Big Three- Teaching Power Clean

Teaching The “Power Clean”

Part 1. Pulling Position/“The Big Three”

When I think about teaching the movements of weightlifting I think about the poetry of the movement and how technical it can be. This technique can be easily taught if the right progression is applied. There are a few necessary steps that I take before getting a bar into athletes’ hands.

First, I need to understand the athlete and their training age. Training age is determined by past training. A college freshman or high school freshman could have similar or very different training age based on ability. That training age of an athlete will dictate if the starting point is a broomstick or a barbell.

The second step in teaching the power clean is to break the movement down into smaller sub-movements. I teach from the top down and go in a progressive order with each athlete. The first step to teaching the sub-movements is to teach the proper Pulling Position:

Pulling position/ “The Big Three”

1.     Stance  - Feet/Legs

2.     Grip – Clean/ Snatch

3.     Posture  - Body Position/ Head-Foot

1.     Stance

When explaining stance, it is important for the athlete to understand how the stance can help dictate vertical force of the barbell. That vertical force comes from the legs, and if the stance is too wide then there will be a decrease in vertical force production into the barbell. As an athlete their stance should be similar to their jumping position. The general starting stance will be anywhere form Hip to Shoulder width but no wider than the shoulders.  

2.Grip

When explaining the Grip to athletes I like to place the bar in the “Rack Position” (which will come in a future blog) and then have them bring the bar down to the Quads/Hips, Which is now their “Clean Grip.” It is vital to me that each athlete understands how the grip will transfer into the rack position. That transfer needs to be first correct, fast, and comfortable. The bar should rest on the quads in the athletes’ hands at a certain point. Note that each point may or may not be the same for each athlete. This position is known as the brush point that an athlete will feel when pulling. Having an understanding of where the grip is and how the bar must pass during the power clean will help in the learning process over time. I like to teach the Hook Grip as early as possible to get the athlete more accustomed to how that feels on the hands. The earlier the athlete can understand the benefits of the hook grip and how it relates to force production into the barbell.

3. Posture

Posture is the most important part about teaching the movement. If an athlete has poor posture to begin with it will be hard to get their body into the proper position to apply the adequate force to perform the entire movement. Improper positioning can result in movements of the barbell that are not desired and can cause injury. It is vital to correct any posture alignments to ensure the movement has the opportunity to be flawless. The alignment of posture should be as so: Neck packed into cervical neutral, scapulae retracted, arms extended and relaxed, first two knuckles down (hook grip), hips slightly flexed, and knees slightly flexed with the bar resting in the hand and on the thighs. There is a long complicated list but it is a simple position to feel and get into. There is a certain feel to this position; the weight should be in the heels and the mid foot with the whole foot in contact with the floor. When the weight is in the mid foot/heels the glutes should be active and loaded in preparation for the eccentric/concentric movement.

 To get into a proper pulling position the athlete must follow “The Big Three.” If there is an issue with getting into the position soft tissue mobilization may have to come into a bigger play.  Pictures below will show exactly how to set an athlete into the correct pulling position.