Hey guys, I am having a hell of a time adding more weight to my cleans… it seems that ive been stuck at about 165lbs for 8 reps for a very long time.
My legs are pretty weak because of an accident i had a while back, broke my t-9, didnt walk a long time… lost all leg strength and am just having a hard time even adding weight to my squats. any tips? because i am getting very frustrated. all of my other lifts seem to improve rather well.
Go for lower reps, like 3 or less. I’ve never gone over 5 in any oly lift.
x2
Why are you doing 8’s?
I’d not go above 5’s myself. Oly lifts are so technical, you’ll want to keep the reps lower.
Not being a dick but this is a question for the Strength Sports forum. You may get more interested parties willing to help out over there.
What strength forum?
Yeah i actually debated putting it here or there… but thanks though!
i dont know why i do those numbers to be honest lol… ive done 10-8-6’s since high school, but i was actually planning on lowering it to sets of 5, im starting CW’s TBT
[quote]IgneLudo wrote:
What strength forum?[/quote]
Can you not see the forum named “Strength Sports”?
Who says cleans aren’t a bodybuilding excersise? Is it not possible to want to things besides “bodybuilding” workouts. There should be a forum called “The Weight Lifter Forum”
I’ve been doing cleans for 6 years. Max was 285 at 195 with straps. Since my transformation and ditching the straps, I’m now cleaning 260 raw at 170.
One thing I’ve learned is that the clean (along with all oly lifts) are all about technique and explosiveness.
Now, if you are doing full cleans (deadlift pull + clean pull) I can’t help you much with the dead pull as I mostly do hang cleans.
First things first, drop your reps. Since its so technically oriented your form will go to shit once fatigue sets in. You have to think quality explosive power here, not quantity.
If you aren’t doing them right you can and will eventually hurt yourself and your weight will never move up. I know a guy who cleaned 205 with pretty bad form, then after he learned the proper execution, he blew up to 240’s easily!
Its all about transfering explosive power through the lower body to the torso, then finishing up with your upper body and arms, then anticipating the strain on your spine and lower body as you catch. Start knees bent in an athletic position (think linebacker here).
The bar should be above around higher than the knees. Then thrust up with those leg muscles, and at the top, push your feet through the floor and extend your torso, followed IMMEDIETLY by bringing your arms up in an upright frow form, followed by the catch.
This is all done in a split second.
A good tip I use when showing people cleans that I actually picked up from an article here is to do the first thrusting motion, followed by the torso extension, but keep your hands locked at the bottom with the bar. Practice this and you will eventually feel the bar just wanting to shoot through the roof. THIS IS WHERE YOU WANT TO TRANSFER TO THE ARMS.
Practice the lift alot and it will eventually make sense physiologicly. Good luck. Glad to see more aesthetic lifters interested in power excersises.
Another thing I’d like to add is the weight you catch the bar. When the weight is light (light is relative here) you will be able to catch them in a quarter squat position, because of this, alot of lifters get into the bad habbit of spreading there feet wayyyy far apart, which = bigger chance of injury and less ability to catch the bar low when the weight gets higher.
It might be a good idea to practice catching the clean in a full squat right off the bat, so that when the weight does go up you’ll be prepared for a full squat catch.
Thanks for the tips guys! no im very keen on doing them correctly as i have a bad lower back. im guessing that a big part of the my weakness comes from the lack of strength in my legs, but starting next week im dropping the reps definitely!
[quote]mthomps wrote:
Who says cleans aren’t a bodybuilding excersise? Is it not possible to want to things besides “bodybuilding” workouts. There should be a forum called “The Weight Lifter Forum”
[/quote]
I don’t know if this was a reference to what I wrote and I do see your point but the reality is that Olympic lifts and thier many variants are not often discussed by bodybuilders in the Bodybuilder Forum.
It’s not that you can’t use them in your quest to build a bigger, stronger body but you wont have a lot of luck getting a thread related to a “strength sport” started in a forum reserved for “bodybuilding”.
[quote]derek wrote:
IgneLudo wrote:
What strength forum?
Can you not see the forum named “Strength Sports”?[/quote]
What the fuck are you talking about?
There are no forums here.
Pssh, bunch of nuubz.