Power Clean Form Check

[WaffleBox]

Howdy folks! Today was my third time doing power cleans ever, and what better time than that for a form check?!

I recorded all of my sets including warm ups. Below I've posted a warm up set with empty bar to see my form at its purest, and all 5 work sets at 85lbs. Note that because the weight is so low, I do not yet start these from the floor. I start them from hanging position, lower them to starting position, then do the lifts.

Things I am already aware of, and would love advice on correcting:
1) Sometimes I start to bend my arms a split second before the jump
2) Sometimes I don't get my elbows quite all the way up

I did fail a rep in the third set, which I repeated.

Here are the videos:
Warmup 45lbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXRac1fDuvI
Set 1 85lbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZV9BQH1n4U
Set 2 85lbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSigHetL0M8
Set 3 85lbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZMC9gx6zu0
Set 4 85lbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5xPxEhXvsk
Set 5 85lbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awi9ALbPwGQ

Thanks so much for any help!

[PFerrari]

1. The early arm bend you just have to really focus on not pulling with your arms. Sometimes rotating the elbows to the side and flexing your triceps helps. (Also makes your arms look good when you're pulling)
2. Practice rebending the knees, going under slightly. You should catch the bar in a partial squat. At these light weights it's barely going to be a squat but it's good practice and it will help you keep your torso upright and not lose your balance.
3. Your shoulders are never forward of the bar (they are behind the whole time). Your shoulders should be forward of the bar as the bar comes off the floor until it passes your knee. Then they will come back until you start your 2nd pull.

Good luck.

[yellowmamba]

1. The early arm bend you just have to really focus on not pulling with your arms. Sometimes rotating the elbows to the side and flexing your triceps helps. (Also makes your arms look good when you're pulling)
2. Practice rebending the knees, going under slightly. You should catch the bar in a partial squat. At these light weights it's barely going to be a squat but it's good practice and it will help you keep your torso upright and not lose your balance.
3. Your shoulders are never forward of the bar (they are behind the whole time). Your shoulders should be forward of the bar as the bar comes off the floor until it passes your knee. Then they will come back until you start your 2nd pull.

Good luck.

These are, frankly, ABYSMAL.

You need to learn this from scratch. From the top down. I doubt you have done this or read the section in the book, because those power cleans were really fucking ugly.

Learn to clean from this website here: http://www.allthingsgym.com/how-to-c...glenn-pendlay/ It's got video + pictures + text. SS lacks the video, which makes it harder to learn.

Notice how that even though they are doing cleans @ 40kg, farrrrrr off their maxes, their form is impeccable.

If you buy into Rippetoe's arguments about the efficiency of the straight line pull, which frankly is irrelevant to a novice, then just pull the bar a bit towards you and raise your hips a bit. But the rest of Pendlay's pointers are absolute gold for a novice and are things that you don't do at all.

One question: Why do you do power cleans with the posture of the Hunchback of Notre Dame?

[WaffleBox]

I doubt you have done this or read the section in the book, because those power cleans were really fucking ugly.

I have read it twice and highlighted it, in fact, and during my first workout followed it step by step. I find it difficult to learn exercise from books, however.

Learn to clean from this website here: http://www.allthingsgym.com/how-to-c...glenn-pendlay/ It's got video + pictures + text. SS lacks the video, which makes it harder to learn.

Thanks, I imagine this will make it significantly easier for me, as a result of what I said above.

One question: Why do you do power cleans with the posture of the Hunchback of Notre Dame?

I do everything with terrible posture because I have terrible posture and have for basically my whole life. I am considering seeing a chiropractor or something in order to try to improve it.

[yellowmamba]

Well I linked that website because it teaches the clean in an easier way than the SS method.

Maybe there is a slight advantage to be gained from utilising the deadlift start position (higher hips, bar closer to the COM) at the beginning of the clean by an elite weightlifting competitor who has a weak deadlift relative to his clean.

This argument however has little application to novices. In fact it is counterproductive to novices, because their priority should be learning to perform the clean with good form in a reasonable amount of time. An excessively rigorous adherence to "efficiency" at all costs is the worst possible thing to promote.

It is much easier to learn to clean using the traditional method, i.e. bar over the base of the toes, hips down, chest up, shoulders above or slightly behind the bar. This is probably because sweeping the bar towards your thigh automatically cues knee rebending.

Almost everyone learning the power clean has a problem with the "catch". To rectify that, add some more weight so that you can only pull about as high as your bellybutton and drop into the hole with the barbell. To successfully complete the lift, you pretty much have to have a perfect catch. The power clean is more forgiving, as you can catch it pretty much however you like. After you can master that, then you can decide if you want to continue squat cleaning or revert back to the power clean.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Hi,

I start them from hanging position, lower them to starting position, then do the lifts.

for the time being, I would try to also do a few of them directly from the hang position. I you start from the hang position, just above the knee, you will have the time to focus on keeping your shoulders in front of the bar.
Also, you will have time to make your chest big at the start, which will help.

In practice:

- you get the bar from the rack, arms down.
- you make your chest big, and your back tight.
- you lower the bar to just above the knees, keeping the shoulders just slightly in front of the bar
- this will require you to keep the bar in position using your lats. That's ok
- Once you are happy with your position, you start sliding the bar on the thighs and then BANG! off you go.

It might be worth a try.

IPB