Powerclean Speed (hitting chin/going too high)

[tbosman]

Started reading the real book this week, after doing the rip off SS schedule from bb.com for some time. It's awesome. I also dropped the advice of not learning the powerclean, and have been practicing it the last two workouts. It's actually the most fun exercise i've done for a while. Why anyone would recommend to drop it is beyond me, but anyhow.

As described i started with the empty bar, at the jump position, knees, floor, and then slowly add weight. If i do this with weight up to 30kg (66lbs?) it goes reasonably well. I think of the cue to touch my shirt, which really helps to keep the bar path straight i think.

But after i move to 40/50kg, i run into a problem that's not really addressed in the book as far as i can see. Apart from sometimes not lifting straight, if the bars goes in a correct line, it doesnt always stop at a height where i can "easily" catch it. That goes both ways.
One try it will only get to my chest and i need to do a reverse curl if i want get my elbows under it. So the bar is not going fast enough; i think "EXPLOSIVE". I pull up the weight, it gets to my shoulders, i slam my elbows under it, and bam, the bar gives me an uppercut to the chin. Or i'm not fast enough to get my elbows under it and the bar passes my face, and i feel like the rack is throwing me off balance because it's coming down faster than anticipated.

I've thought about it and i think the difference lies in that with 30kg i can get away with only extending my hips slowly and just shrug the entire thing up. This way i can pretty much "project" the trajectory of the barbell, because i'm relatively still and use only one muscle. With 50kg i really need to use the hip drive and i'm all like get that fucking bitch in the air, and i have no feeling of how fast the thing is really going, except for the feeling that it should be faster.

I'm not really able to regulate the because all the movements are so fast, slowing down seems to have the effect of stopping the moment entirely.

I have no idea what's the best thing to do now. Is this a form problem? Does it resolve as the motor pathways develop? Should i move up in weight?

For reference: my deadlift is at 120kg now.

[Mark Rippetoe]

This is just a form problem, a misconception about racking the bar. Once you have the basic motion down, the racking cue becomes, "Strike the BAR with your SHOULDER. Go to the BAR, do not let the bar FALL onto you."

[Tamara Reynolds]

Stop thinking about it so much, and post a form check video. I have never ever had someone repeatedly hit themselves in the chin trying to rack a power clean, and I have coached some really uncoordinated people...