GET THE BEST RACK POSITION YOU CAN

A strong rack position improves your chances of standing up out of a heavy clean. It is common for beginners to struggle with the position as people often have incredibly tight lats and triceps.

-Foam rolling the lats, triceps, & wrists and stretching them during your warm up will help get those elbows higher and the bar comfortably resting on the shoulders while still gripping the bar

-Stretching out using the bar is also a great way to improve it:
Place the barbell into the back squat position, and use the weight of the bar to rotate one elbow up at a time whilst keeping the hands on the bar and the body straight.

Tip: If your mobility isn't quite there and you have to sacrifice gripping the bar in the rack position to have your elbows up, sacrifice the grip and open your hands.

Step 1: Setup

Begin with the bar on the floor positioned against your shins over your shoelaces. Stand with your feet hip-width apart (this is our pulling position for almost all lifts), reach down and grab the bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip, using hook grip (grab your thumb behind the bar)

Sit your butt down and your chest up.

Set your shoulder blades (scaps) down and back (put them in your back pockets)

Tighten your core

Your elbows should be rotated out to the sides with your arms completely straight

Look straight ahead

Step 2: First Pull

Pull the bar off the floor by powerfully extending your legs

Make sure you keep your back flat and your chest up

The bar should travel vertically in a straight line (not into you like during a Deadlift)

Step 3: Scoop

Once the bar is above your knees, shift your torso to a vertical position and slightly rebend your knees.

Step 4: Second Pull (the most powerful portion of the movement)

VIOLENTLY jumping straight up and back (like your about to attempt a back flip), fully extending your hips, knees and ankles (triple extension)

Open your feet to your squat position

Simultaneously shrug the bar with your shoulders.

Keep the bar as close to your body as possible by ensuring your knuckles stay down and you pull your elbows to your ears (think of a scarecrow), high and outside (not back)

Step 5: Catch

QUICKLY PULL YOURSELF UNDER THE BAR

Drive your elbows forward around the bar to the front rack position (across the front of your shoulders)

Drop into the squat position with your back straight and elbows staying up

Step 6: Now stand up

As you get better and your front squat is the limiting factor to the amount of weight that you can clean try bouncing out of the hole.

Once you are in a stable bottom position (back straight, chest up, elbows up, etc), come up a little and bounce down then back up.

PERFECT THE FIRST PULL:

Due to the heavier weight used in the clean versus the snatch, a bad first pull will cause serious problems.

During the first pull the shoulders should stay over the bar AND the back to hip angle should REMAIN THE SAME.

Often people mistakenly let their hips rise as soon as the bar moves (stripper butt). Your knees only have to move a small amount to get out of the way of the bar as it passes the knees.

Pushing your knees back switches off the power from the legs and puts it all on the back.

The more pressure you can keep on the front of the foot, the more your legs will be primed to move into triple extension.

MEET THE BAR:

We don' want the bar to come crashing down on your shoulders causing you to crumble you into a ball!

Timing is VERY IMPORTANT, meeting the bar, where you pull it, or in a full squat and "catching the bounce" out of the squat is essential to coming out of a heavy clean with ease.

These can all improve that timing for heavier weights.
Hang Cleans,
Block Cleans and
Semi-Power Cleans (catching halfway and then squatting all the way down)
The later is most common in our CrossFit setting.

Coach PROPER Clean Technique:

Input heaviest weight that a coach watched you complete CORRECTLY. If it is done incorrectly, the coach will have you go back down in weight and redo it correctly

GOOD POSTURE EQUALS A BETTER CLEAN:

Having a tight mid-back from all those hours sitting at the desk or whatever the case may be, can be a complete hindrance on a strong clean.

Catching a clean with a rounded mid-back (thoracic Spine) will force the elbows down and cause your squat to be much more difficult, which can drain the energy from you and put unnecessary pressure onto the wrists and back– which is a one way ticket to injury.

TO HELP IMPROVE THIS:

1. Grab a taped double lacross ball and position it in the middle of your back around the bottom of your rib cage one ball on each side of your vertebrae.

2. Pass your arms from pointing straight up to over head 15-20 times

3. Move the lacross balls up one vertebrae and repeat.

Next Seated Pigeon Stretch:

1. Sit down on the ground with your left knee bent up and right leg down.

2. Reach your right elbow around the back of your left knee an torque your spine.

Tips:
Keep your back straight and vertical.
This will also stretch you outer hip.