The Super Power Clean

[ermunaz]

THE SUPER POWER CLEAN
~ how to obtain brutal power in clean ~
** BACKED BY THE SCIENCE **

Ladies and gentlemen it is a pleasure for me to unreveal what ive been working on for the last couple months. I have found a way to increment ur clean and snatch by use of the most suprising and unintuitive method. To understand how this works, we need to take things from the very beginning.

clean bioanalysis
The power from the clean originate from two pulls. Pull 1 use leg extension and bring the bar from off ground to just above ur knees. Pull 2, aka explosion, use shrug and hip, knee, ankle extension all at same time. These two pulls are distinct and NOT one motion. You will find that the bar speed increment during pull 1, decrement or slow down between pull 1 and 2, and increment again during pull 2 to reach maximum velocity. At the end of pull 2 (full extension) theres no more power. After this point, gravity will pull the bar down and when speed reaches 0 and the bar start to descend, u catch it on ur delts/clavecles. Since gravity is a constant force, the max heigth the bar reach is determine by the speed u give it at end up pull 2. So u can see the whole point of this excercise to generate as max speed as possible in the end of pull 2. This will allow u to pull more mass up to a height u can catch it.

the importance of pull 1
Now that we have simplifyed the problem, let us analyse how to make the bar move as fast as possible. Contrary to popular believe, clean is not a slow pull followed by an explosion. The only reason pull 2 is refer to an explsion is that its so short so a lot more power is involved. But most of the bars speed in fact come from pull 1. If u slowly pull the bar up during pull 1, u'll never be able to generate the bar speed u need to get the bar up to a position u can catch it. Just try to hang clean ur 1RM clean and u see what i mean. For a practical example, i have analyse the bar velocity from the clean part of Anatoli Pisarenko world record c&j attempt of 260.5 kg in 1983 (raw data availabel online):

In graphs, blue = pull 1, green = transition, red = pull 2, yellow = bar flies. As shown in graph, the bar reaches in pull 1 speed 157 cm/s, then looses 57 cm/s speed during transition phase, then adds another 61 cm/s during pull 2. So a lot more speed is imparted in pull 1. In fact, here pull 2 hardly added any speed over what pull 1 had already given. (Of course, this is not to demote pull 2; even if the speed after pull 2 is lower than pull 1, it is still needed to bring the bar to higher up.) Buit the very important thing here is that assuming u are able to generate a certain pulling force during a pull, u will be adding speed onto whatever speed the bar already had from before the pull. So any additional speed gain or loose in pull 1 transfer over to pull 2.

how to speed up pull 1
Arm with this knowledge, let us see how can we reach more speed in pull 1. First of all forget all that bullshatz about pull 1 being slow or like a deadlift. Pull as fast as u can, just as long as u are in balance and in the proper power position at the end of it. That part is hardly revolutonary. But here comes the trick. As u start the clean, the bar is at a ~22 cm height and zero velocity. As we have already shown, had the bar have any speed at take off, that speed would transfer over to the speed at end of pull 1 which in turn transfer over to the speed at the end of pull 2 and thus the max height of the bar. (Some ppl use this method as a cheat in deadlift "touch and go" by use of the momentum from bar bouncing in ground.) Now instead imagine the bar start at height lower than 22 cm. Slap 25's onto it instead of 45's so it start at 14 cm. Yes, u'll be in a more disadvantage deficit position, and ur instincts will tell u this is a retarded idea, but as long as u can lift the weight off the ground, any speed u manage to add to it when u reach the default 22 cm take off position will be to ur gain and make the bar fly higher. Any way u have to create a deficit will work here, zB use smaller weights or stand on a platform. Even for lifters competing there are ways, u could for example bend the bar slighly, use very big shoes, thick sole, put big insoles or just stand up on ur tippety toes to gain some extra cms. Use ur imagination.

scientific proof
In this section we will analyse what happen if Pisarenko had use my method. For the sake of simple we will assume constant acceleration between the following endpoints:

A. start       t₀=0     h₀=22   v₀=0
B. end pull 1  t₁=0.46  h₁=67   v₁=157  a₁=274
C. end trans   t₂=0.60  h₂=83   v₂=100  a₂=-458
D. end pull 2  t₃=0.72  h₃=98   v₃=161  a₃=531
E. max height  t₄=0.89  h₄=111  v₄=0    a₄=-997

(t=time s, h=bar height cm, v=speed cm/s, a=acceleration cm/s² from previous point)

m₁ = 260.5 kg = bar mass
m₂ = mass that can be lifted with deficit
g = 981 cm/s² = earth graivity
d = deficit in cm

