Power Progression

Teaching Progression for the Power Clean, Jerk, and Power Snatch
This section is intended for coaches. The following is the order in which I teach new athletes to the program here at UCR how to perform the “power” versions of the Olympic lifts. It’s not the only way to teach the lifts, it may not be the best way for everybody but it has worked very well for me. I first learned this system of teaching from Ethan Reeve and I’ve made a few small adjustments along the way to fit my specific needs. I’ve also added some things and gotten a ton of coaching tips and cue’s from Mike Burgener.
My main advice when following this outline is to be patient and allow the athletes to master each lift before moving on to the next. Each exercise in this progression creates a foundation on which the following lifts build on. Working one on one I’ve had athletes make it through the progression in as little as 2 one-hour sessions. I’ve also had groups take as many as 15+ sessions to properly learn everything on the list. It pays off in the long run to take your time teaching; you’ll get better results. One argument I’ve heard against this progression is that it takes too much time and they need to get their athletes into “heavy” workouts quicker. My response to this is 1. The time invested pays off in the long run. I’m thinking of their long term development 6 months or more down the road not 6 days down the road. 2. Athletes with a limited background in weight training will be sore and tired going through this with just the bar. It’s allot of reps and sets. Athletes that have lifted before will still find the new movements and positions challenging and indeed a workout. 3. If you’re still concerned reserve the last 15 minutes of your time with them each session to work them hard.
One plus of this system is that while the main focus of the progression is for the athlete to learn the Olympic lifts, when finished they have quite a large arsenal of lifts under their belt.
I like to start by teaching cleans first. I do this because in my programs I emphasize the power clean over snatches and some teams I don’t have snatch at all. I’ve found that if a team has learned cleans well they can learn to snatch in less than 10 minutes. So here is the plan…
1. Free Standing Squat:
I teach the Olympic lifts from the top down. I believe you must know where the bar is going before you try to get it there. The front squat position is the finish position of a clean so it is what I teach first, but before I get to front squats I teach them correct squatting form with no weights. For a free standing squat have the athletes place their feet slightly wider than shoulder width (landing position), slightly turn their toes at an outward angle and have them split their knees also. The kneecap should always follow the direction of the toes. For balance I have them stick their arms out in front of them then I simply tell them to sit their butt down between their ankles. Key points to emphasize are keeping the feet flat on the ground and the shin as close to perpendicular to the ground as possible. They also learn to go down slow and controlled then accelerate on the way up making sure they do not bounce out of the deep squat position for that transition. Flexibility issues will pop up right away in a few athletes. For those having problems performing this squat have them do the squats while holding onto a pole or rack, this will allow them to keep their weight back on their heels and correctly perform the squats until their flexibility/strength improves enough to do squats correctly without holding on. It can take awhile for some to get there.
2. Front Squats:
Before I begin teaching this one I emphasize to the athletes it’s importance and relationship to the clean. I tell them that this is essentially their finish position and I tell them to think about that and get a good feel for it as they are doing this exercise. For this lift I have the athletes use just a 2-finger grip on the bar. I only allow them to grip the bar with their index and middle fingers. I do this to de-emphasize the gripping of the bar with the hands and to emphasize the need to have the bar resting on the shoulders, the hands are there for balance and nothing else. This is important because when cleaning with heavy weights attempting to catch the weight by holding it up with the hands can result in serious injury to the wrists and or elbows. So I have then take their two finger grip then rotate their elbows up under the bar until their triceps are parallel to the ground and the bar is resting on the shoulders. A key cue I use is they should be able to always see their elbows pointing at them in the mirror, if they can’t they need to get their elbows up. One problem some athletes will have in this position is they will have the bar resting on their throat chocking themselves. To alleviate this all they need to do is slightly shrug the shoulders, this will raise the bar off of their throat. Then they simply step back from the squat stands and perform the exact same squat they did freestanding. The chest should be up and full of air. The leg action is the same, now they need to be told to keep their back arched (“athletic” position, chest out, butt out, shoulders back) through the whole squat and to keep their upper body upright and their elbows up. Their triceps must be parallel to the ground at all times. Having the elbows up will help keep their back in proper position and it prevents the barbell from rolling off their shoulders. A good coaching point is to tell them to lead with the elbows out of the bottom position, to drive the elbows up first out of the bottom. It is mostly a mental tip but it seems to help keep the elbows up, back flat and prevent that elbow dip and back rounding as they come out. Athletes need to be very comfortable with and have had practiced allot of front squats before they attempt to clean.
