Explosive Pulls (High Pulls, Low Pulls, Chinese Pulls)

Training
41

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
So, this may be an individual thing, but is it an exploding up thing , or a pushing hips through thing (comming from a powerlifting deadlift background which is all wrong I’m sure)? I did watch the vide. When I tried it I feel it as a hip move. I can go look at starting position again in the video, maybe I need to start with more leg bend?

What kind of weight range should I be expecting to use learning? Should I be going heavy enough I’m failing reps while learning?i[/quote]

Totally it’s a hip move… I really meant lower body. You are probably doing it right, but you posting a video might help me help you.

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At the risk of looking like an idiot. Hope this loads okay. My phone vids have a tendency to play at high speed.

This was my first attempt at it. It’s from pins but I’d rig something up for blocks log term. Weight on the bar is 165.

I know I probably should pull the slack out before I initiate the pull (I do the same crap deadlifting).

I’m a slow strength guy, so I should probably work on power a lot more in general.

43

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
At the risk of looking like an idiot. Hope this loads okay. My phone vids have a tendency to play at high speed.

This was my first attempt at it. It’s from pins but I’d rig something up for blocks log term. Weight on the bar is 165.

I know I probably should pull the slack out before I initiate the pull (I do the same crap deadlifting).

I’m a slow strength guy, so I should probably work on power a lot more in general.[/quote]

Can’t see it.

44

Try again.

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Ugh. I’ll have to get on my home computer later to convert it to something more useful.

47

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Ugh. I’ll have to get on my home computer later to convert it to something more useful.[/quote]

Got it, I’ll get back to you on those in about 90 minutes.

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[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Ugh. I’ll have to get on my home computer later to convert it to something more useful.[/quote]

Got it, I’ll get back to you on those in about 90 minutes.[/quote]

FYI, I probably won’t be home from work until late (ridiculously long day) so I can’t get you a corrected video by then.

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From what I see…

  1. grip width is a tad too narrow (which is why I do not do high pulls in a rack, but use blocks instead)

  2. Arms are too tensed… the back should be very tight, but the shoulder are arms should be as relaxed as possible, otherwise you are actually either breaking the bar from going up or using too much arm pull.

  3. You lack a bit of power which is why the bar is not going up higher… really focus on hip and leg speed, not on trying to pull high with you arms.

  4. The timing between your legs and hips is off… seems like you are punching the hips and extending the legs separately, it should be one dynamic motion (both at the same time).

  5. Don’t focus on height or load, focus on maximum speed at the launch point.

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[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
From what I see…

  1. grip width is a tad too narrow (which is why I do not do high pulls in a rack, but use blocks instead)

  2. Arms are too tensed… the back should be very tight, but the shoulder are arms should be as relaxed as possible, otherwise you are actually either breaking the bar from going up or using too much arm pull.

  3. You lack a bit of power which is why the bar is not going up higher… really focus on hip and leg speed, not on trying to pull high with you arms.

  4. The timing between your legs and hips is off… seems like you are punching the hips and extending the legs separately, it should be one dynamic motion (both at the same time).

  5. Don’t focus on height or load, focus on maximum speed at the launch point.[/quote]

Should my grip be out to the collars? That’s a texas powerbar.

Yeah, my powerlifting numbers are pretty decent, but I’m the guy that takes 3 minutes to complete a max lift. Coordination and smoothness are also not my thing. I used to give my coach fits swimming butterfly in high school.

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[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
From what I see…

  1. grip width is a tad too narrow (which is why I do not do high pulls in a rack, but use blocks instead)

  2. Arms are too tensed… the back should be very tight, but the shoulder are arms should be as relaxed as possible, otherwise you are actually either breaking the bar from going up or using too much arm pull.

  3. You lack a bit of power which is why the bar is not going up higher… really focus on hip and leg speed, not on trying to pull high with you arms.

  4. The timing between your legs and hips is off… seems like you are punching the hips and extending the legs separately, it should be one dynamic motion (both at the same time).

  5. Don’t focus on height or load, focus on maximum speed at the launch point.[/quote]

Should my grip be out to the collars? That’s a texas powerbar.

Yeah, my powerlifting numbers are pretty decent, but I’m the guy that takes 3 minutes to complete a max lift. Coordination and smoothness are also not my thing. I used to give my coach fits swimming butterfly in high school.[/quote]

Wel it depends on your arm length. When standing up with the bar in your hands, and the knees bent a few degrees, the bar should be in the hip crease.

Also use straps when doing high pulls.

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Hey CT, could you evaluate my form on these Snatch High Pulls and Chinese Pulls? I’m guessing my grip should be a bit wider, but unfortunately I don’t have blocks. Also, do I have the pins set to an ideal height? I almost feel like i should lower them a notch. Thanks!

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Felt a lot smoother with the wider grip and from a hang. I don’t think I’m really getting the relaxed arms and shoulders yet, but I’ll keep practicing.

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Shane, the launch ain’t bad, but the elbows should be higher than your hands at the top of the pull. The pull is “boderline” acceptable height wise, so either the load is too heavy or you are not producing enough momentum through explosion at the start. YES it’s fine to pull at that height, but only when you have a lot of experience and have nailed the form.

