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Thursday 14 June 2012

For the boys


Hello dear followers!
This week I'm going to give you the low down on an Olympic lift; the powerclean. Thanks to Eric for his beautiful demonstration.
First, it is imperative that you warm up your shoulders:


We use the stick to begin with, to get the feel for the movement, though you may feel like a bit of a dork...
To set up: shins touch the bar, hips sit lower than the shoulders, bar grip is wide, shoulders are forward of the bar and the back should be in the normal lordotic posture (curvature). The back is tight, (switch on those lats) and we slowly move the bar off the ground. 


The first pull is to knee height where the shoulders remain forward, elbows remain extended as the hips & knees extend (yes this is like a basic deadlift).

The second pull is to full extension and there is a rapid increase in movement velocity (speed). At full extension the hips finally meet the bar, rise onto your toes and the shoulders "shrug".


The elbows bend as the bar travels overhead...



The bar is secured overhead with elbows fully extended.


As you can see in this video, from full extension Eric drops into a full squat position before the Catch, the hips should be between the feet in this low squat (please maintain the spinal curvature).



This is a resistance exercise that trains functional strength, utilising the major muscle groups and can be incorporated into any training program.

Cheers & Giggles
xx