Clean vid, I know I need help on this one...

Here is a clean vid I took last night at the gym. The weight is pretty light for me (I assume) 155 x 5.

I feel my technique is horrible and unlike my other vids I’m sure you'll agree.

I don't even know where to begin to critique myself so I'll just let you people tell me what I'm doing wrong.

I'm not sure if I'm diivng under the bar enough, when I make a mental not to dive under the bar my balance gets thrown all off.

I'm also not sure if my foot posation and hand posation are correct.

http://jumpcut.com/view?id=E164C6B0121211DB8433FEAF976EA1AD

i'm not really much of an expert on cleans but for one thing i don't think your getting enough explosion into your lift. it looks more like a faster reverse curl at the top. i think maybe your arms are too tight. maybe you could practice the 2nd pull with some hang cleans, concentrate on explosiveness. towards the end of rocking my hips forward i'm usually up on my toes and then land into a squat position. hope that helps. i know your going to get some better advice from the more knowledgeable guys soon

haha!! DJ!! welcome aboard the clean ship.. haha!! well, i started off pretty much like u.. i think exactly like u!!

1. notice you are using your hands and wrist to support the weight? well you're not supposed to do that, when u clean the bar, it should come up and rest on your clevicle like in a front squat position.. elbows pointing outwards pls!! elbows should be 90 degrees to your body..

2. speed of cuz needs lots of work, try hang cleans first..

3. start doing the full front squat clean rather than the power version.. as it is most likely to develop bad habits.. as i'm doing now.. learn the full clean then proceed to the power clean..

this link is one of tht best so far IMHO.. i'm sure everyone else will agree with me..

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=478432

damn.. the slow-mo vid is broken.. maybe someone can search for it and post up?

Yeah, Yeah, I'll agree with you on just this one that your form is teh suck, lol....you're not making it an explosive movement, and you're upright rowing the weight into a reverse curl....but it is okay because we'll fix it.

I would start doing the full squat clean for a while right now, as I feel the power versions blow for teaching purposes because they tend to teach an incorrect pull, and aweful catch positioning.

A quick rundown....feet about hip-width (or where you would get the most power if you were going to do a vertical jump test), grip about shoulder-width. Smooth pull from the floor to mid-shin while straightening legs, then a smooth RDL-like pull to mid thigh, then a rebend of the knees and then the explosive final pull into the jump shrug where you rise onto the toes.....the arms are NOT used, they are kept straight and act like 'ropes' ....when at the height of the final pull/jump shrug/triple extension, you relax the elbows and let the bar reach about belly-button level AS you violently (really violently and as fast as possible) whip the elbows around AND pull yourself under the bar into a full front squat.

Get very comfortable in the bottom position of a full front squat, and forget about the power version of the lift until you can do the squat version correctly.

It sounds like I need a lot of work. This is why I've stayed away form the cleanfor so long, it seems overwealming.

The full squat clean sunds like it's alot to accomplish all in one movement.

maybe on Wed I'll start doing front squats instead of back.

Definitely get comfortable front squatting, it will make a world of difference....and just be patient, it'll come.

BiggT said:

Definitely get comfortable front squatting, it will make a world of difference....and just be patient, it'll come.

Click to expand...

ok so front squats on Wed.

I will try to better my form but I think someof it may be the weigt is too light for me? I feel I can't get a good counter blance when I am using the light weight. But I don't want to increase the weight with my horrable form I have now.

lol.. practice with the bar first.. get the hang of diving under the bar as it reaches max height.. you'll be fine.. biggt described it pretty well..

if you picture a clean as jumping with a barbell in terms of where the force/power is coming from then you'll be on the road to doing em how they are done

I pretty much did that when I started, and even then it's taken ages to get it sorta right, but I have bad habits too - that comes with being self taught

this article covers some of the basics
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle...F3A666996915B38.hydra?article=06-059-training

i have a different thought.


You arent piling under the bar in a lower position b/c there is no need - you are cleaning it high enough to slip under it - it also explains why the lift seeems slow at the top - its b/c you are pulling the bar so high....


imo - you could add 20 pounds and make yourself get under the bar quicker