[flash-x]

flash-x on January 24, 2006 at 9:22 am #11584

I am in a bit of a pickle, i dont know which type of power clean i should be doing.  If you're thinking "type of power clean?!", i will show you.

https://www.dolfzine.com/page568.htm

On the above page, when you scroll down and see the break down of power clean technique, you will see that the guy goes on his toes, or what people normally do, give a little hop, then slightly squat when catching.  But then a coach told me to do it without going on my toes and slightly squatting when i catch the bar.  Catch the bar and remain upright.  He showed me that this method is effective as well, but i wanted more opinions on the 2 of them.

Im too tired to research so can anyone also tell me the effects of the power clean, what happens when we do them that makes you explosive? any help

[jcissik]

jcissik on January 26, 2006 at 2:52 am #51493

Sounds like coaching cues are confused.  Couple of thoughts:
1.  Yes, rise on toes.  Think about performing a vertical jump but without leaving the ground.  Stay on the ground during the clean b/c to actually leave is a huge waste of energy.  So, jump without leaving the ground.  The actual cue is to "jump and shrug."  That's what moves the bar up the body.
2.  Rise on toes, extend the hips and knees as fully as possible.  This is "triple extension."
3.  Catch the bar in a 1/4 squat, unless you are competing in Olympic lifting there's not much need to go lower than that.  Concentrate on receiving the bar by pushing the hips back into a 1/4 squat.
4.  When you catch the bar, concentrate on staying tall (shoulders back, chest out).  This is "catching the bar upright."  You are still in a 1/4 squat.  Don't let you shoulders round forward as this makes bar control difficult and can overly stress your lower back.

John Cissik

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on January 28, 2006 at 8:30 am #51494

I actually have a slightly different viewpoint on this issue. In a nutshell I think that the 'coming up on the toes' issue as well as the 'depth of catch' issue are load (and some might argue effort) dependent.

First off, in my opinion, OLs should almost always be performed with maximal effort even at submaximal loads.  The main objective of OLs is to develop rate of force development and explosive power so lifting at less than maximal effort won't optimally provide the stimuli for the desired training effect. Having said that, the position of the feet, contact (or lack of) with the ground, and degree of triple extension is semi-dependent on the load used. That is, if an athlete is using 50% of their max and lifting with maximal effort then they may very well leave the ground and achieve complete triple extension (they should also catch the bar in a high position). On the other hand if they are using maximal loads (95+%) the likelihood of leaving the ground greatly diminishes as does the achievement of complete triple extension (especially at the ankle). They will also be required to catch the bar in a lower position. Greater loads won't permit an athlete to break contact with the ground (for the very same reason that one couldn't do jump squats with 600 lbs). As a result it would be foolish to expect the athlete to be able to jump off the ground. Also when heavier loads are used athletes cannot pull the bar to the same height as they could with lesser loads. As a result, to successfully catch the lift, the athlete needs to drop lower. As a result there becomes a tradeoff. Greater triple extension may allow the athlete to move the bar to a higher position and possibly accelerate it more however it also requires the athlete to drop from a higher position. In this tradeoff, it appears that when using maximal loads it is best not to aim for complete triple extension because any extra bar speed or height generated by the extra 1-2 inches of pulling to complete triple extension is not adequately offset by the extra time needed to drop under the bar from a higher position.

ELITETRACK Founder