The
clean is an excellent movement to develop strength and power. In order to perform
the full clean properly one must posses a certain amount of flexibility to
achieve a good bottom position.
When performing the clean or any of our Olympic lifts you
must understand that its all about body positioning. If the body is not
positioned properly efficiency is lost. Here are a few things to keep in mind
when cleaning:
Set Up Position – Butt down chest up! Think of the bottom
position of a squat but with the bar on the floor ready to be pulled off the
floor.
First Pull – The body basically holds the same position off
the floor in the first pull. Keeping the speed of the hips and shoulders the
same is critical in order to not lose torso positioning. Make sure to drift the
knees back in order to clear the knees of the bar and load the hips for a powerful
hip extension.
Second Pull – This is where the violent extension of the
hips occur. As the lifter transitions from first to second pull the knees come
underneath the bar as the torso angles vertically. The hips then explode
towards the bar as the body extends through the ankles, legs, and hips and this
creates a contact between bar and body.
Third Pull – Immediately following the second pull the
lifter then shrugs the shoulder and bend the elbows vertically as they begin to
pull underneath the bar. The speed of the third pull is critical to the lifts
success. Focusing on fast elbows around the bar and can help to speed up the
third pull.
Common Faults:
Pulling to Fast off the floor – Always slow down the first
pull to focus on body positioning.
Early second pull – Having patience with the barbell as you
bringing the barbell up the legs into the high thigh region is important when
trying to hit the sweet spot.
Be fast – Speed and aggressiveness on the second and third
pull is critical to any successful lift. Don’t be afraid get aggressive!