3. Back Squats:
The exact same squat as the last two exercises only now the bar is placed on the shoulders/traps/upper back.
4. Lunges:
Lunges get the athlete ready to perform the split as used in the jerk as it is a similar position. Sometimes I teach it with the bar on the back like back squats sometimes with no weight, the action is the same regardless. Have the athletes step out or lunge forward with one leg taking a nice long stride. The lunge foot should strike the ground with the heel then immediately go flat-footed and as soon as that foot lands the hips need to stop moving forward and begin dropping straight down. This action of going straight down will help prevent the athlete from getting the knee in front of the toe which is potentially harmful to the knee. Also as a carryover to the upcoming jerk they should step out to the side slightly not directly straight ahead. This widens their base of support for better balance.
5. Military Press:
The military press begins the overhead area and prepares the athlete for the jerk. The athlete begins by standing with their feet hip width apart (jumping position) and have the bar resting on the front portion of the shoulders similar to the front squat position. It is different from the front squat position though in that the elbows are rotated up just enough to let the bar rest on the shoulders, they aren’t all the way up to parallel and the bar is held with the whole hand rather than just two fingers. From here the athlete will simply press the bar overhead till the arms lock out. The finish position is critical here. The athlete must get to what is termed the “head through the hole” position. The “hole” or window as some call it is the imaginary window that is outlined by the shoulders on the bottom, the bar across the top, and the arms on the side. The head must poke through this window. The finish should have the bar directly above the shoulders and even with the back of the ears. This is a must once we advance to the push jerk and jerk because the athletes will eventually be able to drive much more weight over their head by using their legs than their arms can hold. They will need to have that bar in the slot or head through the hole position in order to balance the weight on their joints. At the finish the coach should be able to stand to the side of the athlete and be able to draw a straight line from the bar down to the elbow to the shoulder to the hip to the knee to the ankle to the ground.
6. Push Press:
A very similar movement to the military press only now the athlete will initiate the movement of the bar with the legs. I tell them that basically it is a cheating military press, your going to cheat by letting your legs get the bar started moving. In this lift it is crucial that the athlete learn how to dip correctly (evoking the stretch reflex) and that they learn to use the legs to get the bar off their shoulders rather than using their arms. First I teach them how to dip. They set up just like a military press with the bar resting on their shoulders and their elbows up just enough to allow the bar to rest on their shoulders. When making the dip the torso must remain completely upright, it stays upright and ridged, the feet stay flat on the ground and the knees come forward. You must emphasize that the weight should be on the heels before and during the dip. It is a short quick dip just like one would do to jump up for a rebound, and then they violently explode upwards. To show them that the legs get the bar started off the shoulders I’ll roll the bar onto my finger tips opening up my hands, take my dip and drive and let the bar pop off my shoulders and fly up past my face. This gives them a good idea of what I mean when I tell them to let their legs jump the bar off of their shoulders. So then I have them take that quick dip and drive the bar up to the head through the whole position, catching the bar with a slight bend in the hips and knees.
7. Push Jerk:
The Push Jerk is a huge step in the learning progression. Here the athlete will learn to actually jump with weight (which is essentially what the Olympic lifts are all about). They will also learn the timing of the catch which will carry over to the jerk, clean, & snatch. The push jerk is exactly like the push press only now the athlete will actually jump and leave the feet. I start by teaching them how to land. I teach the athletes to stomp their feet when landing. The sound of the feet stomping tells me a few things 1. They are being aggressive 2. They are being fast in pulling or pushing themselves under the bar 3. And maybe most important they are landing flat-footed. Landing flat footed puts them in a stable position, (think squatting), it is a less stressful landing as far as shearing forces on the knee go (again think squatting), and with heavy loads if you catch on the balls of your feet or on the toes that weight is going to pull you forward and you’ll miss the lift. I begin teaching the stomp by having the athlete take one foot and drive the heel into the ground a few times (resembles a horse counting) then I have them jump and do it with both feet together. Now I tell them they are going to simply add that jump and stomp to the push press they just did.
