Misconceptions and Clarifications for the untrained power lifter which may be helpful.
First off, I'm going to assume you have seen the clean and can following by picturing the stages. Therefore, I won't offer an overly detailed, step by step instruction, but I'll simply address what I consider, vital points. Of course if you have any further questions, I'm more then happy to clarify.
- Untrained lifters have the misconception that when you clean, you're pulling the weight off the ground and directly up to the catch. It is presumed that the clean is accomplished by how much force you exert at the beginning of the lift. False.
- There are two pulls involved in the clean, the first is getting the bar off the ground and yes there is the aspect of velocity in this first pull. However, it's the second pull, that really puts the bar into the catch position.
- The first pull pertains to the ground, up to your upper thighs/hip region. Your knees will still have a slight bend in them, as the forceful extension of the knees will be in conjunction with the hip explosion.
- You perform your first pull up to your upper thigh/hip, knees are still slightly bent. The girth of your explosiveness is exerted at this point of the second pull.
- Once the bar is positioned as mentioned above, all three of these steps have to occur simultaneously.
#1. You forcefully extend your knees to full extension.
#2. Let the bar make contact with your upper,upper thigh/hip region, almost as if you were trying to bump the bar upward by the use of your hip movement. Explode with your hips.
#3. The combination of those two movements should naturally send you onto your tippy toes for a brief moment.
- Its in steps 1,2,3, that you really exert force over the bar, in this second pull situation.
- Step #3 can cause some misconceptions. Many instructions will speak of a jump at the end point of step 3 and on frozen shots, which they love to do, the power lifter is briefly off the ground. This gives the misconception of a vertical leap, where the jump, is actually a downward jump, like an explosive squat. The downward jump allows you to explode downward, and meet the bar half way, rather then pulling it all the way up.
- Most "heavy" cleans will be caught in a partial squat position and often time dropping all the weigh down in a hydrolics response to the heavy weight. Where you then proceed to squat press with the bar in the catch position to full extension and repeat.
Bob, start with the bar, then add 10's and just go up to 25's. When you feel that you're no longer "muscling up" the weight, then move up. Even if you are relying on muscling up the weight, rather then the two pull technique, as long as your lumbar form is tight and your using this lighter weight, you won't injure yourself.