Eccentric/Negative in the Power Clean

[mgirdley]

Coach,

Own/read the book. Have DVD on order. Searched forums. Couldn't find answer.

I am doing the power cleans with bumper plates, which can be dropped safely. Question: From a training standpoint, is dropping the bar acceptable versus lowering under control? Given the objective is developing hip power in extension, I presume dropping is OK and likely better as I'm not expending energy lowering the bar. But, this bothers me every time I watch videos of my PC, so I'm asking.

Thanks.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Dropping the bar is assumed if you're using bumper plates. It's not necessarily the best thing since it leaves out the eccentric work, but since it's 2012 and you have bumpers, what the hell.