Thank’s for checking our Power Clean 101 here a CrossFit Downtown Heights, located in Downtown Tampa Florida. In this article we will cover every aspect of the olympic style lift known as the “Power Clean”. Power refer’s to the fact that an athlete’s hip can not go below the crease of the knee in the “catch” part of this movement. Let’s Begin Tampa CrossFit athletes!
Squat v.s. Power Clean, What’s The Difference?
In a metcon, if the variation of the lift is not specified, do whichever will be fastest. Usually, this means power clean, power snatch, and power/push jerk. At least that’s how we do our cleans here at CrossFit Downtown Heights, Tampa Florida.
During the strength part of class, if the lift isn’t specified as a power movement, perform a squat. You will be lifting a heavy weight that needs to be caught in a squat either way, or warming up for that, and so practicing the movement. If you are someone who can power clean/snatch more than if you receive it in a squat, this does not mean you should do that. This means you have either technique deficiencies or strength deficiencies, or both, and there’s a lot work to do, starting with lots of practice with the full variation of the Clean.
The clean is the first part of the clean and jerk, contested at competitive Tampa CrossFit meets. It is sometimes considered the Boss of all lifts because in weightlifting comps in Tampa, they are typically won by the guy or gal with the biggest clean and jerk (not just the snatch).
Of course, you probably have known the clean for much longer. Since you were first introduced to its ugly cousin the power clean in high school strength class, CrossFit gym, or by a random person in the gym (ugly referring to the level of technique that we all started with).
The clean is one explosive movement to drive the bar to the front rack, and because of its shorter nature than the snatch, much higher weights can be used in the clean than can be used in the snatch. The heavier loads in the clean usually mean that I teach it second, primarily because cleaning before you snatch leads to slow arms in the turnover portion of the lift while going overhead in the snatch.
We teach the clean to our members in a top down manner; that is you will read of the technical elements of the clean from the top first, starting at the receiving position, and ending with the bottom, the start position at the floor. After driving the bar upwards we shoot our elbows through, pulling ourselves under the bar so it is sitting across our chest on the collar bones and shoulders. For examples of this you can check our workout videos on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. CrossFit Downtown Heights Tampa, FL.
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