Bar Hitting Throat When Receiving Cleans

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

Very recently it seems I’ve grown the bad habit of somehow allowing the bar to thwack me in the throat when receiving cleans. It only happens when I do full cleans, not power cleans, and it never used to happen. Also, I think it’s caused me to start leaning forward a bit out of fear of having the bar slam itself into my throat, and this forces me to have to dump a lot of cleans that I would have otherwise been able to catch. I don’t know how I managed to start doing this, but it’s really pissing me off. Anyone got any ideas about what I might have started doing that’s causing this? Thanks guys.

Alec

2

The big isssue now it’s a psychological problem, it’ll be hard to break this without a fair a mount of reinforcement. I would drop the weight by 10-15kg and build back up.

Your looping the bar in the 2nd pull and not keeping it close, but your bashing it out and not keeping it close. Work on keeping it closer so it runs ‘up the body’.

Post some videos!

Koing

3

[quote]Koing wrote:
Post some videos!
[/quote]

x2

4

All I’ve got right now is this video from a few weeks ago. It’s a relatively light power clean from a day that I was just messing around (hence why I’m barefoot). My next session is on Wednesday though, so I’ll get a video of me doing a full clean with a heavier weight then. In the meantime, feel free to blast this one.

Alec

5

You’re not finishing your second pull.

6

1st slow down the first pull a bit, your back is rounded in the 2nd pull, you lose power as you can’t put power in to a bar with a rounded back
2nd keep the bar closer, you should NEVER JUMP FORWARDS from your ‘receive’ position on the Snatch or the Cleans. If you jump forwards you DID NOT KEEP THE BAR CLOSE, you BASHED IT OUT.

Good power but you need to control the 1st pull a bit, keep the hips and shoulders in sync.

Post up the heavier video of the Clean and we can see whats up.

I’ve caught myself a few times on the neck on Power Cleans…buts only about 5 out of 1000’s of lifts…

Koing

7

[quote]Koing wrote:
1st slow down the first pull a bit, your back is rounded in the 2nd pull, you lose power as you can’t put power in to a bar with a rounded back
2nd keep the bar closer, you should NEVER JUMP FORWARDS from your ‘receive’ position on the Snatch or the Cleans. If you jump forwards you DID NOT KEEP THE BAR CLOSE, you BASHED IT OUT.

Good power but you need to control the 1st pull a bit, keep the hips and shoulders in sync.

Post up the heavier video of the Clean and we can see whats up.

I’ve caught myself a few times on the neck on Power Cleans…buts only about 5 out of 1000’s of lifts…

Koing[/quote]

I noticed that I was rounded over too, which surprised me because I can pull nearly 500 with a straight back. That might explain though why I haven’t matched my best hang clean or hang snatch from the floor yet.

I haven’t noticed myself jumping forwards when I clean, but I’ve definitely noticed it in my snatch. That also probably explains why I keep losing snatches out in front of me.

I’ll try to get a new video tomorrow. Hopefully I can work in some of your cues. Thanks for the advice man, its been really helpful. You’re the one who got me to start my pulls from the floor. Now I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Alec

8

[quote]ape288 wrote:

[quote]Koing wrote:
1st slow down the first pull a bit, your back is rounded in the 2nd pull, you lose power as you can’t put power in to a bar with a rounded back
2nd keep the bar closer, you should NEVER JUMP FORWARDS from your ‘receive’ position on the Snatch or the Cleans. If you jump forwards you DID NOT KEEP THE BAR CLOSE, you BASHED IT OUT.

Good power but you need to control the 1st pull a bit, keep the hips and shoulders in sync.

Post up the heavier video of the Clean and we can see whats up.

I’ve caught myself a few times on the neck on Power Cleans…buts only about 5 out of 1000’s of lifts…

Koing[/quote]

I noticed that I was rounded over too, which surprised me because I can pull nearly 500 with a straight back. That might explain though why I haven’t matched my best hang clean or hang snatch from the floor yet.

I haven’t noticed myself jumping forwards when I clean, but I’ve definitely noticed it in my snatch. That also probably explains why I keep losing snatches out in front of me.

I’ll try to get a new video tomorrow. Hopefully I can work in some of your cues. Thanks for the advice man, its been really helpful. You’re the one who got me to start my pulls from the floor. Now I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Alec
[/quote]

Yeah a video says a lot, a video of a failed lift tells more imo.

