If I had to pick, I’d say the Clean is my favorite lift. There’s something about trying to pick up a HEAVY weight off the ground, and somehow stand with it on your shoulders… that is really fun for me!
For a great video on how to learn to Clean CORRECTLY 🙂 check out Glenn Pendlay of California Strength breaking it down.
Anyways, back to me being a nerd for Cleans. At one of the Seminars I’ve attended to try and become a better competitive exerciser, I got to meet Spencer Arnold.
Spencer is an Olympic Weight lifter who lifts in the 69 kilo weight class. That means he weighs NO MORE THAN 152 pounds on the day of his competitions. 152 pounds. That said, here he is Cleaning 332.898 pounds at the American Open this year. I did not type that wrong. Almost 333 pounds. At a body weight of less than 152 pounds. Cool.
Ok, so now you know he can lift.
On his blog, he shared an article with a great exercise for stabilizing the standing portion of the Front Squat half of the Clean. It’s called the “Front Squat Recovery Exercise”. Basically, it helps to ensure that the core is strong at the bottom, and that the torso is vertical (stacked over the hips) in order to provide a stable column to stand with the bar. Read his description, and then check out the video at the bottom of the post.
Looking for supplemental drills to improve your Olympic Weightlifting? (I’m hope the answer to that is YES, by the way!) Well, there’s one.
Link to his post with the Front Squat Recovery Exercise
Keep tuned into Spencer’s blog, too. He posts tons of great content, and definitely knows his stuff.
Thoughts on the drill? Let me hear it, people!
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