AREA 51 OLYMIC LIFING MEET FULL
Consider attempting a maximal vertical jump-if given the choice, would you start from a full squat (full knee and hip flexion), or a depth closer to a quarter squat (partial hip and knee flexion)? At what angle of a stiff-legged deadlift or good morning can you really accelerate the bar? Second, the reduced torque on the hips with a more upright back angle allows greater hip extension speed during the second pull because the lower degree of initial torque allows better acceleration and creates less fatigue. Because the lower back is most easily fatigued relative to the other muscle groups involved in the lift, and these muscles must be able to maintain rigidity of the spine during the second pull in order to maximize the conversion of hip and knee extension power to acceleration of the barbell, more work by the lower back early in the lift will mean less rigidity and more of the hips’ and legs’ power being absorbed by back flexion.
First, this more upright angle minimizes hip and lumbar torque and consequently fatigue of the spinal extensors during the first pull. The optimal second pull position can be defined in essence by the ideal degree of concurrent knee and hip flexion and balance on the feet to generate maximal force against the ground and therefore upward acceleration of the barbell.īasically our goal in the starting position is to maintain an upright posture that places the arms approximately vertical when viewed from the athlete’s side.
(Note that this does not mean that speed generated during the first pull is neither helpful nor necessary). The first pull serves only to optimize the second the starting position serves to allow that second-pull-optimizing first pull. The second pull of the snatch and clean is the source of the overwhelming majority of the upward power of the barbell-it is this final, abrupt explosion primarily that creates the upward momentum on the bar that allows the lifter to relocate underneath it. If you don’t understand that, none of the following details explaining or describing the starting position will matter. If you take away only one point from this entire article, it should be that one. Most importantly, we need to understand this: The purpose of the starting position (and first pull) is to allow an optimal second & third pull. Before we continue, let’s first establish what exactly we’re talking about.