Sunday, December 8, 2013

Power Development with the Hang Clean

Ask 10 different strength and conditioning "experts" their opinion on the use of Olympic Movements for power development in athletes, and most likely you would get 10 different answers.  In addition, if you were to ask those that believed Olympic Lifts were beneficial, they might disagree on what types of lifts should be used.  When dealing with a.) young athletes b.) multiple sport athletes c.) those with little or no training background, I have found that the Hang Clean is an invaluable tool to help develop power.
Below is an article that goes more in depth on the Hang Clean and its benefits.

Developing Power Using the Hang Clean
Olympic lifts are often a lightning rod for discussion when it comes to how to best develop power.  There are those that feel that the return is not worth the investment required in regards to teaching time and risk of injury.  There are those that feel anything other than Olympic lifts is a waste of time and nothing compares to the power development developed from these movements.  From my experience in training athletes I have found that Olympic lifts are a big piece of the puzzle.  They are not the puzzle, and gains in power can be made without them.  However, there is too much data too completely disregard the benefit of Olympic lifts.  In addition there is plenty of empirical evidence that favors the side that believes Olympic lifts can aid in athletic development. 
            When testing Olympic athletes, Olympic lifters will always have some of the highest vertical jumps of all the athletes.  In addition Olympic throwers always perform Olympic movements in their weight training.  Athletes will benefit from lifts such as the hang clean due to the triple extensions that occurs when applying force into the ground.  The speed of the bar is hard to mimic with other movements.   The benefit of rate of force development will aid in acceleration, linear speed (increase in stride length), vertical jumping abilities and change of direction.   There is also the balance and body control component being developed when catching the weight during Olympic lifts.  This portion of the lift helps athletes in decelerating and coordinating upper and lower body movements.
Like any lift, when taught properly and performed with good technique, there is no dangerous lifts – just dangerous technique.  When first teaching athletes how to perform Olympic movements we begin with a PVC pipe.
Reps are performed in the 6 and under range so that the lifter can maintain both bar speed and great technique. **rep ranges for power development**  If one were able to use a device such as a Tendo unit to measure the speed of the bar on a lift, I can’t imagine that the 5oth rep would produce anywhere near the power that the 3rd-6th rep did during that set.
When performing Olympic lifts in your workout it is best to perform them first in your workouts, due to the amount of power and technical demands.  Exceptions can be made when doing partial movements such as a hang clean pull or a DB Clean (as seen in the Tier System Example).
Teaching Progression:
1.       Hang Clean Pull
2.       Hang Clean High Pull
3.       Hang Clean
The Hang Clean Pull
This is just the “Jump & Shrug portion of the lift”.  It gets many of the benefits of the full Olympic lift and also eliminates some of the concerns.  The main emphasis of the hang clean pull is the triple extension (extension of the ankle knee and hip) and a shrug.  An Added benefit is once the pull is complete, the weight can be dropped.  Therefore the negative or eccentric portion of the lift is removed.  We often use more pulls than full cleans during in season training season when the athlete’s priority is to be ready for game time.
When teaching the hang clean pull and triple extension we have the athlete visualize trying to get into a ride at an amusement park.  This gives the visual cue of getting as tall as they can by getting on their toes (fully extending at the ankle, knee and hip) while having good posture and getting chest and chin up as well.
