Power Clean Question

[Andrew]

Hey Mark,

First, I just wanted to thank you for writing Starting Strength and Practical Programming. I've been doing SS for a little over a month and have both enjoyed it and seen results.

Second, I am having an extremely difficult time learning power cleans. For the past month or so I've been doing the variation of SS with chins/pull ups and it's been working fine-- I figured it's time to step it up though. When I try to put the bar in the rack position I am finding it extremely difficult to keep my elbows up. I also am still really unsure as to how the bar is supposed to sit on my shoulders. For some reason this position seems beyond uncomfortable for me-- it just seems unnatural, and I'm not really sure how I can get it to feel right. I've watched videos and read the section in SS over and over again. It doesn't seem like it has anything to do with me being inflexible. I just don't think I'm "getting" it. How high are my elbows actually supposed to be? Where should the tips of my fingers be in relation to my shoulders? Should I have someone "load" the bar onto my shoulders while I have my elbows up so that I can get used to the position? Any help/advice would be great.

Thanks.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Rack position problems are quite often the result of anthropometry. If your forearms are long relative to your upper arms, this geometry will always result in a lower elbow position with a typical close clean grip. We want your elbows pointing more or less straight forward, and if your forearms are long you're going to have to widen your grip to accommodate the longer forearm dimension. There's just no other way to fix it, and it's not flexibility. Widen your grip a finger width at a time until the rack position works with your elbows in the right place.

[Andrew]

Rack position problems are quite often the result of anthropometry. If your forearms are long relative to your upper arms, this geometry will always result in a lower elbow position with a typical close clean grip. We want your elbows pointing more or less straight forward, and if your forearms are long you're going to have to widen your grip to accommodate the longer forearm dimension. There's just no other way to fix it, and it's not flexibility. Widen your grip a finger width at a time until the rack position works with your elbows in the right place.

Thanks for your response. The bar is supposed to sit on my shoulders right? And my fingers are there are only to support the bar and keep it in place? Should I be forcing my wrists to turn outward as I widen the grip? The only thing I have in my room right now close to a barbell is a lacrosse stick. I just tried to hold in the rack position and no matter how much I widen my grip, my elbows won't point forward.

I really want to learn power cleans... this is just really frustrating for me.

Thanks again.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The bar should be sitting on the meat of your deltoids, and the fingers do not support the weight. They just trap the bar between your elbows and your shoulders. You don't have to force you wrists to do anything; once your grip is correct you just think about driving your elbows up and in toward the middle. Widen your grip until this is possible. And you won't be able to do this with a light stick, so just wait till you train again.

[Andrew]

Just tried it this morning... made quite a difference. Killed my wrists at first but I just need to stretch them out. Thanks so much for your help!