In the chinese pull,s you do not want to jump in the airm. You do got up to your toes but as soon as the launch is finished you actually jump “DOWN” (think of slaming the heel back to the floor as soon as the launch is done while bending the knees, not the torso).

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[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:

Felt a lot smoother with the wider grip and from a hang. I don’t think I’m really getting the relaxed arms and shoulders yet, but I’ll keep practicing.[/quote]

That’s obviously a lot better, but hard to tell you what your weaknesses are because that is way too light so the bar is traveling farther up than it should.

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[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]KvonBabbage wrote:
Is there a certain any sort of ratio/percentage that high pulls tend to fall into in comparison to squat/deadlift/bench/other? After looking at some of the logs, such as JMoose and Dave-G’s, it appears most people are benching more than they high pull, is this as it should be?

Benching didn’t come naturally to me, but nonetheless, My high pulls out weight any of my benching by a fair margin which leads me to believe that I’m pulling to hard/to soon with my arms. I also notice in the videos posted of people doing high pulls there is almost a second or so at the very top where the bar has a little ‘hang time’ which I don’t seem to achieve either.

Is this indicative of poor form on my own part? When attempting to get triple extension I struggle to hit the same weight and control then if I just use my hips.

Regards, KVB.
[/quote]

No it doesn’t indicate bad form on your part… really the only important thing with high pulls is to do a powerful explosive launch with the lower body to initiate the movement, focus on that.

There is zero correlation between a high pull and bench. And a weak correlation was best with deadlifting and squatting.[/quote]

Cheers, I appreciate the response. If you don’t mind i have a couple other questions also:

Am I right in believing the upper back should be pulled together and down in quite a strict fashion for pulls, rather than a less rigid, rounded shoulders approach a powerlifter may employ for deadlifting?

When the bar is in the crease of the hips should it be sitting ‘on top’ of the pelvis, almost resting on the bone? After watching some of the CaliforniaStrength/
Glenn Pendlay videos I got a little confused. Does it even matter if the leg drive and launch is good?

Furthermore, the continues ramp, would that work for upper body pressing, press-incline from pins-tilt, for example more akin to the HPM, or simply too much time and effort for little return?

regards, KVB.

57

hi christian,

I post a video of a hdl, maybe it will be easier to realize several repetitions.
many things has certainly correct my technique, which should be improved first, thank you

salut christian ,

je poste la vidéo d’un hdl , ce sera peut être plus facile de se rendre compte sur plusieurs répétitions .
beaucoup de chose a corriger certainement dans ma technique , il faudrait améliorer laquelle en premier , merci

58

[quote]SWAT06 wrote:

hi christian,

I post a video of a hdl, maybe it will be easier to realize several repetitions.
many things has certainly correct my technique, which should be improved first, thank you

salut christian ,

je poste la vidÃ?©o d’un hdl , ce sera peut Ã?ªtre plus facile de se rendre compte sur plusieurs rÃ?©pÃ?©titions .
beaucoup de chose a corriger certainement dans ma technique , il faudrait am�©liorer laquelle en premier , merci [/quote]

The movement pattern isn’t bad… but I thought I was watching it in slow motion!!! It looks almost like a cheated upright row, which it should not be. It seems like you are using a bit of leg drive to get tyhe bar started then pull up with your arms. Really, you should pull so explosively with the legs and lower back that the bar travels at least to the lower chest without any arm pull at all.

I also do not like doing these in a power rack since most power racks are not wide enough or you could snap your fingers.

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c’est tout a fait ce que je pensais après avoir lu tous vos commentaires et explications concernant la technique du high pull , je pense que je dois rester encore a une charge moins lourde , pour que mes hanches et mes jambes puissent propulser seules sans aide des bras effectivement.

je referais une vidéo .

ça fait pourtant des mois que je pratique les mouvements olympiques( high pull ,snatch …) suivant vos directives , beaucoup de temps barre a vide , je regrette de ne pas avoir d’entraineur qualifié vers chez moi pour me corriger et m’apprendre ces exercices .

pour finir le systéme de couches , a changé mon physique et m’a donné ce look power , les photos d’il y a quelques mois et maintenant sont parlante .

traduction
this is quite what I expected after reading all your comments and explanation of the technical high pull, I think I have to stay still has less of a burden, so that my hips and legs to propel themselves without assistance arms effectively.

I would do a video.

But it’s been months since I practice the Olympic lifts (high pull, snatch …) according to your instructions, time bar was empty, I regret not having a qualified coach to my house to fix and learn these exercises.

to complete the system of layers, changed my physical and gave me this look power, photos of a few months ago and now are telling.

60

Coach Thibaudeau,

We always hear the cases where people, mostly oly lifters, add a lot of weight to their deadlift without even training it. They get great carryover just from the olympic movements, which essentially function as “Dynamic Effort” training.

Can you still get this by doing pulls from the hang or blocks like you recommend? I would think that one should start from the floor to maximize deadlift carryover.