Teaching the Set up:
1.       Feet Shoulder width
2.       Should be able to wiggle your toes
3.       Neutral spine position (eyes ahead)
4.       Elbows to the side
5.       Thumbs in sides of thigh for grip width
6.       Wrist slightly curled
7.       Arms loose – hanging like ropes
8.       Slide the bar to right above the knee cap)
9.       Shoulders over the bar
10.   Jump & shrug
Teaching The Pull
1.       Jump – extended forcefully at the ankle knee and hip (triple extension)
2.       Shrug – forcefully shrug at the completion of jump
The Hang Clean High Pull
Once you have mastered the Hang Clean Pull it is time to advance to the Hang Clean High Pull.  The movement begins the same as the Hang Clean Pull, now we add the movement of the arms.  Once you have completed triple extension and a shrug your elbows will travel up and to the side.  Imagine there is a sheet of glass directly behind you.  Do not break the glass with your elbow going back.  This helps you visualize the vertical plane that the bar and your body should travel.   A good coaching cue is that the “elbows don’t bend until the hips extend”.  The bar should travel to chest height.
The Hang Clean:
The hang clean is the quickest and easiest to learn due to the starting position.  As opposed to pulling the weight from the floor, the lifter now can initiate a counter movement, by sliding the bar down. 
The Rack
At some point gravity is going to begin to take over (usually about when the bar gets to about chest level).  You will get your body under the bar and
Teaching the Rack:
1.       “Pop and Drop” pop the elbow forward and drop the butt
2.       During the pull and rack – the bar should stay close to the body, do not swing it way from you
3.       Knees and hips will bend when receiving the bar
4.       Arm should be parallel or very close to it
5.       You need to slightly relax your grip in order to get your elbows up
6.       The bar is not being supported by the wrist or fingers, it is instead resting across the collarbone
7.       Another coaching cue we give is “get tall (the pull) and then get short (get under the bar)”
8.       The feet should not split or widen to get under the bar.  The shortest distance is always a straight line, by landing with your feet in the same shoulder width position or within the width of your shoe you will get under the bar quicker and avoid placing your knee in a compromising position.
Variations of the Hang Clean
1.       DB Clean
2.       Rack Clean – performed in a rack with pins or safety bars at height where bar is right above knee cap.  The athlete is now forced to get his shoulders over the bar and makes it harder for those the bend at the elbow to soon.  In addition it is more difficult to the lack of a counter movement.  After each rep the bar is set stationary again on the pins.
3.       3 Stage Clean This is good to emphasize the pull portion of the clean and create good technique leading up to a full hang clean.  First perform a Hang Clean Pull, then a Hang Clean High Pull and finish with a real Hang Clean.  That series would represent 1 rep.
How do you go about implementing Olympic lifts into your workouts?
The Hang Clean and its variations are best performed at the beginning of a workout.  An athlete wants to perform these when they are fresh, due to the power and technical aspects of the lift.  We follow the workout order of Speed-Power-Strength-Conditioning.  So if an athlete were also doing speed work during that workout; that would take place first.  Next the athlete would perform power developing movements in the weight room with the use of Hang Cleans.  As far as how to implement into your weekly program or split, they can fit in many different ways.  If you have questions on how to do this feel free to contact me.
An example of a 6 week program (this is after the technical aspects of the lift have been mastered)
·         Olympic Barbell Warm up (using Barbell only) prior to beginning work sets
6 reps of each: RDL, Hang Clean Pull, Hang Clean to Front Squat

