power cleans

[darkdiablo]

Any advice on how to practice doing cleans would help. Whenever i rack the bar, even an empty one, my collar bone hurts, the most i can rack for a 5 x 5 front squat is 115 pound Barbell with a A LOT of pain.

Do i just have to get used to it, and wait for my collar bone to get use to the heavy racking?

I mean i see olympic lifters racking 200 KG barbells, and it looked like they just droped the bar on their collar bone, it just surprise me that their collar bone didnt break under the weight.

 

[Koing]

It's timing, flexibility and practice.

The bar goes across the deltoids and rarelys mashes on to your collar bones as it would break. If you have your elbows raised your deltoids will cushion and you will be able to just rest the bar on them = no pain.

Do you stretch your shoulders and wrists? If your able to do front squats with a Clean grip and high elbows to near parallel then you will find it a lot easier to rack the bar.

Good form:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Lq4Vrk3aM

Not as good but as she comes off the floor to much but it's nothing major if your leaning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TlbDQUWs0s

Think of JUMPING OFF THE FLOOR with a big shrug and keeping the bar CLOSE TO YOUR BODY. DO NOT REVERSE CURL IT. The bar goes up, lead with your elbows going UP and not BACKWARDS and whip your elbows through. This is WHY the bar spins independent of the collars on the bar.

When you get better you won't jump off the floor but the motion is the most natural to learning the Power Clean properly. Then once you get the 'feeling' you won't jump off the floor. You'll put the same power but reach on to your toes.

Koing

 

[brikis98]

The power clean is a difficult lift to learn, especially if you don't take the time to read proper instruction on it. Here are some good resources:

Starting Strength
Olympic Weightlifting
Stronglifts Power Clean Tutorial

It sounds like you have the wrong conception of how to rack the weight. The weight should be sitting on your shoulders and should barely make any contact with anything else, including the collar bones. Bringing your elbows up towards the ceiling will get your deltoids to raise up and provide more of a cushion for the bar. In fact, this alone should be enough to hold the weight - see the pictures here and this video. When you can comfortably have the bar sitting on your shoulders and your arms extended in front of you, then you know you're starting to use the clean grip properly. You can then bend your arms and try to put your hands on the bar. If you're not very flexible, you'll only be able to use a few of your fingers: work on tricep and wrist flexibility and this will improve. However, it's essential that the weight remains on the shoulders and not in your hands - the fingers are just there to prevent the bar from rolling forward.

 

[NGC_604]

Sorry for the hijack, but got any good wrist flexibility exercises you can share?

 

[brikis98]

How To Stretch Your Wrists For A Better Front Squat Experience (Stronglifts)
How do you increase your wrist flexibility? (CF Messageboard)

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: energydan
Sorry for the hijack, but got any good wrist flexibility exercises you can share?

To be perfectly honest though, you don't really need flexible wrists if you're racking it correctly with your middle and index finger only under the bar.

 

[EvilYoda]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: energydan
Sorry for the hijack, but got any good wrist flexibility exercises you can share?

To be perfectly honest though, you don't really need flexible wrists if you're racking it correctly with your middle and index finger only under the bar.

That's not completely true - people that are brand new to this can be extremely inflexible. But you're right in that most people try to keep too much of their fingers/hand under the bar. Yesterday was an o-lifting class and my cleans are still horrible. My snatches look so much better - I'm able to do more and more weight with the clean, but it's still so disjointed and not fluid.

ugh.

 

[NGC_604]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: energydan
Sorry for the hijack, but got any good wrist flexibility exercises you can share?

To be perfectly honest though, you don't really need flexible wrists if you're racking it correctly with your middle and index finger only under the bar.

I didn't necessarily mean on the power clean, but in general. I just figured it was easier to hijack this thread than create a new one.

Thanks for the links brikis98.

 

[gramboh]

Yeah it's more triceps and upper back/shoulders that need mobility for a good rack than wrists. Make sure you are standing tall, big chest/shoulders up. If you slouch at all you will lose the weight. When I started with front squats they were just awful and uncomfortable, it took maybe 6 weeks of doing them once a week with linear progression to get comfortable. I remember when I started even 115 hurt like a bich, now I do not feel it until near 1RM.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: gramboh
When I started with front squats they were just awful and uncomfortable, it took maybe 6 weeks of doing them once a week with linear progression to get comfortable. I remember when I started even 115 hurt like a bich, now I do not feel it until near 1RM.

That's an important point to make. Although the OP definitely seems to be struggling due to technique issues, even with proper technique, racking the weight on your shoulders is definitely uncomfortable for the first few weeks. However, as your mobility/flexibility improves, your back gets stronger and used to keeping you upright, and the skin on your shoulders thickens, it becomes a whole lot better. Eventually, it's no more painful then holding the weight on your back as in a back squat, even with heavy weights.

 

[RESmonkey]

Hmm this thread makes me question my Olympic rack form. Sometimes I feel like a small amount of neck/collar skin is being stretched/squished under the bar. Doesn't always happen, though.

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: energydan
Sorry for the hijack, but got any good wrist flexibility exercises you can share?

To be perfectly honest though, you don't really need flexible wrists if you're racking it correctly with your middle and index finger only under the bar.

That's not completely true - people that are brand new to this can be extremely inflexible. But you're right in that most people try to keep too much of their fingers/hand under the bar. Yesterday was an o-lifting class and my cleans are still horrible. My snatches look so much better - I'm able to do more and more weight with the clean, but it's still so disjointed and not fluid.

ugh.

Yes, most people lack the wrist flexibility, shoulder and elbows to rack a high clean. They also tend to 'grip' the bar too tightly. You don't have to grip the bar fully after the 'receive/ rack' position, but I grip the bar fully but I'm supple from all the stretching.

It takes time mate but you can get pretty good pretty fast. You just have to be receptive to reading and self coaching, but a coach will do wonders to your form really fast.

Originally posted by: RESmonkey
Hmm this thread makes me question my Olympic rack form. Sometimes I feel like a small amount of neck/collar skin is being stretched/squished under the bar. Doesn't always happen, though.

Thats fine. The bar will land on your deltoids/ close to your neck as possible without choking you out. It's a timing issue but the best thing is to get a video. I'm a qualified Olympic weightlifting coach in England and Ref, but that doesn't mean entirely too much. You can get a book schooled coach that isn't very good, but I also have 8yrs competiting experience also.

Koing

 

[brikis98]

Ran across this video recently and remembered this thread. Worth a watch for anyone struggling with racking the clean.

 

[EvilYoda]

Not a bad video - and I might be going to that box next week! Work has me in Alexandria Sunday-Wednesday, so I want to hit CF Alexandria and CF Old Town. T-shirt time!