momentum imparted to the bar to get it to rack. Meaning that the "jump" really amounts to a lame little hop (enough to lift me onto my toes), and certainly not enough for my feet to come off the floor enough to be stomped back down. Warming up, there is no problem; the jump carries me sufficiently off the floor to stomp the feet, but at working-set weight, there isn't much "jump" to the jump, and the stomp is pretty much MIA.
(For context, I'm currently 180, squats just stalled at 245, press is at 120, bench is coming up on a third workout going for 170, DLs are at 265, and cleans are at 135. Eating lots, and on about a QOMAD, or at least a POMAW).
TMPHBITEU
If you learn the clean from a jump at the top, the stomp is the feet reconnecting with the floor after the jump with the bar in the hands has occurred. It's no more complicated than that: if you have jumped, your feet have lost contact with the ground, and their replacement is the stomp.
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Are you doing the linear progression? If you are, did you clean that weight for a triple? If not, then your progression wouldn't benefit from heavy singles. I bet you'd be stronger without the feet shooting out since you'd be more busy jumping up. But I agree that your elbows are a more serious issue, but if we're going to triage the issue, your starting position is the priority.
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I always thought of the stomp more as a result of aggressively positioning your feet into the squat position and landing with your heels. (The squat on a power clean is just severly abbreviated compared to a full squat.) The lack of air under your feet during the jump is not a problem, in fact many advanced weightlifters do not leave the platform much at all if any. It is possible to stomp the heels without even jumping first. Try this:
1.) Stand in a stationary erect position.
2.) QUICKLY lift your legs by flexing your knees and hips. (I mean so quickly that your feet leave the ground as your upper body falls.)
3.) Land on your heels in a squat before your ass hits the ground.
There will most definitely be a STOMP associated with this landing.
Of course, the idea of the power clean is to emphasize the pulling up of the bar, not the pulling under the bar of your body. So concentrate on jumping up harder!
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