Power Clean vs. Power Pull
Here's a part of an old article that adequately addresses this issue, I think...
OLYMPIC LIFTING AS A TRAINING METHOD FOR ATHLETES
"Whoa! Dr. Squat!" you mutter, not relishing the thought of having to engage in so much lightening-quick movement. "If the weight's heavy, you've gotta move SLOW!"
Really? Tch! Tch! So, let me make a few points.
First, if you were as capable as a weightlifter of "turning on" as great a percentage of all of your muscle fibers instantly during your shot put, you long jump or each individual step in your 100 meter dash, perhaps you'd be winning more. Chances are, you lose because you simply never learned to "turn on" maximally. There's a learning curve involved in explosiveness-- it's far more than simply lifting the weight. And remember, those explosive fast-twitch muscle fibers have a disconcertingly low oxidative capacity (assuming you have any in the first place).
Then there's the "compensatory acceleration" factor that I speak of in countless articles. You see, Olympic-style lifters MUST compensate for improving leverage during the course of the pull by accelerating the bar (as in the second pull). Otherwise, they'd never impart sufficient upward momentum to the bar in order to get under it. So, I ask you, if YOUR leverage is improving during any given sports movement (and it almost always IS), how come YOU don't take advantage of that fact? Probably because you never learned HOW!
Let's not forget the fact that many of your sports movements are MUCH like those used in weightlifting. Jumping, exploding, and related movements are all total-body movements that must be learned.
"Aw, Fred! My elbows and shoulders are too tight to rack the bar! I'll tear myself up!"
Tch! Tch! Y'know what? Maybe -- just maybe -- getting a little flexibility in those joints will aid in preventing a few of those aches and pains I keep hearing about from so many athletes (but RARELY hear from Olympic lifters). It's probably a good idea to wear wrist wraps, though. No point in traumatizing yourself. In fact, if it's THAT bad, at least do the explosive pulling portion of the lift (called a "high pull"). You don't have to actually "rack" the bar on your shoulders to derive benefit.
"Yeah, but what about that ballistic shock on my knees hitting the bottom during a snatch or clean? My knees can't take it!"
Now, I'm not saying that you need to go out and start doing ballistic drops to a rock-bottom squat position with maximum weights on your body. What I AM saying is that you need to break into it slowly, doing some light stuff. But you needn't go to rock bottom. While your body has a wonderful, built-in adaptive ability that will most certainly aid in preparing your knees for the tremendous stresses involved in moving heavy iron in your powerlifting skills, the ballistic forces involved in maximum Olympic lifting are (at very best) degenerative for everyone, including the Olympic lifters. Start slowly and with lighter weights. Maybe even an empty bar, just to learn the movements. And, stick to the power cleans and snatches where you're catching the bar at about the depth of a half-squat or so.
"OK, so if I shouldn't go rock-bottom, do cleans if my wrists hurt, or use max weights, what SHOULD I do?"
Power cleans or (if you can't handle the wrist, shoulder or elbow flexibility requirements), high pulls. Five sets of 3 once weekly off-season. Concentrate on compensatorily accelerating the bar, and catching the bar's harmonic unbending action.
Front squats (if you don't have a safety squat bar) and overhead squats (for the squat workout of your LIFE!). Five sets of five once weekly off-season. These squats will target your quads as well as any exercise there is.
Power snatches (catching the bar overhead at a half-squat) and muscle snatches (pull to overhead without re-bending your knees). Five sets of three once weekly off-season. Concentrate on compensatory acceleration and catching the bar's harmonic unbending action.
Push jerks (drive the bar upward without re-bending your knees to get under the bar), 3-5 sets of three once weekly early preseason. Concentrate on max weight, leg drive, and compensatory acceleration.
Apply some of the pulling techniques spoken of in regards to sports-related jumping technique, including the double knee bend. It's not uncommon to add up to 4 inches on your vertical jump imediately, just by learning how to take advantage of tissue viscoelasticity and stretch reflex stemming from the double knee bend technique. Practice, practice. But only under an expert eye.
