Why Do We Power Clean and What About the Alternative?

As one of the most popular lifts for improving total body power, strength and conditioning coaches prescribe the power clean for those sports whose primary movements closely mimic the mechanics of the exercise (football, basketball, volleyball) and often those that do not (baseball, distance running).

The research has proven the obvious benefits of the exercise and it's carry over into athletic movement:

1. We know that the Olympic style movements are physiologically the most powerful movements man can perform. To move hundreds of pounds that far and that fast, is remarkable considering the lower power output of movements with significantly more weight.
2. The erectors (low back), glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps work together (assuming the lift is performed from the ground) in much the same way as many triple-extension movements such as vertical jumping, firing off of the line or tackling in football, and many basketball and volleyball movements. This same action can occur horizontally as well.
3. There appears to be a correlation in regards to the power clean or pulls and vertical jumping, horizontal jumping and sprint speed. As performance (amount of weight lifted) improves in the clean, improvements in jumping and sprinting speed also occur. Likewise, and I can attest to this in my own experiences, those with superior power clean poundage's tend to have the better jumps and sprints.

Why Do We Test?
Testing is the only way to properly evaluate any program. Without testing of some kind, a program remains without purpose or expectations - essentially aimless. So it makes sense to test the exercises that make up the foundation of your weight lifting program to establish norms for specific sports, positions or age groups. Testing should also be used to validate the training methods, answering the question "Do the testing results or the testing methods reflect what we are trying to accomplish?" For instance, employing a 1RM test when the training method was repetitions of 8-10 will produce confusing results. Or, let's say, our goal is to improve the values of endurance or speed endurance, which would contraindicate a training program emphasizing, and testing for low repetition.

As stated earlier, the power clean has been used to enhance explosive movements or physiological qualities that are inherent to various sports. Testing the clean and other parameters associated with power can establish data for tracking and validating the benefits and progress of an athletes training and a coaches program. However, strength and conditioning coaches should not prescribe the power clean with the primary or secondary purpose of improving the power clean for power clean sake. That is to say, the process of teaching and refining the power clean should never weaken or dominate the fundamental objective - using the movement to enhance other physical qualities. It is one of several movements used to improve in other areas more closely related to athletics and should be included in a program for only that reason.

The Downside of Using the Power Clean in a Program
As beneficial as the power clean is, there remains drawbacks:

1. Teaching and learning the full movement - from the floor to the racked position at the shoulders - can be complex and difficult. So much so that the time it takes to fully master the movements might be better spent on some other aspects of a program.
2. Due to the lack of flexibility in various body parts, some athletes cannot properly perform the lift no matter what effort is employed.
3. During testing or training, athletes will "rack" the bar at various heights. This will lead to invalid data and an inaccurate evaluation to follow.

The Alternative - Clean Pulls
John Garhammer has done some extensive research on the Olympic style movements that are both interesting and important. Of the several pieces of information that he has made available, the one thing that has stood out in my mind over the years is that after the pulling motion brings the bar to about waist height ( a little higher for the power clean) the force input on the bar and bar velocity are at minimum values. This illustrates that the "racking" of the bar is of a technical nature and neither improves nor hinders power output or its carry-over. What does this all mean? The pulling motion is when all the work is performed and where all the benefits of the power clean are derived.

The question will be asked of the role held by the power clean in a training program. I believe it continues to be a big part of training and in the proper setting an important test. However, the pull can be tested and evaluated regardless of the methods and testing parameters. And, if push comes to shove, one could suggest that testing and evaluation should be compared only to previous individual tests. So, although some of your athletes are "cleaning" and others "pulling," you continue to gather data evaluated on an individual basis to assess group progress.

How do we do all this? A height has to be determined to which a "successful" lift is attributed. The tester can use the visual cue of the bar reaching a height or various other methods. One would be to test the pull in a power rack and run an easily attached string across the standard so that the bar must touch the string to be successful. I know what you are thinking, but I can assure you at maximum poundage's you cannot "cheat" the bar up on one side nor are you able to lift the bar the recommended height without having excellent form. You can test in a similar way outside of the rack by using portable squat standards and the string method or drop the standards down to the agreed upon height and set a light wooden stick or dowel on top of the standards. The bar will be lifted in such a manner that the end of the bar will hit the stick if the lift is successful.

My Point
In the early 80's the Olympic weightlifting movements were popular and for a good reason. Even then some coaches were testing and training only the hang clean (starting bar position was at mid-thigh) which for me, when compared to the movements from the floor, is nearly a waist of time for any athlete other than a competitive lifter. Furthermore, when the hang clean becomes a test of one's ability to "swing" the weight as opposed to pulling, it becomes even clearer that this movement has little or no carryover. Currently, there seems to be a renewal of interest in these lifts and I am not sure there exists a full understanding of neither the technical aspects nor the actual benefits. The following additional points are necessary to consider:

Coaches who extol the clean-at-all-costs attitude are entirely missing the point of the movement. If athletes have trouble racking the bar or take longer to technically master the entire lift, then the evaluation should be based on the clean dead lift or the clean pull. Carefully and thoroughly communicating the philosophy of the movement and the modifications to the sport's coach will alleviate any questions about the program and the ability to test. The bottom line: if the athlete can perform on the field, court or pool then all will be put to rest regarding the full power clean.

The hang clean as a test or training tool. Similar to the answer to the previous question- the hang clean is missing the point. The clean out of the hang position above the knee misses the necessary and important development of the lower body and the production of force from the ground. Moreover, there are few sport specific positions that are identical to the hang position above the knee. A position from just below the knee or mid-shin would bring about a more specific training effect. The bottom line: if your athlete can power clean more out of the hang than from the floor, the athlete and his physical development has been short changed.

Learn the movement technically and physiologically. One key factor in coaching is self-evaluation. Coach only what you can coach. The power clean and all its benefits can be a detriment if the coach does not know how to teach it properly. And, if you can teach it properly, knowing the biomechanics and the results of those biomechanics will not only enhance the implementation of the movements but leave no doubt in a coaches mind what to do when modifications are necessary. Bottom line: a decisive, knowledgeable coach is a leader.

The literature has left no doubt as to the benefits of the power clean in an athletes program provided it is specific to the sport and its need. However, implementing the lift because of its popularity or because other programs include it is plain wrong. Know the lift and its technical aspects including the physiology of the affects. And, while the benefits are obvious, your training objectives should always be the primary focus regardless of inclusion, modification, or complete exclusion of the Olympic style movements.