Power Clean Critique - 2.5k Reps for Advice

[BTBAM]

Hey guys, I'm having some trouble with my clean/ power clean form. For some reason, I've developed a habit of cutting the second pull short with early arm bend, and banging the bar off my upper thigh and hips (creating painful bruises) and thus not fully extending properly. I've inserted a few videos for evaluation. Help!!!







as you can see, with the lighter weights its not so much a problem, but you can still see the bar pause for a minute as I force the second knee bend and thrust my hips hard.

and here is an older video where the hip bang thing wasn't as prevalent, but you can still see me developing some bad habits here:

[Akikaki]

have your butt a littel lower try to transition littel faster and extend back a littel more, overall i think its pretty dam good tho

[laxshack]

- using too much arm - use less - infact try not to use them at all
- you r splitting 1st and second pull apart - keep it together in one movement
- the "brush" on the thigh should literally be only a BRUSH! dont bang it keep it one solid movement
- do some clean pulls - the help exaggerate the use of traps in second pull
- do some from the hang - or blocks - try not to bang it just one fluid motion while just brushing the thigh
- learn to dip under the bar - this will take time - id advise drop cleans but unfortunately there is no such thing
-keep your butt low - arch your back - open your shoulders - and extend with legs - drive with hips and extend with traps in one motion
- keep the bar as close to the body as possible
warm up with a bar first try it out and do your best not to change up your form even after youv added weight
- if this doesnt work get a coach! or find someone in person that knows what they are doing to show you

[olyw8lifter]

Your first pull is not correct. You are pulling the weight off the floor with your back and not your legs, this is causing the bar to be in the wrong position for transitioning into the second pull. I would work on pulls from the floor to just above the knee and FOCUS on using the legs to push the knees back (the bar follows the knees back, BTW). Your lower back is probably weak, so these types of pulls will help strenghten it and get you go feel the correct position. Once you get that down, then move to hang cleans from the knee. Lower the weight slowly to the knee maintaining correct position (push the hips back and hang over the bar), then quickly change directions into a power or full clean.

If these don't work, then like already mentioned, find a coach to straighten this out, otherwise it will never get corrected.

[Faparama]

Two words:

Jump drills. Do them.

[BTBAM]

Two words:

Jump drills. Do them.

when you say jump drills.... what exactly does that entitle? box jumps? running high jumps? what? Sorry, I am unfamiliar with the term.


any specific jump drills I should do?

[BTBAM]

Okay, tried to change a few things up, here are some videos from today. Let me know what you guys think.

[olyw8lifter]

You're still pulling around your knees. Go look at the posters at California Strength and see where the lifter's knees are when the bar gets to the knees. Notice that they are pulled back, you are not doing that. As I said earlier, do some pulls to the knees and get the shins vertical, shoulder and/or chest over the bar.

[BTBAM]

You're still pulling around your knees. Go look at the posters at California Strength and see where the lifter's knees are when the bar gets to the knees. Notice that they are pulled back, you are not doing that. As I said earlier, do some pulls to the knees and get the shins vertical, shoulder and/or chest over the bar.

Ok I see what you are saying. So, I should focus on some doing pulls to knees with higher hips, and my back raising at a constant angle? Focusing on keeping shoulders and chest over the bar? How heavy should I be doing this pulls?

[Fluster]

You're doing something very weird at the top of the 2nd pull - It's like you're extending, slotting the bar in your hip crease and then just upright rowing it out from there.

Stop trying to force a double knee bend if that's what you're doing as it's killing what limited timing you have, it'll develop naturally if it's going to.

[J.L.C.]

You're still initiating the 2nd pull with your arms, your first move on the 2nd pull is a bend at the elbows to cock the bar into the hips.

If you want to fix it, you'll have to go back to square one and get a feel for keeping your arms straight and loose all the way through the first AND 2nd pulls. Let the bar hang off of your traps and let your legs and hips do the work.

[gbg]

What you're doing is catapulting the bar by bouncing it off your hips instead of extending (making yourself taller) the interesting thing is (and I don't agree with it) is this is NOW acceptable at meets, years ago the bar was only supposed to brush your thighs as you extended on the second pull.

Honestly I still don't understand how they can totally change the dynamics of a lift after it's been done a certain way for many years, many coaches teach it this way, personally I would never want to learn it.

It also changes the path of the bar and how you rack it, because of the "bounce" it goes out further so when racking can pull you back when the goal is to stay straight.

[ehlpitel]

Well, this is directed to gbg, and I do agree with what you're saying but I'm pretty sure back in the day the bar wasn't even allowed to brush one's thighs.

[slowman41]

not really sure what you guys mean, I thought the bar was always supposed to brush up one's thigh?

I know at our club people get yelled at relentlessly for banging the bar off the hips on the 2nd pull, not to mention usually it means you left it out front.

[gbg]

Well, this is directed to gbg, and I do agree with what you're saying but I'm pretty sure back in the day the bar wasn't even allowed to brush one's thighs.

It was allowed to brush against the thighs and cleanly along the chest, but you were not allowed to catapult it off the hips.

[Squinky]

Stop the rep whoring, you whore.

[gbg]

Stop the rep whoring, you whore.

If you don't have anything productive to say STFU.

[BTBAM]

Stop the rep whoring, you whore.

get out of my thread.


