Topic: Power Clean Technique Clarification

[selbyspicer]

Hello,

Could anyone clarify the role of jumping in the technique for the power clean?
I was always taught not to jump, when the feet leave the floor you are no longer able to push. However, I am aware that it assists with the triple extension too, so what is right?

Many Thanks,

Selby

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

I do not believe it is possible to do a heavy snatch, clean, or jerk without the feet leaving the ground (jumping). The length of time the feet are in the air should be as short as possible however.

[selbyspicer]

Chris,

Thanks for the welcome and the swift reply. I was hoping you may pick up on my question.
Why do you think I was taught otherwise, it was in my early bobsleigh days by some experienced lifters.
I read recently that there is some differences between the "power" and "squat" clean, and apart from the depth, this is one of them.
I have tripled 115kg, and that was with feet on the floor with good ankle extension. I am by no means an olympic lifter, I have only ever used the power clean as an assistance exercise for rugby union, bobsleigh and powerlifting. I now advocate and use it for players who ask my advice. I would like to be secure in my mind the differences and the reasons.
Regards,
Selby

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Selby,

I can't really speak to why other coaches have or teach different philosophies. But, I believe teaching the lifts as a jump is the most useful and intuitive method. The biomechanics of the lifts and jumping have been proven in peer-reviewed, scientific studies to be extremely similar. Some things I have read from some internet "gurus" regarding other philosophies really made no sense to me, not in the sense that I disagree but that it just was nonsensical. Paragraphs and paragraphs of dense, complex verbage to describe what really is not such a complex movement in my opinion. And then I looked at lifters they coach and it looks like they are jumping to me, just like lifters that are taught to jump. It may be that they believe teaching lifters to jump encourages them to lift the feet off the ground higher than is optimum.

Cheers

[Mike Wittmer]

I do not understand the issue with jumping either.  I have been told the thinking is that, without your feet on the platform, you cannot exert force on the bar.  I have heard that from "international" level coaches.  It makes no sense.  It seems to me that, at some point, the bar will not continue in an upward path.  At that point, it is the position of the bar relative to the body, not the platform, that is important.  You can pull your body under the bar without the feet on the platform.  Some over emphasize the jump and this could be a problem if, once the bar is overhead or shouldered, the feet are not in a stable position to provide a solid base for the squat.     

I say leaving the platform with the feet is fine, as long as the feet are solid and stable when the bar is received in the lockout or shouldered position.  I hope this makes sense.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Hmmm...interesting comments Mike.

I guess I forgot to mention that I think there is a tendency among coaches, "even" myself, to inflate their own value, and one way to do that is to make the lifts seem more complicated then they really are. In my opinion, a great coach is someone who makes sense to the athlete, who is understandable, who can make the lifts seem simple, and give advice that can be easily put to immediate use. If it takes a dictionary and hours of study to get anything out of a coaching tip, then I tend to feel the tip is useless, or just wrong. I bet you could have told Bryan Jacob or Tim McRae, or Shane Hamman, etc to try to swim while they lift or imagine they are skating on ice or whatever, and they still would have lifted huge weights. To a large extent, I think the coach's job is mainly to stay the heck out of the way and let the lifter lift hard and often. I'm not saying the coach doesn't play an extremely valuable role, but its a balance I think.

I hope other coaches will "weigh" in on this one as I think its a great topic. 

PS
I don't think there is much difference between power cleans and squat cleans, in terms of jumping.

[selbyspicer]

Guys,

Thanks very much, very enlightening.
Like Mike, I was told to keep feet on the floor to exert force. I will try the new technique out and let you know how it goes.
Your coaching philosophy is spot on. Open the door and let the athlete step through. An athlete has to coach himself as much as be coached, only the athlete can interpret and learn how he feels when he is performing the right technique.. the coaches knowledge and experience will facilitate, guide and encourage. The more the athlete develops and reaches their full potential, the more the coach can be satisfied they have done a good job.
Thanks again,
Selby

[Andy Dick]

The only time I have heard to jump the feet higher off the floor as an effective coaching que is if the athlete is constantly catching the weight on the toes.  Jumping and then forcing the feet down (loud cleans you sometimes see people do) especially with weight usually causes them to land with the feel flat.  But I would only do it a little so they get the feel for landing feet flat and then eliminate it.  Usually once they get the concept, which is pretty quick, it really no longer needs to be done.  It is hard to forcefully slam (this being a extreme term but you get the point) your feet down on your toes.  I agree with Chris too that once you start going heavy you will not be able to jump or want to jump (unless you are "jumping down under the bar" - but that is totally different).  I do not like to ever tell the athlete to jump with the weight really unless it is as stated above because it seems to confuse them a lot.  Jumping down under the bar seems to be effective for some though too...so it be it boils down to how you use the term jump and if it makes sense to the athlete
.