Problems Catching a Clean

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

So I’m hoping this isn’t a totally idiotic question, but I’ve been having a problem with catching my cleans after the pull.

My problem is that after I push off from the ground, I start my pull when the bar gets above my knees (I’m hit and miss with the scoop–still working on that) and then it accelerates so fast that its up at my shoulders before I can squat under the bar. So I wind up pulling and then catching without really squating at all. When I go heavier I wind up doing about a 1/3 squat at best. I don’t know if it is a psychological thing or what.

So more background–I did actually get “trained” on cleans a little over a year ago by a trainer. This wasn’t a Olympic trained guy, but I got (I thought) the basics down. So I worked up to doing about 185 (yeah, not very much, but about my bodyweight) and I was still only doing this little tiny squat, so I went back down on weight to work on form and it just gets worse. Push, pull and the bar is up fast and I just can’t squat down to catch it. I’ve tried breaking down the movements, doing hang cleans and the like and I still for the life of me cannot squat under the bar after the pull.

I’m not doing cleans with any aspirations of being an Olympic lifter or anything, just to get stronger and because I think its fun, but I don’t want to keep doing it if I’m being a complete idiot about it. So is it necessary to actually catch in a low squat like real Olympic lifters (especially with moderate weight like I’m using)? Is it ok to catch it with a 1/4-1/3 squat? Do I need to actually fork out the money and go work with a real Olympic lift coach for a while before I keep going to the gym and looking like a moron?

2

Possibly ignorant, but:

Why not use a heavier weight? You can’t pull it as high, so either you’ll learn to get under it or you won’t make the lift. When I try to clean, my form doesn’t start to get decent until the weight is up and/or my traps are tired.

3

[quote]dond1esel wrote:
Possibly ignorant, but:

Why not use a heavier weight? You can’t pull it as high, so either you’ll learn to get under it or you won’t make the lift. When I try to clean, my form doesn’t start to get decent until the weight is up and/or my traps are tired.[/quote]

Not ignorant at all dond1esel, I’m the exact same way. Warming up I hardly ever squat, progressing thru the wieghts my upperbody is still so strong that I don’t have the time (in terms of reaction vs. the acceleration of the pull) or need to squat my legs, it isn’t until I get into my heavy working sets before I find the need to do a full squat and catch my cleans, usually as, as you stated, when my traps and delts start failing me.

4

[quote]dond1esel wrote:
Possibly ignorant, but:

Why not use a heavier weight? You can’t pull it as high, so either you’ll learn to get under it or you won’t make the lift. When I try to clean, my form doesn’t start to get decent until the weight is up and/or my traps are tired.[/quote]

same thing happened to me last night.

And I think Dan John gave somoene advice the the other night to put weight on the bar.

Double D, slingin’ the heat!

5

RG73,

Sounds like your doing a power clean, rather than a full or “normal” clean. There is nothing wrong with that if, as you say, you are not looking to compete as an o-lifter.

In fact, even if you were going to compete as an o-lifter there would be nothing technically wrong with power cleaning the weight. Its simply that a properly trained athlete can clean more than he can power clean, and so it is to the competitive lifter’s advantage to develop a full clean.

From your description, it seems that the “solution” is indeed just to add more weight. Your problem – moving the weight too fast – is one that we should all be lucky to have.

Ajax

6

Thanks for the suggestions. My intuition was that I needed to go heavier, but I second guessed myself, but everyone seems to be saying the same thing. And if the answer is more weight on the bar, I’m not going to argue with that.

7

[quote]rg73 wrote:
So I’m hoping this isn’t a totally idiotic question, but I’ve been having a problem with catching my cleans after the pull.

My problem is that after I push off from the ground, I start my pull when the bar gets above my knees (I’m hit and miss with the scoop–still working on that) and then it accelerates so fast that its up at my shoulders before I can squat under the bar. So I wind up pulling and then catching without really squating at all. When I go heavier I wind up doing about a 1/3 squat at best. I don’t know if it is a psychological thing or what.

So more background–I did actually get “trained” on cleans a little over a year ago by a trainer. This wasn’t a Olympic trained guy, but I got (I thought) the basics down. So I worked up to doing about 185 (yeah, not very much, but about my bodyweight) and I was still only doing this little tiny squat, so I went back down on weight to work on form and it just gets worse. Push, pull and the bar is up fast and I just can’t squat down to catch it. I’ve tried breaking down the movements, doing hang cleans and the like and I still for the life of me cannot squat under the bar after the pull.

I’m not doing cleans with any aspirations of being an Olympic lifter or anything, just to get stronger and because I think its fun, but I don’t want to keep doing it if I’m being a complete idiot about it. So is it necessary to actually catch in a low squat like real Olympic lifters (especially with moderate weight like I’m using)? Is it ok to catch it with a 1/4-1/3 squat? Do I need to actually fork out the money and go work with a real Olympic lift coach for a while before I keep going to the gym and looking like a moron?
[/quote]

You are doing Power Cleans…or maybe even Muscle Cleans from what you are describing. There is nothing wrong with Power Cleans at all. I personally think that Full Cleans are better but that’s my preference.

You say that you are “pushing off.” Are you yanking the bar off the ground? Pulling fast from the floor? The first pull -floor to just above knee level- shoul actually be slow and controlled, then once the bar passes the knees they explosing takes place.

You can try to get some video’s to see how it’s done. USAW has a decent one, and it’s cheep. Ironmind sells cool videos from Olympic and World Champ. traning halls, so you’ll get to see some of the best. Jim Schmidtz makes a good video.
Artie Dreshler’s book is excellent…not just for OLing either, it covers a pretty wide range. Tommy Kono’s book is excellent as well.

My suggestion? Either watch the videos or find someone who is an OLer and then practice perfectly until you get it right, then practice some more.

Since the bar seems to be floating way up to shoulder level, I’d say you are doing the entire pull to fast or the bar is too lite, or both. If you load that sucker up to say 300lbs, I’d be willing to bet it’s not going to fly up.

8

Hello,

A couple of suggestions; you may consider slowing down during your warm-up with just a bar so you really focus on the mechanics of the lift (O-lifting is primarily neural training), and maybe you can try “Drop squats”, which are similar to snatch balance, but for the clean. Start in the hang and extend like you just finished by pull, and all you do from there is drop as quickly as possible into the catch position (work on ass to the floor). I also agree with the idea that the bar may be too light, but work on technique before loading up the bar.

Also, check your bar position. If the bar comes away from the body as you pull (however fast it is), it’s travelling back into you as you try to catch it, which makes it difficult to do a squat clean, because you’re worried about getting knocked backwards.

Finally, if you don’t have the flexibility to do a full squat clean, or you haven’t practiced enough with lighter weights to nail the technique,you probably have a mental block for doing a squat clean.

Good luck, and you can check out your area for local O-lifting clubs, probably good coaching for much cheaper than a coach.

9

Just a thought on how you described your form…the scoop happens naturally and isn’t something that is actually taught. Concentrating on doing it might be throwing your form off. USA Weightlifting doesnt believe in teaching the scoop.

10

try using no weight at all. not even a bar.

a broomstick is a great teaching tool for the Olys. i see guys in the gym using it to get loose or something, but the best use ive seen for it is in getting your form down for the snatch and the clean.

having no weight to move will make you focus on the form you use.

also, front squats have really given me a feel for getting under the bar when i catch the weight. maybe you should look into that.

good luck, olympic lifting is really fun!