Also, it seems like today I am going to do a bit more power clean work. I am probably going to practice working on pulling the first pull very slow and with higher hips to get my shins vertical and knees out of the way, and having my arms loose but attached to the bar. I don't know how I got the habit of initiating the 2nd pull with my arms - if you look at some of my older videos, I don't use any of my arms. One thing I noticed as well is that along with the arm cock and forced double knee rebend - I am llifting my heels off the ground a millisecond before I should. Pause the video of the side view right at where the bar meets my hip crease and you will see what I am saying.


Also, thank you everyone for your replies.

[Fluster]

I'd start from scratch and drill it in to you mate - Since you've obviously got the power to man-size up 315 pulling with your arms and doing a weird pause, it'd benefit you massively to get your form nailed and get back up there and blow past it.

Check out the california strength videos if you haven't already.

[BTBAM]

I'd start from scratch and drill it in to you mate - Since you've obviously got the power to man-size up 315 pulling with your arms and doing a weird pause, it'd benefit you massively to get your form nailed and get back up there and blow past it.

Check out the california strength videos if you haven't already.

How should I start from scratch? any specific drills?

Yes, they videos are very informative and beneficial - it's just so difficult to break this bad habit!

[boykid28]

[QUOTE=BTBAM;575592661]Okay, tried to change a few things up, here are some videos from today. Let me know what you guys think.


QUOTE]

u will be known forever as the BOUNCER. wtf is with the skateboard guy in the back.

Stop the rep whoring, you whore.

[Fluster]

Start from scratch as in, the bar - for billions and billions of reps until it looks just like those videos.

You have the same issue I do in that I learned to clean badly to start with (which was adequate for the purpose at the time) and had to spend a lot of time un-retarding myself and relearning the movement, correctly when I chose to focus on them more.

[gbg]

You're not extending on the second pull, if you stop relying on the rebound of the catapult off your hips you'll understand better why it's essential to explode and extend.

Try looking at some pro's frame by frame and pay mind to what they are doing after the first pull.

[olyw8lifter]

Ok I see what you are saying. So, I should focus on some doing pulls to knees with higher hips, and my back raising at a constant angle? Focusing on keeping shoulders and chest over the bar? How heavy should I be doing this pulls?

Start with the bar, as the others have said and add weight slowly so that you maintain form. You don't need to raise your hips too much, just work on pushing with your legs off the floor and getting the knees back, BW shifted back onto the heels, pause with the bar just past your knees and lower, fairly slowly (this will help with getting the feel of the lift). If you can, post video of you doing these and we can make sure you're getting it correct.

[J.L.C.]

Back in the day, the bar was not allowed to contact any part of the body until it was racked across the shoulders - that's how the "clean" got it's name, a "clean" lift from floor to shoulders.

Yes the catapult technique is taught a lot today, but that is not what the OP is doing. The OP is pausing, and cocking the bar into the hips. Depending on the refs, his lifts could be turned down due to the pause. You are not allowed to pause after the bar has left the floor.

[gbg]

Back in the day, the bar was not allowed to contact any part of the body until it was racked across the shoulders - that's how the "clean" got it's name, a "clean" lift from floor to shoulders.

Yes the catapult technique is taught a lot today, but that is not what the OP is doing. The OP is pausing, and cocking the bar into the hips. Depending on the refs, his lifts could be turned down due to the pause. You are not allowed to pause after the bar has left the floor.

I'm not seeing a pause, had Eric (you know who he is) look at the vid and got his feedback which is gold to me.

[Squinky]

If you don't have anything productive to say STFU.

Only once in a while I'm in a mood of throwing pearls to the swines.

[Faparama]

when you say jump drills.... what exactly does that entitle? box jumps? running high jumps? what? Sorry, I am unfamiliar with the term.


any specific jump drills I should do?

The purpose of a jump drill is to get the lifter used to the feeling of NOT pulling up on the bar with the arms or yoking with the back. This is how it is done:

Start with a PVC pipe. Hold it like you would in either clean or snatch grip and bring it down to a mid hang position. From there, LET YOUR ARMS JUST HANG and jump straight up in the air.

Your body should be fully extended vertically but do not over-extend the hip or make hard contact with the PVC - just jump straight up as high as you can while letting the PVC pipe hang in front of you. It also should not swing away from you. Keep it close to your body. Your arms play no role in this exercise other than your hands gripping the bar. There should be no bending of the elbows or shrugging of the shoulders.

It's a similar motion to a pull, except you do not shrug your traps when you 'finish' but rather jump. Literally.

I can't find a video on youtube and the only example I know of is in Greg Everett's book. If any of that doesn't make sense, PM me and I'll make a video.


Do this over and over and over and it should help you. Not only will it get you used to not pulling up on the bar, but it will link your 1st and 2nd pull. If you watch your 315 clean video closely, the bar actually stops, changes direction back down, and then you yoke on it with your arms and back. It needs to be fluid from one pull to another.

Hope that helps. Cheers.

[BTBAM]

New vids from today. I'm getting the hang of moving my knees out of the way and its making a big difference. Tell me what you guys think.

[SquatsAndOats]

It's starting to look like a proper clean. You bend your elbows before the triple extension, they should be perfectly extended until the hip thrust. Also the music on your video sounds like a message from aliens.