So now they get set up just like a military press, then take the quick dip & drive, Reaching full extension with the hips, and knees then as soon as that extension is complete and their feet leave the ground they push them selves under the bar into the landing (squat width w/feet) position with the bar locked out in the head through the hole position. The difficult aspect of this lift will be the timing of the catch. The bar must lock out at the exact same time the feet stomp. A few will get this on the first try but most will need to practice quite a bit to learn the timing. Once they have mastered the timing on the push jerk it will carry over to the timing needed on the jerk, clean, snatch.
8. Jerk:
Everything about the jerk is the exact same as the push jerk except the athlete will split the feet in a semi-lunge position for the catch rather than catching with the feet in a squat position. The first thing I teach is the landing position without the bar. I have them dip and drive just as they have on the last two lifts but now they split the feet. The front foot lands flatfooted with a slight pigeon-toe and a slight bend in the knee. The back foot lands on the ball of the foot slightly pigeon-toed with a slight bend in the knee. Upon landing the feet should not be in a line (like on a balance beam) Their feet need to be hip width apart or maybe even slightly wider. A common mistake will be that the athletes will want to lunge or jump forward. Their hips must only move vertically. Only the legs move forward or backwards. The hips moving forward will cause the bar to move forward, the athlete wants all energy imparted on the bar to send it straight up. Once they demonstrate the ability to get to the finish position I teach them the recovery.
Recovery: Slide the front foot back half ways, step up with the back foot to an even stance, then the last thing the athlete does is lower the bar. It is important that the athlete follow this sequence because with a heavy load stepping forward first will result in the bar drifting forward out of the head through the hole position and the weight will be dropped forward, stepping back first keeps the bar back into the slot.
When they can do all of that I then have them grab the bar and perform a jerk. If they have done everything right preceding this moment all should go well. They take a quick dip (feet flat, torso stays totally upright…leaning forward at the waist will lead to either the bar being driven forward and not making to the slot or the bar will go straight up and into the chin that has been placed there for it to hit) jump the bar off of the shoulders (a flat footed jump) driving to the head through the hole position and hitting that position at precisely the same time as the feet stomp and land in the _ lunge position.
9. RDL (Romanian Dead Lift):
This is another lift with tremendous carry over to the clean. With this lift athletes learn the grip for the clean, how to set the back for the clean and how to hinge at the hips.
Grip: I teach them the hook grip. Begin by placing the hands about a thumbs length out from where the smooth part of the bar turns to knurling. From there grab the bar then proceed to tuck your thumb under your fingers. This position is exactly the opposite of how you were taught to make a fist for punching. Essentially your thumb is being used as a strap to hold onto the bar. Explain to the athletes that this may be uncomfortable or even just be plain painful but your thumb will adjust in a week or so and your grip on the bar will be solid. With the hook grip the grip will never be a limiting factor for your cleans or snatches. The hook grip is the best way to go.
Setting the back: This is critical that the athletes get this part down, this set back or athletic stance position is used on nearly every lift and is a must to keep the back healthy. When your low back is arched all the muscles in that region are activated and bearing the brunt of the support, when you round your back out the ligaments and discs support the region, we want to use the muscles back there to protect the ligaments and discs. To do this I have them stand straight then stick their butt out like they’re trying to show it off, stick their chest out, again like they’re trying to show off their chest and pull the shoulders back.
Hinging the hips: It is very important that the athletes learn the difference between bending over by bending at the waist and bending over by hinging at the hip joint. Often times or if someone is struggling with the RDL I’ll have them find their hip joint, that ball and socket joint about 4” below the waist, I’ll then have them raise their knees or march in place so they can feel that joint work then tell them that is where the bend must come from. Again hinging at the hip will keep their back safe but also it allows you to train the movement/muscles involved in jumping, running, and cleaning. Someone who doesn’t understand how to hinge at the hip is someone who will use mostly low back to move the weight on cleans and snatches.
