front squats and cleans

[TheOak84]

if im goin to start to do oly lifts, should i work on flexibility as far as the 2 exercises listed?

it seems i cant bring my elbows far out enough when doin fron squats, and m wrists start to hurt

will it get better with time? and i cant catch the bar the right way with the cleans. any tips? or just more practice

 

[carlsuen]

yeah.. basically just more practice will do the trick.. the first week will feel unnatural and seems like this lift is not for u.. but in time and pratice it will be fine.. working on form would also help alot too.. start out light as always and practice on catching the bar low depending whether you're doing the power clean or the full one..

 

[Scotsman]

Flexibility helps a great deal but there are some other things to consider. Are you keeping your hands closed on front squats/top of cleans? Try opening your hands up so that you just have your fingers under the bar, your delts are what hold the weight in place. Also practice with light weight until you get the form down. As far as catching the bar that's a big practice thing. Again don't start adding a bunch of weight until you get the catch down or you'll just end up hurting yourself. Another problem is a lot of people tend to get the weight moving forward which makes the catch harder, make sure your bar path is straight up and close to the body.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[solarclimax]

Stretching your triceps might help with your flexibility, and stop your wrists hurting.

 

[The Shadow]

I front squat with arms folded across my chest to keep the wrists protected

 

[H_T_]

just keep working at it. i like having my fingers on the bar. easier to balance.

 

[The Shadow]

they also make a manta ray thing for front squats

 

[Protobuilder]

if im goin to start to do oly lifts, should i work on flexibility as far as the 2 exercises listed?

Absolutely.

it seems i cant bring my elbows far out enough when doin fron squats, and m wrists start to hurt

As mentioned above, flexibility comes w/ time. Unless you have massive biceps that are getting in the way, practically anyone can learn to do the clean-grip front squat properly. Just practice. Pretty soon, you'll wonder why you ever thought it was difficult. Try doing some light reps--thinking the entire time . . . "elbows UP, chest HIGH!" Some people say chest "proud." Whatever gives you the mental image you need. And, as mentioned above, just your finger tips need to rest on the bar. The point is to keep your elbows high so the bar is sitting back on the delts. You can achieve this by sticking your armsout in front like Frankenstein. LoL If you drop your hands (elbows), the bar will crash forward. If you keep your arms (elbows) high, the bar is forced back against your neck. You may pass out but you won't drop the bar. LoL

When I started front squatting, I could just barely keep my fingertips on the bar due to flexibility. Now, I can pretty much grip it tightly w/ my entire hand and I didn't do anything "special" other than just keep working on the lift. No tricks.

 

[big49ersfan]

if you are fornt squatting to help the clean dont aim to save your wrist cos if you is cleaning porperly and you are putting on chest and folding arms over it is not really goign to help as much as front squatting properly. stop doing curls for the time being and you will find it a lot easier.

i suffer from poor ankle felixibilty this exercise i do daily and is helping. http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1127149 go there ot number two and it helps a lot.

good choice in doign these two exerices i love em you will feel good for it eventually.