Necessity drives adaptation? (will it make my cleans better)

[Dastardly]

I have a pathetic clean. I squat 120kg at 75kg bodyweight (high bar) but my best ever clean is a mere 60kg. My deadlift is probably around 160kg but havent checked recently.

My technique for a power clean is very good, but in terms of squat cleaning I struggle to get down fast enough. So I actually find it harder than power cleaning.

Now, no matter how much I practice I have never been able to break free of this ratio of clean : squat/deadlift. In fact, as my squat had increased my clean has stayed pretty much the same. Even back when I was a noob at barbells trying to hit a bodyweight squat I could still clean only marginally less than I can do now. My problem seems to be a total lack of natural explosiveness.

Now I was thinking (as I have tried pretty much everything else) If I gave up the squat stands and onyl allowed myself to squat (front) or press weights that I cleaned first. And conduct all my training in this manner, whether I might force my body to adapt to cleaning greater loads?

[gzt]

Forcing yourself to clean more (both more often and more weight) might get you where you need to go, sure. It's worth a shot.

[Philbert]

More likely that your squat strength will adapt down to the weight you can clean than that your clean will adapt up. If your power clean is better than your full clean you are more deficient in technique than in explosiveness. It might be better to keep squatting as you are and add a dedicated clean day a couple times a week to develop speed under the bar.

[Tamara Reynolds]

I would just clean all of your presses and then add extra power clean sessions. I wouldn't eliminate other things. I definitely wouldn't switch to front squats that you can clean.

[Dastardly]

I would just clean all of your presses and then add extra power clean sessions. I wouldn't eliminate other things. I definitely wouldn't switch to front squats that you can clean.

It sounds drastic I know, but the notion came from observing lifters who train at the weightlifting club in my city. They almost never squat as they only have one set of very wobbly home made squat stands which fall over when you try to re-rack the bar. Yet they all snatch well over their bodyweight and they do it pretty soon after joining. The lack of squatting doesn't seem to slow up their progress that much. Obviously, when they are so good at "the lifts" then adding regular squats will drive them up a whole lot more, not disputing that.

I think I have the reverse problem. A kid who was doing easy snatches of 100kg told me his best back squat was only 130kg-140kg but he didn't really know as they did them so infrequently. Now, I can probably squat 130kg on a good day, but I would struggle to clean 60kg. The coach there told me I should stop back squatting altogether and focus only on C&J/Snatch and some front squats done with moderate weights for 5+ reps. I cannot snatch due to injury, but I could probably follow that advice to some degree.

I cannot attend the club because it is both quite far and the coach is only interested in having lifters who can compete. He doesn't mind if the lifters arent very good, but they must be willing to compete. As I cannot snatch it puts me out of the equation.

[Philbert]

It sounds drastic I know, but the notion came from observing lifters who train at the weightlifting club in my city. They almost never squat as they only have one set of very wobbly home made squat stands which fall over when you try to re-rack the bar. Yet they all snatch well over their bodyweight and they do it pretty soon after joining. The lack of squatting doesn't seem to slow up their progress that much. Obviously, when they are so good at "the lifts" then adding regular squats will drive them up a whole lot more, not disputing that.

I think I have the reverse problem. A kid who was doing easy snatches of 100kg told me his best back squat was only 130kg-140kg but he didn't really know as they did them so infrequently. Now, I can probably squat 130kg on a good day, but I would struggle to clean 60kg. The coach there told me I should stop back squatting altogether and focus only on C&J/Snatch and some front squats done with moderate weights for 5+ reps. I cannot snatch due to injury, but I could probably follow that advice to some degree.

I cannot attend the club because it is both quite far and the coach is only interested in having lifters who can compete. He doesn't mind if the lifters arent very good, but they must be willing to compete. As I cannot snatch it puts me out of the equation.

See the thread titled something like "What is wrong with US weightlifting" for an extensive exposition of the general response of this forum to that idea.