Tips & Tricks for a Cleaner Clean

Patrick Ward of OptimumSportsPerformance.com offers a few tips you can incorporate into your workout to help improve your technique on the clean. Keats Snideman of CoachKeats.com demonstrates the movements.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• patrick ward
• olympic lifts
• clean
• hang clean
• keats snideman

[Rochabp]

question

do i have to go all the way down into a deep squat when power cleaning???

that seems to be my flaw

[OptimumSports]

@Rochabp No, a power clean means that you receive the bar at a position where the hips are above a 90 degree squat (a quarter squat basically). If you ride it all the way down, then it is called a squat clean. If your goal is to work on squat cleans and perform heavy cleans (since power cleans will only allow you to work at a certain percentage of your full squat clean) then check out my reply to JRoenick below on how to work on this.

patrick

[JRoenick]

Good video. My trainer wants me to sink my hips more while doing cleans, and am struggling to do just that. He mentioned that I would generate more power to help elevate the bar if I sink my hips a little lower. I sink my hips about as low as your "test subject" does in your video and apparently I need to get lower. Any tips on how I can do this?

[OptimumSports]

@JRoenick The best way to work on this is develop your front squat. Do so by front squatting as a main lift in your training and also by "riding down" all of your cleans - even your power cleans. So, even if you catch it hight, get in the habit of riding it all the way down into a full squat position.

Patrick

[OptimumSports]

dj0122,

Yes, this is the proper position for the hands when the bar is in the rack position. The hands do not actively hold the bar, as this would cause them to be more straight up and down and the elbows to take on the brunt of the load, leading too many issues. In the catch position, the hands should be doing nothing more than mainting the bar on the shoulders. This would be the same position if you were to perform an olympic front squat in this style.

Patrick

[inimark5]

Hi.....I have a question about bending elbow too early. When people bend elbow too early, is it because the weight is too heavy? Thanks for the tips.

[OptimumSports]

@inimark5 Even when the weight is heavy, the elbows shouldn't be bending early. If the elbows bend you lose some of the power you are generating with your hips. Keep practicing and the timing will come. If you can get yourself to a qualified coach, that always helps too.

[Rochabp]

@OptimumSports thank you

[dj0122]

why is he gripping the bar like that at the top of the clean? It seems as it could just roll off his chest or hyperextend his forearms. Is that the preferred grip? 

[Saniu100]

Thanks for the tips! I had trouble getting my form correct, especially the elbows part. Thanks again!

[adub4ever]

thanks for the tips..... hang clean is a tough exersice to master