Power clean 60kg form check

[Nico Garcia]

Hello,



apart from the elbow speed, I think you also have some adjustments to make in the early part of the lift.

You yank the bar off the ground, it's quite a jerk (no pun intended).
You also rush through the first part of the lift and, as a consequence, the bar never actually slides up your thigh to reach the 'jump' position (this is particularly noticeable in the second rep).

Squeeze the bar off the ground, keep it under control and make sure your shoulders are still ahead of the bar when it goes past the knees. Then, make sure the bar rides over the thigh until you reach your power/jump position. At that point, fire the afterburners and go!

In order to get the rhythm right, the first few times you try this it might be useful to really slow the movement, making sure to get the bar to follow the required path; slow past the knees, slow over the thigh, almost crawling speed, until you feel the power/jump point.

The final product should be something like:
- slow and controlled up to knees.
- controlled around the knees, shoulders over the bar.
- slight increase in speed riding up the thigh until power/jump point.
- Boom!
- Fast elbows up.
- Job done.

Hope this helps.

IPB

Yeah totally, this helps! Thanks.

[Nico Garcia]

Hello,



apart from the elbow speed, I think you also have some adjustments to make in the early part of the lift.

You yank the bar off the ground, it's quite a jerk (no pun intended).
You also rush through the first part of the lift and, as a consequence, the bar never actually slides up your thigh to reach the 'jump' position (this is particularly noticeable in the second rep).

Squeeze the bar off the ground, keep it under control and make sure your shoulders are still ahead of the bar when it goes past the knees. Then, make sure the bar rides over the thigh until you reach your power/jump position. At that point, fire the afterburners and go!

In order to get the rhythm right, the first few times you try this it might be useful to really slow the movement, making sure to get the bar to follow the required path; slow past the knees, slow over the thigh, almost crawling speed, until you feel the power/jump point.

The final product should be something like:
- slow and controlled up to knees.
- controlled around the knees, shoulders over the bar.
- slight increase in speed riding up the thigh until power/jump point.
- Boom!
- Fast elbows up.
- Job done.

Hope this helps.

IPB

Did PC today. Am I getting any closer here? Thanks for the help.

Power clean 70 kg - YouTube

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Am I getting any closer here?

Ehm...not really.

You are still yanking the bar off the floor, and rushing through the first pull.
Your elbows are still quite slow, and you rack the bar with them pointing down, rather than forward.
There is also some arm-pulling.
And you added weight, so the bar rises a little less than in the previous video, and you have to limbo your way under it to rack it (particularly evident in the third rep).

I would start fixing the issues from the top down.
Just do a bunch of hang power cleans; bar just above the knees, shoulders well over the bar, shoulder blades pulled together. Slide the bar up the thigh up to jump point, explode, and rack quickly.
To check if the movement is correct, I suggest this procedure: rack the bar and freeze as you are. Don't stand, don't move your elbows, don't move your feet, just freeze.
If your movement is good, you should be able to ride down to a full front squat without changing anything.
If your feet are too wide, if you have limboed under the bar (that is, your hips are under the bar, see third rep in the last video), if your elbows are too low, you won't be able to squat down.
That's the check.
With some practice and some (maybe a lot) of patience, you will get to a good hang clean, with a proper rack position (elbow, hips, feet, the lot).
Then, it will be easier to fix the other parts of the lift, and add it all together to a coherent, beautiful execution.

Hope this helps,

IPB

[Nico Garcia]

Ehm...not really.

You are still yanking the bar off the floor, and rushing through the first pull.
Your elbows are still quite slow, and you rack the bar with them pointing down, rather than forward.
There is also some arm-pulling.
And you added weight, so the bar rises a little less than in the previous video, and you have to limbo your way under it to rack it (particularly evident in the third rep).

I would start fixing the issues from the top down.
Just do a bunch of hang power cleans; bar just above the knees, shoulders well over the bar, shoulder blades pulled together. Slide the bar up the thigh up to jump point, explode, and rack quickly.
To check if the movement is correct, I suggest this procedure: rack the bar and freeze as you are. Don't stand, don't move your elbows, don't move your feet, just freeze.
If your movement is good, you should be able to ride down to a full front squat without changing anything.
If your feet are too wide, if you have limboed under the bar (that is, your hips are under the bar, see third rep in the last video), if your elbows are too low, you won't be able to squat down.
That's the check.
With some practice and some (maybe a lot) of patience, you will get to a good hang clean, with a proper rack position (elbow, hips, feet, the lot).
Then, it will be easier to fix the other parts of the lift, and add it all together to a coherent, beautiful execution.

Hope this helps,

IPB

Ha! Alright man! Thanks for the clarification. I’m gonna get this right. Probably work on it with little to no weight every workout to get it down.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You cannot learn to clean a heavy weight by cleaning light weights.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Probably work on it with little to no weight every workout to get it down.

The Great Man already said it, so let me get in his slipstream. There is no need for no weight; I think you will be fine with 50/60Kg, not less (you need a bit of resistance).

IPB

[Nico Garcia]

You cannot learn to clean a heavy weight by cleaning light weights.

This is a lift where having an actual coach present would probably fix this in one session. Unfortunately I don’t know anyone that can do these. Alright, so keep working on the technique while continuing to move the weight up.

[Nico Garcia]

The Great Man already said it, so let me get in his slipstream. There is no need for no weight; I think you will be fine with 50/60Kg, not less (you need a bit of resistance).

IPB

Recovery day today. Been working on my power cleans. Am I getting anywhere yet? I’m still “limboing” under the bar I think.

https://youtu.be/fB0P2p9mIls?feature=shared

practicing hook grip…
https://youtu.be/0avjWxMRJHM?feature=shared

[Maybach]

You're not quite extending your hips all the way: the bar is mostly being "shrugged" up. The power should come from your glutes. "Banging" your hips into the bar is a frowned upon cue here but might be what you need.

[Mark Rippetoe]

YThe power should come from your glutes. "Banging" your hips into the bar is a frowned upon cue here but might be what you need.

I don't frown upon that cue at all. In fact, I use "Hit the bar harder with your thighs" for lifters who already know all the steps.