Stalling and Hang Clean

Training Beginners
1

Okay, I just finished week 3 of Starting Strength, and I noticed something about my workout.

  1. On my last couple reps of the squat, I end up tucking my butt underneath me. This has happened the last 2 workouts. I think this causes my lower back to round, which isn’t good. It usually happens when im halfway up, when I start stalling (at about a 1/4 position).

Should I still increase the weight next workout and try to keep my back straight, or should I not count this last workout and keep the weight the same and keep my back straight?

  1. I cannot learn the power clean. Period. I have tried and tried and tried, but I fuck it up. I cannot get it past my knees without screwing it up. No matter how little weight I use, I can’t do it. Is there a lift that I can substitute for it?

Would the Hang Clean be alright? I think I can do a hang clean, since I don’t have to get it past my knees, which is the part that I mess up 95% of the time.

2

Also, when I squat, I don’t feel it in my quads, I feel it in my glutes/hamstrings. Is this normal?

My thought is maybe since I have been squatting above parallel for so long, I developed my quads but not my glutes/hams, so now that I am squatting to parallel, maybe my hamstrings aren’t strong enough to do what my quads can do, so my quads don’t get as much work since their not doing the weight there used to. Does this sound like it could be ture?

3

[quote] fisch wrote:

  1. Should I increase the weight next workout even though I can’t keep my back straight at it’s current weight?
    [/quote]

No

[quote]
2. Is there a lift that I can substitute for Power Cleans?[/quote]

Some arrangements use Pendlay rows. Mark Rippetoe does not advocate this, though. The hang clean sounds better than the rows, actually. Although why you’d be able to hang clean and not power-clean is beyond me… unless you have severe flexibility issues.

Yes. Squatting with good technique at or below parallel will place most of the tension in the hips… or the glutes/hamstrings.

4

[quote]Otep wrote:
2. Is there a lift that I can substitute for Power Cleans?

The hang clean sounds better than the rows, actually. Although why you’d be able to hang clean and not power-clean is beyond me… unless you have severe flexibility issues.[quote]

I don’t think its flexibility issues, but something with pulling from the floor really messes with me. I can never seem to get it right, no matter how slow I take it.

Trying to drag it up my legs doesn’t work, since when it gets to my knees it has to go outward (my knees bump out a little bit, causing the bar to go away from my body).

It feels weird. Plus, I have done hang cleans in the past, just im not sure if it was good form, since everything else my high school coaches taught me have seemed to be wrong in some way.

5

I think a commonly used progression for learning the olympic lifts is starting from hang above knee, then hang below knee, and finally from the floor.

6

Front squats helped my hang clean and clean since you get used to the position and it mimics the movement. Best way to know what your doing wrong is post video of your trying the lift to get an idea of what your doing wrong and what to work on.

Also front squat will work the quads more if that is what you want. Or you could try high bar narrow squat, but most do not have the flexibility for that especailly if you have problem with just a normal back squat.

7

The point of SS is to get strong and move weight not target specific muscles.

Do a deadlift and then do a hang clean.

8

So, for the squat, stay at the same weight, or drop the weight? I can’t really post a video, I don’t have a camera, so I will try hang cleans next.

9

If you can’t keep proper form, drop the weight.