I read somewhere that David Rigert set a world record & then lowered the bar to the ground under control, without dropping it. I’m wondering because & broke a bar doing cleans after letting it drop to the floor (not from chest height, I squatted down a bit). Can anybody help?
Are you using an “Olympic-lifting” bar and bumper plates?
You basically have to reverse the entire lift to get it to the ground without dropping it. First squat down as far as you can go while holding the bar overhead, then come back up as you re-rack the bar. Second, drop into a front squat, and come back up while pulling yourself over the bar (you might have to pull up on the bar some) so that when you’re standing it’s at waist level. Then just lower the bar to the ground. Practice this with a light weight at first, it can be tricky but it’s necessary sometimes when you don’t have bumpers and/or a platform. Just be careful.
I don’t use a power rack or bumper plates. I do my push presses in the garage on some particle board because the basement ceiling is too low.
If you’re not using bumper plates, then you shouldn’t be dropping the bar on the floor.