The movement: Grab the bar with a hook grip, curl the wrists in (keeps the bar close to the line of force: the hip joint) set the back, slightly bend the knees but once slightly bent they stay locked in that slightly bent position. The feet are set at a hip width or “jumping position”. Now begin the movement by pushing the butt back just like you would to close a car door with your butt, continue to push the butt back hinging at the hip lowering the bar as far as you can without letting your back round out. (depending on your hamstring flexibility it may not be very far, some athletes at first can only lower the bar to their knees, others can touch their toes) Again only bending at the hip, keep the bar close to the body it should never get outside of the toes, coming back up bring the hips forward until you are back at the starting position. The athletes need to learn to contract the hamstring from the bottom and “pull” themselves up. So basically, butt back on the way down and hips forward on the way up.
10. Goodmornings:
This exercise is performed exactly like an RDL only the bar is placed on the shoulders like a back squat instead of being held in the hands. Set up like a back squat, set the back, then begin hinging at the hips by pushing the butt back, bending down to parallel to the floor with your chest keeping the low back arched then push your hips forward until you are standing upright. Some athletes that have a hard time grasping RDL’s may find this one easier to get the concept of.
11. Upright Shrug:
Now we are ready to begin getting close to performing a clean. As I mentioned before this progression works from the top down so now we going to work from the last position before leaving the feet on the clean.
The first thing I teach before the athletes take the bar on this one is how to shrug correctly. I simply have the athletes practice a few quick shrugs by raising their shoulders to their ears, it’s just a quick pop up and it must go straight up and down, a couple of mistakes will be rolling the shoulders on the shrug or performing the shrug slowly or holding the shrug at the top. The shoulders must be relaxed at the start then pop straight up to the ears quickly.
Now they grab the bar and set up exactly like they did for the RDL: Hook grip, curl the wrists, set the back. Now they will dip and drive exactly like they did for the jerk, flatfooted, torso upright. Explode upwards and shrug keeping the back set nice and tight. Again it is a quick pop up. You want them thinking vertically a good cue is to tell them to “Shrug the hips, shrug the shoulders” I tell them to imagine their hip bones sliding up and over their love handles, that is the motion we want (of course with female athletes I tell them if you had love handles you’d want to imagine your hip bones sliding over them. If you tell them the other way they will spend 2 minutes denying they have love handles) another point to emphasize is the jumping motion is to be performed from flatfeet, rising up onto the toes is a product of powerfully driving the heels into the floor, trying to jump off the toes will put the athletes weight to far forward and lead them to being off balance and a less powerful jump. Remember the weight (barbell) is out in front of them and the athlete and the weight have a combined center of gravity, the athlete needs to push through the heels as long as possible to keep that combined center of gravity as close to his/her hip joint as possible. The athlete will naturally extend at the ankle and push off the ball of the foot when jumping on a clean but we want them to stay flatfooted as long as possible. I tell them to jump flatfooted. So it’s a quick dip and drive, shrug the hips, shrug the shoulders.
12. Upright Shrug Jump:
It’s of the utmost importance that the athletes grasp that the Olympic lifts are all about jumping with weight. So now we will jump with weight. Same set up: stand in the jumping position, hook grip, curl the wrists in, set the back. Now take the quick dip and perform a vertical jump and shrug the shoulders. I tell them to simply set up then jump as high as they can. Don’t allow them to let the chest dip at all, stay straight up and down, and emphasize keeping their weight on their heels. After a couple of sets of these I ask the athlete if they feel like that bar wants to keep rising up on them and if they are stopping it by keeping their arms straight. (99% of the time the answer is yes) I also point out how high that bar is getting in the air. I’m beginning to plant in their mind that they can get the bar up to their shoulders without pulling it up their with their arms.
13. Upright Clean:
Now for the moment of truth. This where everything comes together. Here we are basically combining 3 lifts: The front squat which is the catch position, the jump shrug which we just did, and to that jump shrug we are going to add the concepts of pulling oneself under the bar quickly like they pushed themselves under in the push jerk, and also the foot stomp and timing that stomp with the catch or rack.
The athletes assume the same starting position. Standing with feet at hip width (jumping stance) back set, hook grip, wrists curled. They will take their quick dip then jump-shrug-and catch landing in a squat stance and the bar racked in the front squat position. The feet should stomp at the exact same time the bar is racked onto the shoulders. The motion is the same as the shrug jump only instead of floating into the air they actively pull themselves under the bar and get their feet back onto the ground quickly.
