Wrist mobility for front squats (clean grip)

[ChristianMR]

Any tips for increasing wrist mobility? Do people actively stretch their wrists, or is it something you just acquire with practice? I've been trying to do clean grip for warm ups and cross armed for working sets, but I'd prefer to go all clean due to increased stability. It's been about three weeks. It's hard to tell whether my wrists are getting any more flexible from the warm ups alone.

For what it's worth, I suck tremendously at front squats (and back squats!), but I'm determined to progress. My back seems to prefer front squats, which is why I switched.

[angrypenguin54]

Continue to work on your wrist flexibility, but you can always use wrist wraps to give you something to grab a little higher up on the bar. There are videos out there that demonstrate, but you put the wrap around the bar instead of your wrist and have the straps pointed up to grab on.

[ChristianMR]

Continue to work on your wrist flexibility, but you can always use wrist wraps to give you something to grab a little higher up on the bar. There are videos out there that demonstrate, but you put the wrap around the bar instead of your wrist and have the straps pointed up to grab on.

Good idea. It looks like ordinary straps do the trick. I'll try next time.

[drudixon]

Sadly, the best way to improve flexibility for front squats, is to just front squat. A lot...

[Garage Rat]

Work on that mobility with a racked bar(weighted) and just work the fingers and wrists under it slowly trying to increase your range with your hand.
Remember also that most oly lifters only use the index and middle finger under the bar in the rack position when cleaning for the clean and jerk.
They start with the whole hand but if they stay in the rack position for front squats many guys just use the two fingers to take some pressure off the wrists.
Regardless this position is not comfortable and may take some time to get use to.

[ChristianMR]

Sadly, the best way to improve flexibility for front squats, is to just front squat. A lot...

On it!

Work on that mobility with a racked bar(weighted) and just work the fingers and wrists under it slowly trying to increase your range with your hand.
Remember also that most oly lifters only use the index and middle finger under the bar in the rack position when cleaning for the clean and jerk.
They start with the whole hand but if they stay in the rack position for front squats many guys just use the two fingers to take some pressure off the wrists.
Regardless this position is not comfortable and may take some time to get use to.

Thanks. I've been trying the two fingers approach, and it seems to be gradually getting easier. The problem is my fingers aren't very long (I've got Trump hands, unfortunately), but I'm getting there.

[lucia316]

I've always had issues with not being able to do this in the traditional fashion as I have really long forearms. I do one of three things.

1) I use wraps
2) I do zombie
3) I just cross my arms and grab the bar reverse style

I typically do 3.

[GnomusMaximus]

Sometimes it isn't a question of wrist mobility, it can be a problem with elbow placement. if you are keeping your elbows too low (close to your torso) it puts the wrists in a position where the flex needed is all but impossible. If you keep your elbows higher (up away from your torso) the stress on the wrists is much less. Watch this video and see where his elbows are on the squat portion of the cleans. Don't give up on the clean grip until you see where your elbows are. It should put you in a position where you can almost balance the bar on your collar and squat with out actually holding the bar. Hope that helps.

[GnomusMaximus]

Remember also that most oly lifters only use the index and middle finger under the bar in the rack position when cleaning for the clean and jerk.
They start with the whole hand but if they stay in the rack position for front squats many guys just use the two fingers to take some pressure off the wrists.

Exactly! If your elbows are up high enough and you have made a good "rack" then those two fingers are just there to sort of guide things.

[ChristianMR]

Sometimes it isn't a question of wrist mobility, it can be a problem with elbow placement. if you are keeping your elbows too low (close to your torso) it puts the wrists in a position where the flex needed is all but impossible. If you keep your elbows higher (up away from your torso) the stress on the wrists is much less. Watch this video and see where his elbows are on the squat portion of the cleans. Don't give up on the clean grip until you see where your elbows are. It should put you in a position where you can almost balance the bar on your collar and squat with out actually holding the bar. Hope that helps.

Thanks, man. I'll keep working on clean grip. You're right that my elbow tends to angle to low, which probably puts too much pressure on my wrist. When I get my elbows up high, I feel like my wrists are behind the bar, but I'm continuing to work on it.

[olyw8lifter]

I didn't see anyone bring it up, but yes, you can do some flexibility stretching for the wrists/forearms. The palms against the wall stretch is the one my coach had me do to get a better rack position when I started. Do both versions, fingers up and fingers down. Also, there's a stretch where you get on all fours and with palms flat on the floor/ground, lean forward or backwards to stretch the wrists.

Also, as said, keep front squatting with clean grip as much as possible and get them elbows up.

[Plateauplower]

Pretty much ^

Wrist flexibility can be trained provided there is no injury etc preventing it. I talked to a guy doing clean grip fronts and asked if he was always able to do them that way. It looked like the tops of his hands were going to touch his forearms. He said he just worked on wrist mobility for a long time and gradually achieved that mobility, which was freakish.