Power clean vs. squat clean

The difference between the power clean and the squat clean is the height of the receiving position - partial squat or full squat.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Power
• clean
• squat
• weightlifting

[olympicstyles]

Butterfly was my favorite event when I used to swim competitively, and I would say the discus and the shot are much more complicated than the three pointer. The only sport probably parrelleling Olympic weightlifting would be gymnastics, and in fact many gymnists become olympic lifters. Melony Roach who placed fifth in bejing from the U.S (the highest placed of all men and women) would be a great example of that. I should ask her which she would consider to be a harder learning curve.

[LincolnBrigham]

I can and have taught complete novices to do a passable clean in a half an hour. Try that with the butterfly and it will turn into a class on rescue breathing in short order.

Mel became the #1 female weightlifter in the U.S. after only 4 years of training. That's not possible in gymnastics. (BTW she placed 6th in Beijing.)

Tara Nott went from being a former top level gymnast to 2000 Olympic gold medalist weightlifter. She started competing in 1996 and won the Senior Nat'ls that same year.

[olympicstyles]

The clean&jerk and Snatch are some of the most complicated movements in all sporting activities. Ive talked with athletes from a variety of sport avenues, and they have admitted the technical difficulty of the lifts. I have Oly lifted for 7 years starting when I was 10 and I continue to learn new ways to make the movement more efficient. There are piles and piles of research done on the technicalities of the lifts. I would reccomend simply googling the subject. There are some good sites.

[LincolnBrigham]

I've got to say that most of competitive gymnastics, the butterfly in swimming, hitting a three-pointer in a crowd, and throwing a knuckleball for strikes are WAY more complicated.

And the pole vault ain't no walk in the park either.

[skirts365]

Pulled very high for a squat clean.

[LincolnBrigham]

Yeah, I'd agree. It's not a perfect example but it gets the point across IMO.

[juandenz2008]

@yoda31419 Did you even get a definitive answer to this? I always thought the clean and jerk was the classic (squat) clean, followed by a jerk.

[madtownsk8r]

is that 225? if so that's extremely good for your size. im a sophomore football player i can only power clean a 45 and 35 on each side but that is the one of the best forms i've seen

[RPM11111]

Thanks for the distninction. May I use this for resistance training classes, please?

[chipango87]

@sacredhuhu u have more power with external rotation as opposed to internal rotation. general rule of thumb is keep ur knees on the outside of ur shoe and feet as straight as comfortable

[FinnishCraig3]

@LincolnBrigham I think it's all relative it depends on what a person is good at. I have never watched much weight lifting, but I'm going to assume your technique doesn't have to be perfect as you get the lift without cheating. You get it or you don't. Gymnastics has judges making it completely subjective. Do you reward creativity with easier technique or more difficult technique with nothing original? I think it's unfair to compare because of the judges.

[LeijonatSOCCER]

@LincolnBrigham And yes, i learned to do clean quite decentely over this past year, and its probably my favourite lift, after squat. I never thought of combining clean and squat, probably because i'm still new to lifting. Thanks for the video... As for the swimming, at my school we have mandatory swimming lessons for P.E, and butterfly was the hardest one and i could not do it! Thanks for the vid!

[mrsupergummibear]

so which is better to do?

[hhstroll]

His form was good. In a squat knees should travel out over the feet, which should be point out slightly. Facing them completely forwards puts pressure on the sides of the knees rather than in the middle.

[sacredhuhu]

his knees were flaring out to the side, is that right or wrong?

I always thought knees should face forwards during any lift

[yoda31419]

Power Cleans force you to not squat. Having your thighs go below parallel means that you didn't do a power clean, but a squat clean. A clean and jerk is when you do a power clean, then use momentum to press the weight above your head. I think a Clean and press might be a clean and jerk without the momentum.