ATG squat while oly cleaning?

[silver_shadow]

this is something i've been meaning to ask for a few months now but haven't because everytime i'm online i forget to.

a few months ago, i was watching the commonwealth games weightlifting event on tv. so there was this indian girl, kunjarani devi who won the gold in the 48 kg class. i was noticing the clean techniques used by the girls. so as expected, they all got into a deep squat position while cleaning - except the indian. even on her max C&J (94kgs), she just kind of got into a parallel or maybe just below parallel squat... either way it wasn't too deep. obviously she still made the lifts comfortably, but i was wondering about how acceptable this kind of form would be to all the oly lifting gurus around here.

the reason i ask is obviously because i'm at a novice level myself when it comes to these lifts. i find that on max weights i get into a deep squat more fluidly then on say 70% of max when i'd probably just be at parallel. maybe it's because the weight is much heavier and i have no choice but to go deep. but how much would this affect my learning curve?

 

[BiggT]

SS,

The reason to pull yourself under into a full squat is because you have NO choice once the weight is heavy enough and you can't get under it high.

I hope Glenn catches this thread and can set the record straight for you, but until he does, I can take a stab. With the female lifter you're talking about, many times smaller, lighter females tend to be not very strong, so they live and die by technique, timing, bar whip etc etc. You can 'do it all just right' and be able to catch the bar higher, Aleviev seemed to do this a lot (depite being very strong anyway)......sometimes everything just falls into place on 1 lift....I am by no means the technical lifter of the year and there are time I am doing squat cleans and I am feeling really on with my timing and I will unintentionally just power clean the weight, and it kind of surprises me in a not so good way, lol, as it just happens.

As for your concern about not having to drop to the full front squat.....I would imagine at some point, if you want to try to max out your potential, you'll have to reach a point where the only way to clean the weight is to get all the way under.....if you're front squatting in training, strength won't be an issue in my opinion. The onlt thing that may be an issue is speed, you really need to move FAST when getting under a heavy clean, a hair too slow and you miss the lift. You can do drills for speed under the bar, but nothing is quite lift dropping under a damn heavy weight fast enough to rack it.

 

[silver_shadow]

i don't know if you misunderstood - the point was that the girl (all 48kgs of her) actually didn't have to squat down really deep on her max, while i have no choice but to squat down on my max. she's obviously really experienced, in fact, i think she's nearing the end of her career. i'm just beginning so i was wondering whether it will affect my learning if i don't get under enough on non max weights.

 

[BiggT]

OK, got ya, lol....I don't think it will, as long as you TRY to get under....as long as you're trying to get under and not intentionally trying to catch high, I don't think it will effect you much....in my opinion.....I will bump for Glenn or SR or somebody though

 

[mm107]

Damn i gotta learn my form on cleans/snatches, etc.

Want to throw them in.

 

[super_rice]

Sounds to me like she may be held back by her technique, but more than likely, she is just really friggen strong for a 48. Was she wearing heavy knee wraps and such? I remember seeing a lifter at the 2005 worlds in 94kg. Erbrahim something or other. Every lift was pretty much a power clean / power snatch, but this guy was obviously strong as a bull so it was alright.

What I'm trying to say is, some of the elite lifters are so damn strong in their class that the technique just does not matter as much, or they actually have some technical flaws. Over here in Canada, a lot of the lifters from Quebec have shitty technique, but are just ridiculously fast and strong so they can get away with swinging the bar and smashing it off their hips and such... Whereas us mere mortals depend on technique.

I say when you watch the elite guys, watch for fun, critique their technique, use their energy, intensity, and subtle differences to add to your own, but DON'T try to duplicate them.

In the end, biggt is right. Learn to full clean and you will be able to clean the big weights. Nothing beats catching the perfect bounce in the hole with 5kgs more than your PR.

 

[silver_shadow]

she may well have been wearing heavy wraps although i don't remember too well. there's no way i'll try to imitate an elite lifter...

so i guess that i really should be more concious of getting the form correct even on sub maximal wts then.