No probs Alec. I’ve been coached well from the Brians Big Book of weightlifting :slight_smile:

Pulls from the floor are KEY to lifting big weights. Once you can do it properly you can forget them and do real pulls as you now have the correct bar path to do pulls.

It’s jus ta matter of keep working on it. It will take a a fair amount of sessions but I think it’ll take you about 2-3 sessions. Just focus on keeping your hips down, shoulders over the bar and doing it A TAD SLOWER.

Remember it’s hard to practice something new FAST, do it slower, get use to it, build your speed up, once you have it down then tear the f0cking bar up :smiley:

PS love posting from work LOL

Koing

9

Here’s a video from today. My digital camera decided to die in the middle of my session, so this video was taken on my cell phone. Hopefully it’s not too crappy and the angle’s good. Anyway, this one’s a bit heavier than the previous vid, but it felt pretty solid. I definitely could have done a good 20 more pounds. From the looks of it I kept a pretty straight back and I deliberately slowed down the first pull a bit. Though my hips still came up too fast relative to my shoulders. If anyone else has any advice, I’d appreciate it.

Alec

10

[quote]ape288 wrote:
Here’s a video from today. My digital camera decided to die in the middle of my session, so this video was taken on my cell phone. Hopefully it’s not too crappy and the angle’s good. Anyway, this one’s a bit heavier than the previous vid, but it felt pretty solid. I definitely could have done a good 20 more pounds. From the looks of it I kept a pretty straight back and I deliberately slowed down the first pull a bit. Though my hips still came up too fast relative to my shoulders. If anyone else has any advice, I’d appreciate it.

Alec[/quote]

It’s not bad

pointers
-hips need to stay a bit lower but it isn’t too bad, hips and shoulders stay roughly in sync in the 2nd pull
-finish your pull, stand on your tip toes, arms straight THIS IS YOUR FINISH POSITION, GET HERE, IF YOUR HEAD DOESN’T GO THAT HIGH YOU DID NOT FINISH PROPERLY!
-keep the bar closer, you moved at least 6inches forwards from your ‘set’ position to your ‘clean receive’ position

Koing

11

[quote]Koing wrote:

[quote]ape288 wrote:
Here’s a video from today. My digital camera decided to die in the middle of my session, so this video was taken on my cell phone. Hopefully it’s not too crappy and the angle’s good. Anyway, this one’s a bit heavier than the previous vid, but it felt pretty solid. I definitely could have done a good 20 more pounds. From the looks of it I kept a pretty straight back and I deliberately slowed down the first pull a bit. Though my hips still came up too fast relative to my shoulders. If anyone else has any advice, I’d appreciate it.

Alec[/quote]

It’s not bad

pointers
-hips need to stay a bit lower but it isn’t too bad, hips and shoulders stay roughly in sync in the 2nd pull
-finish your pull, stand on your tip toes, arms straight THIS IS YOUR FINISH POSITION, GET HERE, IF YOUR HEAD DOESN’T GO THAT HIGH YOU DID NOT FINISH PROPERLY!
-keep the bar closer, you moved at least 6inches forwards from your ‘set’ position to your ‘clean receive’ position

Koing[/quote]

I think I really need to work on keeping the bar closer. I lose a lot of snatches out front. Thank you sir.

12

[quote]ape288 wrote:

[quote]Koing wrote:

[quote]ape288 wrote:
Here’s a video from today. My digital camera decided to die in the middle of my session, so this video was taken on my cell phone. Hopefully it’s not too crappy and the angle’s good. Anyway, this one’s a bit heavier than the previous vid, but it felt pretty solid. I definitely could have done a good 20 more pounds. From the looks of it I kept a pretty straight back and I deliberately slowed down the first pull a bit. Though my hips still came up too fast relative to my shoulders. If anyone else has any advice, I’d appreciate it.

Alec[/quote]

It’s not bad

pointers
-hips need to stay a bit lower but it isn’t too bad, hips and shoulders stay roughly in sync in the 2nd pull
-finish your pull, stand on your tip toes, arms straight THIS IS YOUR FINISH POSITION, GET HERE, IF YOUR HEAD DOESN’T GO THAT HIGH YOU DID NOT FINISH PROPERLY!
-keep the bar closer, you moved at least 6inches forwards from your ‘set’ position to your ‘clean receive’ position

Koing[/quote]

I think I really need to work on keeping the bar closer. I lose a lot of snatches out front. Thank you sir.[/quote]

:slight_smile:

Do more work with the bar so your familar to what is ‘right’. You can’t start sprinting on a unicycle properly if you can’t ride it for say 10m properly…

Koing