Barbell Power Clean Receiving Position

This article discusses the finishing or receiving position for the barbell power clean.  More specifically, we’ll be addressing hand and foot placement on the barbell.  We will cover points of performance for the front rack.  The front squat will also be discussed in detail.  Proper performance of a barbell power clean in weightlifting requires mastery of the finishing position discussed infra.

Barbell Power Clean Receiving Position

Barbell Power Clean Grip and Hand Placement

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When preparing to perform the power clean the first thing you may think about is where do you put your hands and feet? Should they be hip width? Wider than shoulder width? So basically the closer underneath my hips you can get, the more power transfer you can get. Now if you have enough mobility and you can go all the way down to the bar with a straight back you want to be hip width apart. If you can’t quite get there because maybe you don’t have enough ankle mobility, you move slightly wider, but the vectors in your leg are going to reduce power the wider you go. When you go down you keep a straight back

The next question comes about where do you put your hands? Since your going to have to catch it in the front rack position so you will want your hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Otherwise you may land in a faulty position. So a slightly wider grip with a hook grip would be ideal.

Barbell Power Clean: Front Rack Points of Performance

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Darren on the Barbell Power Clean Receiving Position
Darren on the Power Clean Receiving Position

In the front rack position you want to get the barbell as close to your collar bone as possible and at the same time lift your elbows as high as you can get them. Try your best to get your elbows as high as your shoulders and push them out. The hands and arms also help to stabilize the barbell but the barbell should be stabilized primarily by your trunk with the contact point of the barbell being the crease between the shoulders and the collarbone. A tight core at this point of the clean and throughout the entire movement is very important and increases the overall stability of the clean.

Barbell Power Clean: Front Rack Importance and Risk of Injury

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The front rack is very important because it is the finishing position of the clean. The clean will be faulted if this position cannot be correctly maintained. If the elbows are too low then unnecessary strain is created on the wrists and elbows. If the barbell is not resting on your shoulders then this can cause strain on the shoulders and potential injury. So if the proper form for the front rack cannot be reached, then it is imperative that you do stretching and mobility exercises to improve elbow and wrist mobility to execute the position correctly.

Barbell Power Clean: Front Squat Points of Performance

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Barbell Power Clean Weightlifting: Front Squat Points of Performance
Front Squat Points of Performance

In order of priority the first point of performance for the front squat would be midline stability and keeping the core tight. The second point of performance would be knee adduction and meaning that the knees are moving outward as much as possible. Point of performance number three would be keeping the bar balanced in the frontal plane and making sure that it does not travel in the sagittal or transverse plane creating an unbalanced movement. Maintenance of the front rack would be number four and it allows the weight to travel vertically without any danger of causing injury due to an insecure front rack position. Lastly having your feet shoulder width apart as opposed to hip width at the beginning of the clean is important and helps to prevent butt wink or tilting of the pelvis.

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