Squat Clean video - help on regrab...

Link to Full Cleans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOWtHQVVcbU

To quote from earlier: I really need someone to watch my regrab. I'm getting more comfortable, but the regrab IS UGLY. It's forcing me backwards, and I need some coaching on this one. I'm self-taught on the Olympic lifts, so let's see how much trouble I'm in.

Sorry to throw this out there more than once, but I wanted to make sure that it got the attention of those that really don't get into the journals. Thanks for any and all help!

nelmsjer said:

Link to Full Cleans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOWtHQVVcbU

To quote from earlier: I really need someone to watch my regrab. I'm getting more comfortable, but the regrab IS UGLY. It's forcing me backwards, and I need some coaching on this one. I'm self-taught on the Olympic lifts, so let's see how much trouble I'm in.

Sorry to throw this out there more than once, but I wanted to make sure that it got the attention of those that really don't get into the journals. Thanks for any and all help!

Click to expand...

sorry, i've never done much oly lifting. so I can't really help you with the lift. but just my 2 cents....it looks like your hips are coming forward when you are going for your regrab. when you catch the weight, your center of gravity is off, causing you to fall back a little.
also you might be draining yourself of some energy by staying in your starting position for so long. when you grip the bar (when its on the floor) try to start your lift faster, and not stay in your starting position for so long.
also, dont most of those guys use a wider grip on the bar?

i think at this point, you may be overcomplicating the lift. you are still learning it, so don't worry about about the finer points just yet. it's obvious that you are strong, as you kind of just floated up 100kg.

the first pull only serves to set up your second pull. the 2nd pull is where the majority of the pulling power comes from (mid-thigh area). it's a constant acceleration from the floor, so you start pulling at moderate speed, then faster, faster, faster and then a big yank when you get to the second pull.

this should generate in enough force so that the bar pops up, allowing you to drop underneath and catch it.

so from what i can see, you are doing a great job as far as pulling straight and NOT focusing on the bump that a lot of people try to exaggerate.

first pull.. keep your hips DOWN, think of it as jumping... you have to keep your hips "cocked" so that you can produce maximum force. if you let your hips come up, you loose this leverage and get a crappy extension. NOT so low that it's like you are sitting in a chair, but try to keep the same torso angle as when initiating your first pull.

second pull... don't baby it, yank it hard. it's a constant acceleration leading up to a big pull at mid thigh. at lighter weights (this being 100kg for you ), just pop it and drop underneath.

also, i don't really know what you mean by the "regrab" as you never really left go of the bar? i THINK you mean you have problems receiving the bar?

if this is the case, do that exercise that was recommended to you in your previous post: take a empty bar, stand at full extension, and practice dropping underneath with NO pull. simply beat the bar to the floor. this will make dropping under and catching more natural to you.

on the jerk: think of it as a vertical jump. dip down fast and drive up hard. then all your arms do is push your body underneath, not the bar overhead.

When you first asked this question, I thought you were basically saying that you jerk with a wider grip than you clean, so you wanted to pop the bar off your shoulders to grip wider.

From watching the video, I see you do it on the reps when you're not jerking. I think I am missing the reason for that....UNLESS....you're regrabbing before you drop it so that your hands are set for the next rep.....in that case, it is totally unnecessary. In fact, with bumper plates, you'd be coached to just drop it from your shoulders and reset when it is on the floor, when repping cleans, there is a pause between reps to reset yourself and grab the bar after you drop it. So, a triple would look like 3 singles with 5 or so seconds rest between them to most people who've never really watched someone train the o-lifts.

Are you using a hook grip? (nothing to do with my comments, just wondering)

However, the pull looked good, you did an excellent job of self-coaching. The weight looked easy for you also.

Thanks, guys. BiggT, the only reason I'm doing a regrab is to practice for when I actually have to jerk. Otherwise, I agree completely that it is unnecessary.

When I come up out of my front squat, I have 3 fingers on the bar...my thumb and pinkie are completely out of contact with the bar. So, I have to regrab before I can drive into the jerk. It gets harder as the weight gets heavier (for me, anyway), and so I practice it with each clean. Admittedly, since I can't drop the dang bar (no bumpers), it also helps to lower the weight. After about 185 lbs., lowering the weight with just 3 fingers around the bar gets a little difficult. Believe me: I would love to have bumpers and a platform.

Super Rice, thanks for all the technical pointers. I will reread those. Also, we may have a terminology issue, but if "receiving" the bar means having it land squarely on the anterior delts with the elbows up, I feel very comfortable with that. By "regrab", I mean the little pop that Olympic lifters give to go from 3 fingers on the bar to a full grip, right before the jerk. I don't know what that is actually called....

Thanks again for the support. I'm having a blast!

Not sure if your thinking of competing but from what I understand you cant do that 'regrab' you are practicing as it may be viewed as a jerk attempt.

When you rise out of the squat clean ping the bar in the air and quickly re-adjust the bar then, once you have learnt to do this it will be much easier than what you are doing by standing and then re-adjusting

Im not an advocate of light weights but you need to drill this at lighter weights, its very easy when you get the hang of it

what you need to concentrate on is getting the arms out of the movement... you look like you are basically "curling" the bar all the way to your shoulders before you start to drop under. the clean is supposed to be FAST... pop the hips and shoulders, then stomp right under the bar. you might try some reps from the high hang to practice this.

to me, you look like someone who could be cleaning 350-375lbs pretty quickly if you learn to do it right... if you learn to do that, tht increase of weight on the bar will pretty quickly lead to more muscle growth!

thedon_83 said:

Not sure if your thinking of competing but from what I understand you cant do that 'regrab' you are practicing as it may be viewed as a jerk attempt.

When you rise out of the squat clean ping the bar in the air and quickly re-adjust the bar then, once you have learnt to do this it will be much easier than what you are doing by standing and then re-adjusting

Im not an advocate of light weights but you need to drill this at lighter weights, its very easy when you get the hang of it

Click to expand...

glennpendlay said:

what you need to concentrate on is getting the arms out of the movement... you look like you are basically "curling" the bar all the way to your shoulders before you start to drop under. the clean is supposed to be FAST... pop the hips and shoulders, then stomp right under the bar. you might try some reps from the high hang to practice this.

to me, you look like someone who could be cleaning 350-375lbs pretty quickly if you learn to do it right... if you learn to do that, tht increase of weight on the bar will pretty quickly lead to more muscle growth!

Click to expand...

Wow. I honestly don't even know what to say to that, except that 350+ pounds would absolutely destroy what I would have thought possible from myself. This REALLY makes me want to go work with someone on these...

Thanks, Glenn. That really made my day. I will really focus on your suggestions.

Actually I have a question now, in regards to your video. Watching your attempt, I see you catch the bar really high, then drop down in to the squat. The way I've been practicing, the bar doesn't move any higher than where I shrug it to. How high is it supposed to travel? Granted a lighter bar will fly up there, but how high should it get, before the stomp and grab? Also, should the bar be racked BEFORE you hit the bottom position? I've been basically landing in the "hole" with it racked, but I haven't paid attention to "where"(as in where along the pull) it gets racked, just making sure that it is before I stand back up.