Not everybody is going to be perfect on the first few tries, in fact few are. Here are some common errors and how to correct them.
Bar swings out away from the body: Usually when this happens the athlete is using their arms to “reverse curl” the weight up. You need to emphasize that the arms do very little of the work (remind them how high the bar got on the shrug jump) and that the bar needs to stay close to the body, almost touching the shirt all the way up. One drill that is effective is have the athlete take their thumbs and run them up the front of their shirt then rotate their elbows through to the front squat position without their thumbs leaving their body. This will show them that they can get to that catch position without doing the reverse curl motion and having the hands go away from the body. Have them repeat this motion with the thumbs several times slowly then gradually get faster and faster till they are whipping the elbows through like they will on the clean.
The bar could also swing out if the athlete is jumping forward or thrusting the hips forward rather than shrugging the hips vertically. Tell them to jump straight up, also it is effective to draw a line on the floor with chalk have them start with their toes just behind the line and tell them they can’t jump over the line.
If they are having a problem getting their elbows through and they were able to get them up when front squatting, usually it is because they are keeping their grip on the bar. When they rack the weight they need to release their grip and let them bar roll onto their fingertips, this will allow them to get their elbows up. Then on the way back down they roll the bar back into a hook grip.
Another common problem is timing on the catch, especially if the athlete struggled with timing on the push jerk. Many times just pointing out that they need to catch and stomp at the same time helps. Explaining that in the future when they have heavy weight on the bar they will not want that bar to come crashing down on them. They want to meet that bar at it’s highest point and rack it before it begins to fall and pick up speed. The most common reason for bad timing is pulling with the arms if the athlete is landing and then the bar is crashing them. Bad timing can also happen if the athlete doesn’t whip the elbows through in time or doesn’t pull themselves under the bar quick enough.
This step may take a while, it is very important that they master this lift before moving on. Once they can perform an upright clean the hang clean and power clean come pretty easy.
14. Hang Shrug:
Now we move to the hang above the knees position. The athlete begins with the same starting position: hook grip, wrists curled, back set, feet hip width apart. Then begins an RDL pushing the butt back hinging at the hip but instead of going all the way down the athlete stops with the bar just above the knees. Here you have the start position for the hang shrug. So the back is set the chest and shoulders are out over the bar, the knees are slightly bent and the weight is back on the heels they should be able to wiggle the toes.
The action: The athlete begins by hinging the hip then basically hits the upright position and performs an upright shrug. Violently shrugging the hips and the shoulders in a jumping motion.
15. Hang Shrug Jump:
Same set up as hang shrug: back set, hook grip, wrists curled in, hinging at the hips leaning out over the bar, weight on the mid to back of the foot. From this position begin with a hinge at the hips then simply perform a vertical jump and shrug. Encourage them to jump as high as they can. Let them get a feel of being explosive with the bar in their hands.
16. Hang Clean:
Same set up as the last two exercises. Now jump, shrug, and catch.
One thing that needs to be taught here is how to lower the bar. Many athletes will make the mistake of taking the bar from their shoulders straight down to their knees. For the safety of the back they need to take the bar down to the upright position, set the back then lower it to the knees.
17. Power Position:
Next I just have the athletes demonstrate the ability to get into the correct starting position for a power clean.
They begin in the upright position: hook grip, wrists curled in, back set, then rd down to the hang position. From the hang position they squat down to the power position maintaining the arch in their back and also maintaining the same angle of the back in relation to the ground.
Power position. Hook grip, wrists curled, back set, feet flat and they should be able to wiggle their toes, the bar is almost up against the middle of the shins, the hips are slightly higher than the knees, the shoulders are way above the hips, the chest and head is up (I tell them they should be able to read whatever is on their shirt in the mirror) and the shoulders and chest are out over the bar.