I'll wager you'll become a better athlete. And, that's the bottom line
OLYMPIC LIFTING AS A TRAINING METHOD FOR ATHLETES
"Whoa! Dr. Squat!" you mutter, not relishing the thought of having to engage in so much lightening-quick movement. "If the weight's heavy, you've gotta move SLOW!"
Really? Tch! Tch! So, let me make a few points.
First, if you were as capable as a weightlifter of "turning on" as great a percentage of all of your muscle fibers instantly during your shot put, you long jump or each individual step in your 100 meter dash, perhaps you'd be winning more. Chances are, you lose because you simply never learned to "turn on" maximally. There's a learning curve involved in explosiveness-- it's far more than simply lifting the weight. And remember, those explosive fast-twitch muscle fibers have a disconcertingly low oxidative capacity (assuming you have any in the first place).
Then there's the "compensatory acceleration" factor that I speak of in countless articles. You see, Olympic-style lifters MUST compensate for improving leverage during the course of the pull by accelerating the bar (as in the second pull). Otherwise, they'd never impart sufficient upward momentum to the bar in order to get under it. So, I ask you, if YOUR leverage is improving during any given sports movement (and it almost always IS), how come YOU don't take advantage of that fact? Probably because you never learned HOW!
Let's not forget the fact that many of your sports movements are MUCH like those used in weightlifting. Jumping, exploding, and related movements are all total-body movements that must be learned.
"Aw, Fred! My elbows and shoulders are too tight to rack the bar! I'll tear myself up!"
Tch! Tch! Y'know what? Maybe -- just maybe -- getting a little flexibility in those joints will aid in preventing a few of those aches and pains I keep hearing about from so many athletes (but RARELY hear from Olympic lifters). It's probably a good idea to wear wrist wraps, though. No point in traumatizing yourself. In fact, if it's THAT bad, at least do the explosive pulling portion of the lift (called a "high pull"). You don't have to actually "rack" the bar on your shoulders to derive benefit.
"Yeah, but what about that ballistic shock on my knees hitting the bottom during a snatch or clean? My knees can't take it!"
Now, I'm not saying that you need to go out and start doing ballistic drops to a rock-bottom squat position with maximum weights on your body. What I AM saying is that you need to break into it slowly, doing some light stuff. But you needn't go to rock bottom. While your body has a wonderful, built-in adaptive ability that will most certainly aid in preparing your knees for the tremendous stresses involved in moving heavy iron in your powerlifting skills, the ballistic forces involved in maximum Olympic lifting are (at very best) degenerative for everyone, including the Olympic lifters. Start slowly and with lighter weights. Maybe even an empty bar, just to learn the movements. And, stick to the power cleans and snatches where you're catching the bar at about the depth of a half-squat or so.
"OK, so if I shouldn't go rock-bottom, do cleans if my wrists hurt, or use max weights, what SHOULD I do?"
Power cleans or (if you can't handle the wrist, shoulder or elbow flexibility requirements), high pulls. Five sets of 3 once weekly off-season. Concentrate on compensatorily accelerating the bar, and catching the bar's harmonic unbending action.
Front squats (if you don't have a safety squat bar) and overhead squats (for the squat workout of your LIFE!). Five sets of five once weekly off-season. These squats will target your quads as well as any exercise there is.
Power snatches (catching the bar overhead at a half-squat) and muscle snatches (pull to overhead without re-bending your knees). Five sets of three once weekly off-season. Concentrate on compensatory acceleration and catching the bar's harmonic unbending action.
Push jerks (drive the bar upward without re-bending your knees to get under the bar), 3-5 sets of three once weekly early preseason. Concentrate on max weight, leg drive, and compensatory acceleration.
Apply some of the pulling techniques spoken of in regards to sports-related jumping technique, including the double knee bend. It's not uncommon to add up to 4 inches on your vertical jump imediately, just by learning how to take advantage of tissue viscoelasticity and stretch reflex stemming from the double knee bend technique. Practice, practice. But only under an expert eye.
I'll wager you'll become a better athlete. And, that's the bottom line
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