Hi all,
I have just begun incorporating power cleans into my training routine, and would like some feedback on form and tips on improvements.
The obvious: bending your arms too soon before you finish your hip extension, and not dipping into a quarter squat position to receive the bar. I would practice straight arm clean pulls and hang cleans above the knee(focus on jumping and landing) to reinforce the straight arm technique.
Also, you need to learn to get your elbows in front so the bar can be rack on the shoulders instead of ontop the hands. Practice the clean grip front squat so its ingrained in your head.
I would practice with an empty bar daily if you can. I found it extremely helpful in correcting my power clean issues a few years ago.
Ok, this is what it looks like to me.
Pull from floor: This isn’t a deadlift so your weight should not be on your heels, but a little more forward on the foot. Maybe you should be more over the bar.
Second Pull: You should be driving into the bar. Instead of that, you are either muscleing the bar up and/or doing that hop. Looks like the bar is too far away from your body on the second pull.
At least, this is what occurs to me.
As deadlift425 mentions, you should do some front squats with a clean grip to learn the receiving position. The weight should be on your shoulders, not on your hands!
Yoou probably need a lot of flexibility work before you can reach the correct receiving position.
In addition, you need to follow through all the way with your hips. Don’t stop short.
i.e. like this (but with straight elbows)
Thanks for the feedback. I tried to implement your advice, and I think that at least the reception is better now. What I find difficult, however, is timing when to begin the second pull and when to squat down to catch the bar. Also, how far should one ideally squat down, and what are the pros and cons of quarter/full squats? Finally, any further comments on this new video?
If you are doing Hang Power Cleans, you don’t need to take that bar that long down before lifting up…
Quarter squat catches are easier then Full squats catches, but you can obviously lift more if you learn proper full squat catching… But unless you are planning to compete, Hang Power Cleans (google it) are your best bet.
Well I can’t put my finger on it but it seems like your musceling the weight instead of getting under it. To be honest I wouldn’t be doing power cleans from the ground. Start doing front squats like one of the above posters said. Also if you really want that pull from the ground do some dead lifts. (Yes I understand not the same but he just seems like he’s really having problems throwing the bar up from the ground) If I was you I would start doing hang cleans from above your knee…really work on that for some time. Get under the bar, don’t lift the bar on top of you. When I was in highschool we weren’t even allowed to do back squats or power cleans from the ground until our trainer okd us. Instead we just did front squats and hang cleans. It worked to…I had really good form when I got to college for these lifts.