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Continental Clean
Hello Mark!
Recently I began to incorporate strongman exercises into my routine to prepare myself for regional strongman events here in Germany. I guess you know that an axle is a bar with an extra big diameter so that it is more difficult to power clean. Therfore nearly every strongman uses the continental clean.
What do you think about the continental clean concerning risk of injury and functionality in comparison to the power clean?
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As a training exercise? Or in the contest?
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(Clarification: I do not think of the continental clean where you are allowed to rest the axle on your belt, but the one where you pull the axle onto your stomach and then clean it onto upper chest height.)
I am mostly concerned about the benefits and deficits a continental clean has compared to a power clean in general training.
Furthermore: What are your own experiences on the continental clean?
I am already doing the continental clean and push press so I have the best carryover for a competition. Would you still advise to train the power clean for explosive strength in my specific case? (A typical event for explosive strength would be the keg toss I guess.)
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I have never used them. The full clean is a longer, more technically demanding movement, and is thus more useful to most trainees.
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The Solution:
You never definitively stated you are having trouble gripping the axle to do a straight power clean with it.
Are you?
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Indeed. The continental clean involves less technique and more strength.
I was just curious if I should also incorporate the power clean and/or the power snatch in my routine, because explosive strength is also something that is tested in strongman.
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Yes, I included the power clean in the program.
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@Mark: Thank you for the quick answers.
@Steve in ATL:
I am having trouble to power clean the axle, because I have rather small hands. That is why I actually switched over to the continental clean which helped me to clean more weight immediately.
I will take Mark's advice to take the power clean in my program, but more as an assistance movement for my axle overhead lift (from ground to overhead each rep).
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Hey Mark,
On the subject, do you know of any good resources to read about strongman programming? Obviously, exhausting a novice progression is the first step, but in the intermediate realm, what resources do you know of regarding competitive strongman?
Anyone else have a good book or two on how to train for strongman?
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