Am I the only one who's still struggling with the clean pull after all this practice?

Wait, isn't it crazy how the first pull feels so awkward? I always thought it was supposed to be this super fast, violent thing, just yank it off the floor. That's what I figured for the longest time. But honestly, I had it all backwards. I saw what @the_faith said about being aggressive, and I get that, but for me it was the total opposite. I started really focusing on being slow and controlled off the floor, and only then did my extension finally make sense. It's like I had to learn to be slow before I could be fast correctly.

6

the_faith7mo ago

I get why slowing down helped with bar path, but I actually have the opposite take! For me, clean pulls clicked when I focused on being more aggressive, not less. Pulling with speed lets you use your legs and hips to drive the bar up, which is the whole point. I was always too tentative, and my coach had me practice explosive pulls from the floor to fix it. So while control is good, generating power fast is what makes the lift work for me. Maybe it depends on the person, but for me, speed was the missing piece!

5

wendy_ross717mo ago

Struggled with clean pulls for ages myself. Used to think it was all about being strong enough. Then my coach had me try a lighter weight but slower tempo. Realized I was rushing the first pull every time. Slowing down fixed my bar path. Totally changed how I see the movement now.

3