Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below
Need help with Hang Cleans!
- Thread starter brett0430
- Start date
highlander555
New member
The hang clean is great for building explosive power that translates into sports. Plus, if you ever wanted to learn to do a full clean, the hang clean is the place to start.
Here are the basics for the hang clean:
You’re going to use a stance similar to a deadlift stance (feet 12 15 inches apart). Bring the bar up to the lower part of your upper thigh, just above your knees. Unlock your hips and knees with the bar hanging where it would intersect a line from you scapula to the middle of your foot. Shoulders will be slightly in front of the bar, with your elbows strait. We’ll call this the “jumping position.”
From the jumping position, jump strait up into the air high enough that you have to extend the hips and knees to do it. You want the bar to travel as closely along the thighs as you can. Letting the bar move away is wasted energy that just throws the whole lift off. Also try to shrug the bar and contract the claves to put you up on your toes as you jump. While all this is gong on it’s important to keep the elbows strait. You’re not going to even think about bending those suckers until the bar stops going up.
When the bar has stopped it’s upward motion you can then allow the arms to bend in order to put the bar into the rack position on the meaty part of your deltoids. The biggest mistake most people make here is not pointing the elbows up high enough. It’s important to k
now that this is not an arm exercise, so don’t try to do a reverse curl. All you’re doing is jamming your elbows underneath the bar after it has risen to a certain height. In fact, try to keep your arms relaxed, as relaxed arms will rotate under the bar more quickly.
Right before you jam the elbows under the bar to put it into the rack position, keep in mind that you want the bar to travel upwards as close to your chest as you can. If it can graze your shirt, then so much the better. The farther it travels away form your body, the more effort you have to expend to bring it back towards you to properly rack.
That’s basically it.
Things to remember:
Jumping is the key. If you keep this in mind you’ll hopefully never learn to arm-pull the bar.
Jumping requires strait elbows.
If you have too much forward lean and not enough knee bend you’ll cause the bar to travel in an outward arc. That’s bad.
If the knees start off too strait, your jump is going to suck.
Don’t let your back round as you rack it at the top.
Well that’s all I can must the energy to type. It’s really hard to give proper instruction without physically being with someone or without ending up writing sixty pages. I’d HIGHLY recommend Mark Rippetoes book “Starting Strength” for more info on the topic. After reading that, not only will you know it well enough to do it and coach others to do it, but you’ll know more about it than 90% of the world.
Good luck bro.
Here are the basics for the hang clean:
You’re going to use a stance similar to a deadlift stance (feet 12 15 inches apart). Bring the bar up to the lower part of your upper thigh, just above your knees. Unlock your hips and knees with the bar hanging where it would intersect a line from you scapula to the middle of your foot. Shoulders will be slightly in front of the bar, with your elbows strait. We’ll call this the “jumping position.”
From the jumping position, jump strait up into the air high enough that you have to extend the hips and knees to do it. You want the bar to travel as closely along the thighs as you can. Letting the bar move away is wasted energy that just throws the whole lift off. Also try to shrug the bar and contract the claves to put you up on your toes as you jump. While all this is gong on it’s important to keep the elbows strait. You’re not going to even think about bending those suckers until the bar stops going up.
When the bar has stopped it’s upward motion you can then allow the arms to bend in order to put the bar into the rack position on the meaty part of your deltoids. The biggest mistake most people make here is not pointing the elbows up high enough. It’s important to k
now that this is not an arm exercise, so don’t try to do a reverse curl. All you’re doing is jamming your elbows underneath the bar after it has risen to a certain height. In fact, try to keep your arms relaxed, as relaxed arms will rotate under the bar more quickly.
Right before you jam the elbows under the bar to put it into the rack position, keep in mind that you want the bar to travel upwards as close to your chest as you can. If it can graze your shirt, then so much the better. The farther it travels away form your body, the more effort you have to expend to bring it back towards you to properly rack.
That’s basically it.
Things to remember:
Jumping is the key. If you keep this in mind you’ll hopefully never learn to arm-pull the bar.
Jumping requires strait elbows.
If you have too much forward lean and not enough knee bend you’ll cause the bar to travel in an outward arc. That’s bad.
If the knees start off too strait, your jump is going to suck.
Don’t let your back round as you rack it at the top.
Well that’s all I can must the energy to type. It’s really hard to give proper instruction without physically being with someone or without ending up writing sixty pages. I’d HIGHLY recommend Mark Rippetoes book “Starting Strength” for more info on the topic. After reading that, not only will you know it well enough to do it and coach others to do it, but you’ll know more about it than 90% of the world.
Good luck bro.
enigma4dub
Active member
careful, i was doing these tonight and i hit my sack with the bar ...
not good times.
not good times.
highlander555
New member
I wouldn't over think it. It's basically just a jump. You wouldn't jump with just your back would you? If you took out the knee extension, your jump would suck. Beyond that there are some factors your back you have to consider to keep the bar from moving away from the body, but that's about it.
