Help out a Big Man

[Charlie79]

Hello- I am 17 years old and a junior in high school and a football player with hopes and potential to take my game to the next level. My height is 6'8" and my weight is about 320 lbs although I am working towards my eventual goal of about 290-300 lbs (From around 350). I am having problems deciding which After about two years of doing power cleans with not much knee bend I started to snap the weight off of my thighs. My arms are decently long (6'10" wingspan) and I have been plateauing at about the 210 pound range on cleans (when im Maxing on 1 rep). About 3 weeks ago I started to work on doing a true Olympic clean and basically front squatting the weight and trying to get under it more. I have heard this can be good for taller football players due to the fact that it helps you to get lower in football and give leverage, along with flexibility in general. Specifically what information would you give to somebody who is much taller than average and has a longer body. Also, when maxing, I can typically get about 285 on clean pulls but cant catch near that weight (with power clean form). What would you recommend for somebody in my position, are there any clean workouts you can point me towards which I can do while doing my other lifts for football? I need to up my 1RM!! Should I be full cleaning or power cleaning (my coach seems to prefer full but has no real preference). Some info: my back squat is about 340 range and my bench is around 260 but I am working hard to get it all up. I appreciate your help!

[cjdelaney]

dont take this the wrong way, but i think with your squat being just above your body weight and your bench about 80 pounds below, clean technique is the least of your problems if you want to play college ball. I played division 3 ball and i dont think any of our lineman squatted less than double their bodyweight. I'm not trying to rag on you, you are a junior so you have plenty of time to tap into your potential.The best way to bring that clean max up would be to bring your overall strength up in terms of bench, squat, and deads. think of it like this, if you can deadlift 500 you can clean 300 easy.

[Fullback7]

Personally, I think that if you have trouble cleaning, then you should switch over to a 4-6 week cycle of box squats. Less technique required, and equal or maybe even better results.

[DavidJr74]

Personally, I think that if you have trouble cleaning, then you should switch over to a 4-6 week cycle of box squats. Less technique required, and equal or maybe even better results.

Yes, Box squats and powercleans put together have helped me tremendously. Definetely box squats. All you gotta do is sit back and make sure your not tap-and-go.

[DNClay]

If the problem is that you can't catch your heavier cleans, you should focus more on improving your squat. If your squat goes up, your clean definitely will.

[SPACECLOWN]

Box squats FTW!