Note that m₂ is the variable we search. The motion equation for end velocity v given initial velocity w, acceleration a and distance s is:

v = √(2as + w²)

Let us assume for this example that during the deficit phase, Pisarenko is weeker and can only pull with half off the acceleration as pull 1. So we have:

v₀ = √(2a₁/2d) = √(a₁d)

And for maximum height h₄ reached at end:

h₄ = h₃-v₃²/2a₄

Call the force acting on bar F, its made up of gravity mg and the pulling force P, so F = P - mg. By Newtons law also F = ma, so pulling force P = m(a+g). Let b denote the acceleration with the heavier bar. Assuming same force P applied, we then have m₁(a+g) = m₂(b+g) and thus b = m₁(a+g)/m₂-g. We can now piece together the expression for the maximum height h₄ reached:

h₄ = ((h₀-d/2)gm₂ + ((a₃-a₄)h₃+(a₂-a₃)h₂+(a₁-a₂)h₁-(g+a₁)(h₀-d/2))m₁) / (gm₂-(g+a₄)m₁)

and solving for m₂:

m₂ = m₁(((a₃-a₄)h₃+(a₂-a₃)h₂+(a₁-a₂)h₁-(g+a₁)(h₀-d/2)) + (g+a₄)h₄) / (h₄g - (h₀-d/2)g)

With a d=8 cm deficit, this means Pisarenko could have lifted 263.6 kg and still caught it at the same height h₄! And with a full 22 cm deficit, he could have lift 268.5 kg! Do i hear World Record?! Do i smell Gold Medals!?

For another practical example, see at photo at top for what happend when i tried this method myself. The power is OUT OF THIS WORLD.

final remark
Another cool aspect of this method is the unintuitiveity; as u use it and hit a couple of nice PRs, u can tell unenlighted ppl that not only u lifted all this weight, u did it in a DEFICIT. I have search the internet exhaustively and not found this method mention anywhere. I hereby declare myself the inventor of this method, and name it the Hans Super Power Clean © (aka Super Power Clean or just The Hans).

All of what written also applies to the snatch. It then becomes a Super Snatch. If ur sticky point in deadlift is not in the lower part, u might even apply this technique to deadlift in which case it become a Super Sticky Deadlift.

Thats all for now folks. Lift hard and prosper!

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[FelixDesusa]

i didn't read this, but i repped you anyway cause it think that picture is full of awesome!

[chazzy1864]

Cliffs?

[ironwill2008]

Stopped reading at "unreveal." Just couldn't bring myself to fight through the spelling errors and bad grammar.

[jason1903]

For best results perform at the equator in a pit full of vipers.

[AmazinJason]

rofl good post. 5 stars.

[PeterGibbons316]

Guys, it's backed by the science!
THE SCIENCE!
THE SCIENCE!
THE SCIENCE!
THE SCIENCE!
THE SCIENCE!

[SuffolkPunch]

Cliffs?

- Pull 1 should be as fast as pull 2 but there is still a slight decrease in velocity between the two
- Use small plates and work from a defecit to speed up pull 1

[sekke]

So if I read correctly you are saying to do better cleans pull the bar fast in pull 1 and also try to decrease the height between your feet and the bar.

I always wonder why people coach pull 1 to be slow and steady like a deadlift. When i was getting coached I would always get corrected for pulling to fast in pull 1 and I still wonder why it is coached that way.

[ermunaz]

tnx for ur support guys yeah the text is long and scientific but come on u know how this works -- wihtout the details u'd just call BS. the scientific math is needed to prove the theories and turn bro science into true science.

"super power clean" #2 hit on google now, wonderful (1st is for a "highly concentrated general purpose alkaline degreaser")

u got the cliffs right and sekke u are absolute right, that is how power clean is coached and i am telling u it is BAD. what these coaches have mixed up is power and energy. yes, pull 2 is much more powerfull than pull 1 but for god sake it last for ~1/4 of the time! Remember, energy = power * time, so the mayority of energy should and must come from pull 1. If power and explosivity is what ur after, then fine keep obsessing with an explosive pull 2. If on the other hand making the bar fly high, lifting heavy sh*t and setting world records is what ur after, shift ur focus onto pull 1. The only reason u would not pull as fast as possible in pull 1 wuld be to a) tremendous peak force at liftoff from ground could cause injury and b) u loose ur balance and do not reach proper power position at end of pull 1.

ive gotten several request for video, unfortunatly during this pull u see in the picture it did not end very well. the fact i was wearing straps did not help (well it did help make the bar fly high but almost snapped my wrist on the way down). let it be a learning for anyone to not wear straps in power clean!

also, high bandwidth seem to have taken down the picture proof and i cant edit the post, so here is again: