Things that need to work before attempting an Olympic lift or a derivative of one:
- Good front rack position: humerus parallel to the ground;
- working hip hinge; this is where the power comes from;
- strong core: lose bracing in an Olympic lift and you can kiss your back, lumbar, shoulders,etc. good-bye. And the bar doesn't move, which isn't what we're aiming for.
The easiest cues to follow for the clean actually come from learning how to snatch, bizarrely. This is because there is a much more obvious connection between the hip drive, bar, core and shoulders with the snatch than there is with the clean.
So. The snatch...
Start with the bar in a double overhand dead lift grip in a standing upright position. Brace your core hard, pulling your shoulders back and give your knees a slight bend (I've heard 5 degrees mentioned). St your hips back a couple of inches to create a little crook between your thigh and pelvis. From here, move your hands out along the bar until the bar is resting in that crook. This is your snatch grip.
Now, sit your hips back a few inches further until your braced torso is at between vertical and 45 degrees: the bar should be hanging around your thigh somewhere. This is the hang snatch position that I use.
The next bit is where we see how much power (not force) you can generate from your glutes and hamstrings. Keeping your core braced hard, am your hips through the bar as hard and as fast as you can, pushing from your heels. You'll know you've done this correctly with gusto when the sleeves on the bar start to buzz with the impact. This is why I call it bar humping.
You may notice your upper body flopping back as you do this, and that's because your core bracing has slackened off. This might not be so important with just the bar, but if you ever want to get past this point, brace that core hard. Your end position should be with your hips almost hyper-extended through the bar in a standing position. Rinse and repeat, whilst getting very funny looks from everybody in the gym that doesn't know any better.
Once you've got a good bar hump sorted, and the bar is buzzing like a nest of hornets and swinging out and up in front of you, it's time for the power shrug. This is not like a Dumbell shrug at all. With your shoulders pinned back and with as much power as you can, shrug your shoulders up so that your elbows bounce up and you wind up in that classic mannequin position (humerus at 90 degrees from your body but always above the bar). Do this enough, and your traps will thank you.
The reason I'd suggest the snatch first is because there is a really positive connection between the hip drive and the barbell - your pelvis should actually be ramming through the bar and you should have a very sore pubis bone from where it's been cracked against the bar.
This is hopefully a reasonably clear guide on how to drive the hips for the snatch. The clean is no different in principle, but will feel different because there isn't the same obvious positive connection with the bar: apply the same technique, but with your hands in the dead lift position. You'll know you've done this right when you start getting very sore thighs from where the bar knurling rubs up against them at pace. There won't be the same buzz from the barbell sleeves as with the snatch drive, but you should still et the bar soaring out in front of you.
I appreciate this might not be helpful to everybody, but it's just how I do it, and I'm very happy to clarify any point that makes no sense.
- Good front rack position: humerus parallel to the ground;
- working hip hinge; this is where the power comes from;
- strong core: lose bracing in an Olympic lift and you can kiss your back, lumbar, shoulders,etc. good-bye. And the bar doesn't move, which isn't what we're aiming for.
The easiest cues to follow for the clean actually come from learning how to snatch, bizarrely. This is because there is a much more obvious connection between the hip drive, bar, core and shoulders with the snatch than there is with the clean.
So. The snatch...
Start with the bar in a double overhand dead lift grip in a standing upright position. Brace your core hard, pulling your shoulders back and give your knees a slight bend (I've heard 5 degrees mentioned). St your hips back a couple of inches to create a little crook between your thigh and pelvis. From here, move your hands out along the bar until the bar is resting in that crook. This is your snatch grip.
Now, sit your hips back a few inches further until your braced torso is at between vertical and 45 degrees: the bar should be hanging around your thigh somewhere. This is the hang snatch position that I use.
The next bit is where we see how much power (not force) you can generate from your glutes and hamstrings. Keeping your core braced hard, am your hips through the bar as hard and as fast as you can, pushing from your heels. You'll know you've done this correctly with gusto when the sleeves on the bar start to buzz with the impact. This is why I call it bar humping.
You may notice your upper body flopping back as you do this, and that's because your core bracing has slackened off. This might not be so important with just the bar, but if you ever want to get past this point, brace that core hard. Your end position should be with your hips almost hyper-extended through the bar in a standing position. Rinse and repeat, whilst getting very funny looks from everybody in the gym that doesn't know any better.
Once you've got a good bar hump sorted, and the bar is buzzing like a nest of hornets and swinging out and up in front of you, it's time for the power shrug. This is not like a Dumbell shrug at all. With your shoulders pinned back and with as much power as you can, shrug your shoulders up so that your elbows bounce up and you wind up in that classic mannequin position (humerus at 90 degrees from your body but always above the bar). Do this enough, and your traps will thank you.
The reason I'd suggest the snatch first is because there is a really positive connection between the hip drive and the barbell - your pelvis should actually be ramming through the bar and you should have a very sore pubis bone from where it's been cracked against the bar.
This is hopefully a reasonably clear guide on how to drive the hips for the snatch. The clean is no different in principle, but will feel different because there isn't the same obvious positive connection with the bar: apply the same technique, but with your hands in the dead lift position. You'll know you've done this right when you start getting very sore thighs from where the bar knurling rubs up against them at pace. There won't be the same buzz from the barbell sleeves as with the snatch drive, but you should still et the bar soaring out in front of you.
I appreciate this might not be helpful to everybody, but it's just how I do it, and I'm very happy to clarify any point that makes no sense.
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