Does it make sense for me to abandon the power clean?

[SilentShots]

I just graduated high school and, thus, am stuck at my meh Gold's Gym, running the Texas Method. I've had three successful spurts with the novice LP, each of the last three springs moving into wrestling season, but as the next season approached, weight troubles and tons of wrestling forced stalls and movements into much less successful training systems. With no looming wrestling season, I've gained 30 pounds since the end of my final season on the LP and now TM. I have been running TM for squats for a month, and moved my presses over last week in the following fashion with the following stats.

17 years old, 5'6", 167 lbs
SQ - 360x5
B - 227.5x5
P - 155x5
DL - 345x5

My troubles come with the (woeful) abandonment of my (incredibly awesome) high school gym, and the full-time move to Gold's. The place is ultra convienient, and the equipment works, but the barbells and plates suck. The collars don't spin well, there's no center knurl, the outer knurls are worn, and the bar feels thinnish and flimsy. Chalked up, I can squat fine, but worst of all, the plates aren't standard size. The gym has small-sized rubber-coated TKO plates with three grip-holes around each plate. I've measured, and they turn set the barbell two inches too low for pulls from the floor. I can partially remedy this by pulling from the bottom most power rack position, but I'm still at a slight (maybe half an inch) deficit that is entirely noticeable. I can deadlift from here fine though I must realize I will be slightly weaker than at a real gym. Power cleaning here, though, has been a fucking nightmare. The bar doesn't whip up. Even with chalk and a hook grip I can't pull any oomph into the damn thing like I could at school. The deficit, too, and pulling from a rack have fucked my form to the point of frustration. I pulled 175x5x3 at my final school power cleaning sesh for reference. I have only hit 180x3 a few times at Gold's before quitting out of frustrated concern for the equipment I was using and my own safety. I know my form isn't perfect, and a super super form remedy may solve all my problems, but is it worth it?

Should I battle with power cleans at this point? During this last LP run I found them to really help my deadlift, but that was with good equipment. I currently clean on Tuesday, an accessory day, in my TM, but speed deadlifts, which would be much more forgiving in my unfortunate pulling setup may also work in their place. I just don't know. Any suggestions (besides quit bitching)?

Thanks, all.

[Mac Ward]

This is unfortunate, and I admire your tenacity. I'll start by first asking if there are any other gyms in your area? I recognize that the location of Gold's is good, and I imagine that finances are an issue, but sacrifices may need to be made if training is important to you.

To your question - you won't die or quit getting stronger if you don't clean. The set up of the program will be less than ideal, however many folks have gotten plenty strong with minimal cleaning. With the plate size discrepancy, have you considered working from the hang and slowly move the bar down as you become accustomed to your new equipment?

[Adam Skillin]

Can't you put a plate under the undersized plates to get the bar to the right height? 2" is probably pretty close to the thickness of a 35, and since they have absolutely no right to actually be on the bar, using them as shims should be fine.

I would guess that the bars are a bigger issue. I know it's weird to be "that guy" who brings his own barbell to the gym, but in your shoes, I'd look into the CAP OB-86B. People more knowledgeable than myself find it more than acceptable for olympic lifts and their derivatives. And if you look around, you can get it delivered to your house for <$130. I know, that's an entire month's milk budget, but it's an investment you should consider.

[medwards]

Have you tried stacking a plate or two on the floor and setting the loaded bar there to make up the height deficit?

I've only started PC'ing regularly, and our bars don't spin the best. Is this a serious impediment?

[SilentShots]

Unfortunately, no gym within 20 minutes has the squat rack availability or any better equipment than Gold's, so I am stuck there.

Would hang cleaning make sense in this situation? If so, how would I go about that? Deadlift the bar to a standing position and lower into a hang approximately where a real PC would start?

Would speed deads, as outlined by Justin Lascek and Andy Baker be a good option?

[SilentShots]

Have you tried stacking a plate or two on the floor and setting the loaded bar there to make up the height deficit?

I've only started PC'ing regularly, and our bars don't spin the best. Is this a serious impediment?

I've tried everything. The plates are irregular, not flat. I can't pull from them. The cardio steps are two thick. The ab mats are too thin, and there aren't enough of them.

[Adam Skillin]

I've tried everything. The plates are irregular, not flat. I can't pull from them. The cardio steps are two thick. The ab mats are too thin, and there aren't enough of them.

Rip doesn't like speed deads as much as power cleans because you can't really compare them. To paraphrase, you pull a speed deadlift fast because you want to, but you pull a power clean fast because you have to...

But speed deads are better than not doing any "explosive" pulls.

So either buy your own bar and bring a couple 2" thick phone books in your gym bag, or just clean from a little lower. Or hang clean. Or hang snatch. Or do speed deadlifts. They're not perfect options, but they're better options than foregoing explosive movements altogether.

[medwards]

I've tried everything. The plates are irregular, not flat. I can't pull from them. The cardio steps are two thick. The ab mats are too thin, and there aren't enough of them.

You mean these things?