This Mistake Will RUIN All Your Lifts!

Want to improve every one of your lifts with one fix? Make sure you're doing this. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 05/27/23)

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Cleans vs Power Cleans vs Hang Cleans - What's the Difference?!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 10/20/23)

Cleans, hang cleans, power cleans, hang power cleans - what are the differences between these lifts, and how can we remember these differences in an easy and practical manner? To sort this out, we first need to understand two words - hang and power.

HANG
Hang refers to a starting position, so if you see the word hang, then you know the lift starts with the bar hanging in your hands. Common hang positions include the mid-thigh, low thigh, above the knee, below the knee, and even mid-shin, but most often (without any other specific qualifiers), hang typically refers to a start position at the mid to low thigh. 

Finally, note that if you don’t see the word hang, then you know the lift starts with the bar resting on the floor.

POWER
Power refers to a landing position (AKA receiving position), i.e., the position in which you catch or rack the bar. When you see the word power, simply think partial squat (tip: power and partial both start with the letter “p”). Thus, if you see the word power, you’re going to receive the clean in a partial depth squat (i.e., not a full depth squat). If you don’t see the word power, then you know you’re going to receive the clean in a full depth squat.

Now that you’ve got those two terms down, it’s time for the actual lifts . . 

CLEAN (AKA squat clean or full clean)
Since you don’t see the word hang, the bar starts on the floor, and since you don’t see the word power, it’s not received in a partial squat and is therefore received in a full depth front squat before being stood up. 

In summary, the clean starts with the bar on the floor, the bar is accelerated upward, it is received in a full depth front squat, and then the lifter recovers (i.e., stands up).

POWER CLEAN
You don’t see the word hang, so the bar starts on the floor, but you do see the word power, so the bar is received in a partial depth front squat.

In summary, the power clean starts with the bar on the floor, the bar is accelerated upward, it is received in a partial depth front squat, and then the lifter recovers.

HANG CLEAN
You see the word hang, so the bar starts hanging in the lifter’s hands, but you don’t see the word power, so the bar is received in a full depth front squat.

In summary, the hang clean starts with the bar hanging in the hands, the bar is accelerated upward, it is received in a full depth front squat, and then the lifter recovers.

HANG POWER CLEAN
Not surprisingly, this is a combination of both the hang clean and the power clean - the love child of both of those lifts. You see the word hang, so the bar starts hanging in the lifter’s hands, and you also see the word power, so the bar is received in a partial depth front squat.

In summary, the hang power clean starts with the bar hanging in the hands, the bar is accelerated upward, it is received in a partial depth front squat, and then the lifter recovers.

By knowing what hang and power mean - and knowing what it means when those words aren’t present - you’ll be able to consistently figure out these variations of the clean. As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

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Pulling Blocks: What, Why, and DIY vs. Commercial (Which Should YOU Use?)

What are pulling blocks, why are they useful, and should you buy them or make them yourself? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers it all.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 05/15/23)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

The Jerk: Landing Positions

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 07/02/21)

We’ve covered the three landing positions for both the snatch and the clean in past articles, and not surprisingly, there are also three landing positions for the jerk. Again, each has its own advantages, so let’s briefly cover them:

POWER JERK

Landing Position: Partial squat

Jonny performs a power jerk.

Advantage: The power jerk is the simplest to learn as your feet do not travel far from their original position. Your feet don’t move very much as they barely leave the ground and then immediately land in a squat-width stance. You receive the bar overhead with your hips and legs in a partial-depth squat position. Due to its simplicity, the power jerk often serves as an intermediate step on the way to learning either the squat jerk or the split jerk.

Note: If your feet never leave the ground during this movement, many coaches will call this a push jerk to distinguish it from a power jerk (but some coaches use the terms interchangeably).

SQUAT JERK

Landing Position: Squat (i.e., full-depth squat)

Jonny performs a squat jerk.

