Working on the fast twitch fibers

[OITW]

but it doesn't look like I actually have any. Been maybe up to a year since I last programmed PCs, although I was doing them to start the press. 55kg for the workset here, nearly as much as I ever did, so I'm pleasantly surprised. Form was never much better than this, either.

Pendlay told me to get my arse down, so I know it's too high (but with my orangutang limbs it's hard to get that low). And my elbows are always slow. What else? Or maybe to focus, what should I fix first that I haven't already mentioned?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Og4B2p8mg

[Tom Campitelli]

Pendlay's and Rip's approaches to the power clean differ, especially at the start. The idea that you need to start the pull with as vertical a back position as possible is a very popular idea in Olympic weightlifting. You'll need to decide who you want to listen to.

I would tell you that you don't need to lower the hips at all since I agree with Rip's positioning ideas for the O-Lifts. I start my cleans in the same position as a deadlift. Your starting position looks okay to me. Oly coaches would tell you I am wrong.

You are throwing your head back very violently and I predict this will cause you pain if you continue to do it. It causes you to jump backwards instead of up. You are landing in rather wide position. At 55 kg, you should break this habit early. It will not get easier to land in a more narrow stance as the weights go up. Practice moving your feet from a jumping position to a receiving position without weight as fast as you can. Add a barbell into the picture and see if you can do the same with the weight.

[LudwigVan]

Looks to me like you're jumping too early, the bar is swinging away from your body, and you're landing with a lateral split.

Wait until the hip is more extended and the bar is a couple of inches higher on your leg before you jump. When you jump, the bar should touch your body, but don't slam into it with your hips, sending it swinging away. Think about pulling it straight up. When you rack it, try to plant your feet back into the footprints you just left.

[OITW]

TomC, good catch on the neck.

The wide plant comes from slow elbows--it's how I get under the bar, and my feet are wide for the squat as well. Other than "bad form," though, I don't understand what's actually bad about it. In my defense, I didn't post all the cleans I caught elbows down or feet planted four feet apart. But it's a known problem area that I'll continue to work on.

[Tom Campitelli]

TomC, good catch on the neck.

The wide plant comes from slow elbows--it's how I get under the bar, and my feet are wide for the squat as well. Other than "bad form," though, I don't understand what's actually bad about it. In my defense, I didn't post all the cleans I caught elbows down or feet planted four feet apart. But it's a known problem area that I'll continue to work on.

I understand the desire to go wide and it is one I fight as the cleans become heavier for me, too. The problems with going wide are that a wide stance will translate poorly when it comes to moving heavier weights that need to be caught in something lower than a quarter squat. The wide stance also encourages the hips to come forward, instead of assuming more of a front squat-friendly posture. This is less than ideal for the back because it can cause some lumbar overextension and just isn't as strong or stable of a position as a front squat, or partial front squat. Lastly, your feet have to move farther out, which takes extra time. This increases the potential for problems on the landing and may or may not stress your knees at weird angles as you receive the weight. I maybe missing something else here, too.