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

6-6-6-6
6-5-5-6
5-4-4-5
4-3-3-4
3-2-2-3
2-1-1-2
Warm Up
BB WU only
BB WU only
6 at 60%
5 at 65%
4 at 70%
4 at 73%
Set 1
63%
68%
73%
78%
80%
83%
Set 2
65%
70%
78%
80%
83%
88%
Set 3
68%
75%
78%
85%
88%
93%
Set 4
63%
68%
73%
78%
80%
83%

*The last set is lighter, for 2 reasons
1.)    To correct any technique flaws that may have occurred in the heavier sets
To ensure bar speed, since fatigue and or technique may slow down bar speed
If you are looking for a new challenge and to increase your power, begin integrating Hang Cleans into your workouts.  The purpose of this article was the discussion of the technique and benefits of the hang clean, in no way does this diminish or ignore the benefits of the Power Clean, Snatch, Jerk and all of the variations of these lifts.



In the video below there are some examples of both pulls from the floor and hang cleans.  Yes, as is the case in any real world scenario - there is some bad,good and great technique seen.
http://youtu.be/UQahBMye5pw

There is much more involved in teaching and performing hang cleans than is listed below.  Hopefully this will help get you started





Monday, September 23, 2013

Training



If your in Dallas, Ft. Worth area I am going to begin training athletes and those with a desire to reach their maximum potential.  The plan is to start using my garage and near by field for now, with the desire to grow into a storage unit in the future.  If you are interested or have questions please email me at coachjburk@sbcglobal.net or you can go to thumbtack (a great new website that helps locate this who offer services)


Friday, June 28, 2013

MENTAL EXCELLENCE

Saw that Missouri (Pat Ivey - Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and Dr. Rick McGuire) hosted a clinic on developing the mental aspects of athlete development.  Although I did not attend (hope they have it in the future so will be able to make it),  we have used many of the ideas/concepts/resources put out by these two and others.  Everyone loves to talk about the mental aspects of training, however I wonder how often we are just giving it lip service.  Or do we strategize, research, exchange ideas and work on this component like we would when installing a new play/scheme or new training protocol?  I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to this, it often seems very subjective and hard to see the results during off season or summer training.

Below is information we covered on visulization last off season.  We used 5 minutes before workout each day to cover several topics.  If you would like information on the other topics let me know.  Email me a message at coachjburk@sbcglobal.net or send me a message on twitter @coachjburk








Some great resources
http://drrickmcguire.com/
maybe they video taped the clinic and will have available - worth a try
http://drrickmcguire.com/Positve_Coaching_Workshop.html

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Chad Wesley Smith clinic/visit


I have been a fan of Chad Wesley Smith and his work with Juggernaut training for a some time.  This summer we wanted to bring in a speaker to help us prepare for our best Summer training ever.  Chad did not dissapoint.  He came for a one day seminar this past Saturday and presented on year round training for the football player.
Some key notes and ideas I factored in when writing summer programs include:

  • look at the player not the game (OL different than DB)
  • maximum sprints is a great stimulus on the body / give sprints the respect there due
  • weights follow speed, if you have a great speed session - dont need as much in the weight room
  • a movement is sports specific if it mimics 2 of the 3 qualities (direction,duration, velocity)
  • set up your training to be able to take stuff away as season nears
  • do least amount possible to get greatest results
  • incorporating medicine ball throws as part of in season training


Below is a link to Juggernaut and more specifics on alactic capacity training
http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2012/08/02/conditioning-for-football/

Juggernaut training is exploding with growth and I highly recommend his manuals and the products/clinics he will soon be coming out with this Fall.

The next day we went to Metroflex gym in Arlington Texas where many elite bodybuilders, strongmen and powerlifters train.  3 of the best in the business - Chad, Josh Bryant and Blaine Sumner were there to train.  Some of the strongest guys Ive ever seen (evidence in the video below).  Also never seen a human eat as much as Chad - gotta feed the furnace.  Josh Bryant did not lift but is highly respected in the strength and conditioning industry and writes programs for elite lifters around the world (http://www.joshstrength.com/).

Videos of Beast squatting




Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Stick / Draw Concept

Much has been written and studied recently regarding the Stick/Draw concept.  We have run stick for years and have found that it is a highly efficient play and can be successful at any level versus a multitude of looks.  We also have run draw as well as a shovel version of draw.  Combining the two only seemed like a great fit.  It would minimize reps needed in practice to get work on both concepts in addition to the benefit of every dual/double read play.
After researching information (Montana Tech / OC - Corey Fipps, NZone systems, various info on web (Smart Football, Coach D, Brophy, Huey...) I may have more questions than answers.
Here is some food for thought, would like to know what you have had success with.

Best route for #2 in trips
  • 5 stick (as possible read)
  • 3 speed out (as pre snap read)
  • short post (to keep from safety crashing down on safety or as a tag)
  • fast screen (bubble/crawfish) as pre snap uncovered option






Best for F
  • Draw to trips
  • Draw away from trips
  • ability to dictate
  • Shovel Draw to/away from trips
  • zone opposite

Best for Single WR:
  • slant return / spot pull (whats really the difference)
  • fast screen (as pre snap option of soft cov.)
STICK-DRAW CONCEPT - HUDL CLIPS

OTHER RESOURCES:
SMART FOOTBALL
COLLEGE FOOTBALL GEEK
YOUTUBE CLIP
COACH HOOVER
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY
11 WARRIORS
COACH BINDELF
GRANTLAND
GRABOWSKI