powerclean tips

[yeahbuddylightweight]

im tryin to get my form down on powercleans but it just feels real awkward.

I've lifted for a few years but always avoided cleans because well I hate them. but whats hard to do gets u big right.

after I come up out of the deadlift stance I bring the bar up close to my stomach/chest somewhat like an upright row and then kinda get under the weight and catch it?

does that sound about correct? my partner tells me I put too much wrist motion into it and kinda flick my wrist backward to try and get the weight up instead of relying on my shoulders and traps to bring it up

[supamain34]

What the best way to learn is actually to rely on your explosion from the ground to get the weight moving upwards. Once you can get the weight moved up to your nipple area is when simultaneously get under the weight while thrusting your elbows out. This is a great way to learn. Now you most likely wont be doing alot of weight with this right away but in the end good form is whats going to really help your overall lift. As far as the upright row... you will need this as well but to many people feel that its the most important part to the clean. i hate them to man, they are awkward but time invested will be time well spent. Good luck and hope this helps some

[BgMc31]

^^^I definatley disagree with the above posts. Most olympic lifters will tell you the pull off the floor should be slow and controlled. And it's much different than a deadlift. In a standard deadlift you try to keep the shoulders behind your knees and explode off the floor. On a clean, the power is derived once the bar reaches the knees. It's not an upright row but rather a power shrug that brings the bar above the naval area to it's highest point before dropping under the weight. It's very hard to explain. Check out YouTube, there are a ton of great how-to vids on there. The olympic lifts are very technical and should be learned properly before attempting to add weight. When I first learned them in college, we worked with a broomstick and empty bar for almost 3 weeks before we added weight. The youngsters I train now go through the same routine. The potential for injury is very high is not taught properly.

[Sherman01]

Its not an upright row at all. Its more of an explosive shoulder shrug.

[BgMc31]

Check out this vid. I know the kid is skinny as hell, but he's got great form and it instructs you on all three phases of the clean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXJYE-4L8E4

[reardbandit]

BgMc31 is absolutely right. The Olympic lifts have high potential for injury. That being said, you can pack on slabs of muscle with the various cleans, presses, and snatch variations out there. Olympic lifts, unlike some of the other lifts, are heavily predicated on technique, in that your form and technique are of utmost importance because they rely on power and weight acceleration, not brute strength.

Once you get the techniques down and start bowing the bar while you are doing power cleans, people are gonna say "that's one crazy strong dude." Watch them cats on the Olympics, they are SO powerful it's ridiculous