Advantage: Of the three landing positions, the squat jerk allows lifters to drop the farthest under the bar, which means the barbell doesn’t have to be lifted as high before locking it out overhead. With this in mind, there is great potential with the squat jerk, but this potential is tempered by two drawbacks - first, the lifter needs excellent flexibility to achieve what is essentially a narrow-grip overhead squat position in the receiving position for this jerk, and second, the lifter has relatively little stability from front-to-back due to the lack of a split (see the split jerk below), so the squat jerk is extremely unforgiving of jerks that are slightly forward or backward.

SPLIT JERK

Landing Position: Split stance

Jonny performs a split jerk.

Advantage: The split jerk allows the lifter to drop further under the bar than the power jerk without requiring the ability to drop into the squat jerk position, and due to the front-to-back split, the split jerk is more stable. For this reason, the split jerk is - by far - the most commonly executed jerk in training and competition.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

What is a Hang Power Clean? | Olympic Weightlifting Technique

What is a hang power clean? How is it different from a hang clean, power clean, or clean? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers it all here in one minute.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 02/25/23)

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Easy Setup for Deadlift, Snatch, & Clean

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 07/28/23)

Whether you’re deadlifting, cleaning, or snatching, we’d like a setup process that is as simple, efficient, and consistent as possible. With that in mind, we’re going to take the 5-step deadlift setup process and quickly learn how to apply it - with very minor modifications - to the clean and the snatch.

DEADLIFT SETUP
Let’s briefly recap the 5-step deadlift process, and for a more detailed treatment, you can watch the included video.

Step 1: Stance
The stance is narrow (heels about hip width apart), your shins are one inch from the barbell, which places the bar over the middle of your foot, and your toes are pointed out slightly (roughly 10-15 degrees).

Step 2: Grip
Bend over and take your grip on the barbell. Your grip is relatively narrow - just outside the legs. Don’t let your shins touch the bar during this step, and DO NOT move the bar (i.e., don’t let the bar roll forward or backward at all).

tyler demonstrates the deadlift start position and is ready to pull.

Step 3: Shins
Bend your knees slightly until your shins touch the bar (this means your hips should drop, but only a bit). Also, shove your knees out slightly - your knees should touch the insides of your arms. Again, do not move the bar.

Step 4: Chest
Squeeze your chest up to set your back in rigid, flat extension. Your hips DO NOT drop during this step, and you still DO NOT move the bar.

Step 5: Pull
Pushing the floor away from you with your legs, drag the bar up your legs until you’ve locked out the bar at the top of the lift.

CLEAN SETUP
Moving on to the clean, there are two small changes. Step 1 (stance) is the same, and we then encounter the first change in Step 2 (grip): your grip for the clean is one hand-width wider than it was for the deadlift.

maddie demonstrates the start position for the clean.

Step 3 (shins) brings about the other small change. You still bring your shins to the bar by bending your knees slightly, but since your grip is a bit wider, you also shove your knees out a little more than you did in the deadlift so that the knees still touch the insides of your arms.

After this, you then move on to Step 4 (chest) and Step 5 (pull).

SNATCH SETUP
Moving on to the snatch, we have three changes. The first change shows up right away in Step 1 (stance): point your toes out wider than they were in the deadlift and clean - roughly 30 degrees (you’ll see the reason for this shortly).

The second change arrives in Step 2 (grip): your grip is significantly wider than it was in the deadlift or the clean. It should be wide enough that the barbell hangs at the crease of your hips when you are holding the bar with straight arms in a completely upright (i.e., standing) position.

becky demonstrates the start position for the snatch.

The third and final change shows up in Step 3 (shins): once again, you still bend your knees to bring your shins to the bar, but since your grip is significantly wider than that of the deadlift or clean, you also shove your knees out significantly wider than you did with the other two lifts. This very noticeable “knees out” position is why you point your toes out quite a bit in Step 1 of the snatch setup.

After Step 3, you then move on to Step 4 (chest) and Step 5 (pull).

SUMMARY
To recap, the 5 steps are always as follows: stance, grip, shins, chest, and pull. However, the execution of certain steps changes due to the grip width of the clean and the snatch.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?