18. Power to the Hang Transition:
One very common mistake in the power clean is not pulling the bar back into the body once the bar gets past the knees. Ideally you want the bar as close to the hip joint as possible, what tends to happen is that the athlete will begin their first pull from the power position then as they hit the 2nd pull or jump phase the bar stays out past the knees or about 3-4” away from the body and continues to travel up away from the body. The athlete needs to be taught to pull that bar back into the thighs by subtly flexing the lats and get that bar to brush or scrap the thighs on the way up as the athlete shrugs the hips. So I have them perform a deadlift and once the bar gets above the knee they pull it back into the thigh. It is important that the arms stay straight and the athlete knows to pull it in with their lats and not the arms. The athlete also needs to understand that they must lift the weight off of the ground with their legs. Tell them to push their heels through the floor, or push the floor away by pushing through their heels. Letting their legs doing the work seems to get them to get their back out of it a little.
19. Power Shrug:
Here the athlete starts in the power position then basically deadlifts the bar till it gets above the knee or into the hang shrug position. The athlete then violently shrugs the hips and shoulders in a jumping motion just as they did in upright shrugs and hang shrugs earlier in the progression. The pull should be nice and smooth off of the floor then the athlete explodes as they pass the knee.
20. Power Clean:
Now they put it all together. Begin in the power position then perform the exact same motion as the power shrug except now finish with a jump-shrug-and catch. This clean will look just like the upright clean and hang clean except it starts from the power position.
After mastering the power clean I then move on to teaching the power snatch, which tends to go very quickly or at least much quicker than the clean.
21. Overhead Squat:
I also begin teaching the power snatch by starting from the top down. The finish position of a snatch is the overhead squat position. You may want to use a lighter bar or a PVC pipe for overhead squats.
Begin by having them take a wide grip on the bar then put that bar in the head through the hole position we worked on with military press. The bar should be even with the back of the ears. The grip width should be such that with the arms extended the bar is 8-12” over the head. From here have the athletes perform a squat while keeping their arms locked out and the bar at the back of the ears. Athletes with poor flexibility in the shoulders will really struggle with this one. For right now I’m not that concerned with their overhead squats, I just want them to get a feel for the bar being up there. Usually I have them do just one set then move on.
22. Behind the Neck Snatch Grip Push Jerk:
This lift is intended for them to get a feel for that timing of stomping the feet at the same time the bar locks out overhead. They begin with the bar on their back like a back squat. Their feet are hip width apart; their grip is the same width as the overhead squat. They take their quick dip then perform a push jerk. If they can get the timing on the first set I only have them do 1 set.
23. Upright Snatch Shrug:
By now these shrugs are old hat to them. The motion is the exact same as the upright shrug for cleans, the width of the grip is different. They grab the bar at the same spot they did for overhead squats then take a hook grip, curl the writs in, rotate the elbows out (the elbows should point out to the sides not back) Set the back. Then Take the quick dip and explode up driving through the heels shrugging the hips and the shoulders. It is important that they rotate the elbows out because on high pulls and snatches the elbows must bend and point straight up and not be allowed to drop backwards. Again I usually just have them do 1 set here.
24. Upright High Pulls:
Exact same set up and action as snatch shrugs only now upon full extension of the hips and knees the athletes will allow the elbows to bend and pull the bar up to their chins keeping the bar close to the body and letting their elbows lead the movement. The elbows must point high and outside the entire time they must never rotate backwards. The momentum of the bar is still made by the jump and shrug not the arms.
25. Muscle snatch:
This next exercise is designed to teach the athlete the path of the bar on a snatch and give them the motor pattern to perform it. I usually have then use a light bar for this one. I begin by telling them that for this lift they will be pulling with their arms, but it is just to show them the path the bar must take, after this lift they need to go back to using their hips and legs to do the work.
They get set up: snatch grip, hook grip, curl the wrists, rotate the elbows out, set the back, then without using the legs do 3 shrugs, 3 high pulls, then 3 high pulls with a finish of snapping the bar out into the overhead squat position. This is the path for the snatch.
26. Upright Snatch:
Now I tell them to completely clear their head of all thoughts. They will get set up: snatch grip, hook grip, wrist curled, elbows out, set the back. Then I simply tell them to jump and throw the bar to the ceiling except they are not to let go of the bar. After having done the muscle snatch the motor pattern is set and the result of them jumping and throwing the bar to the ceiling is almost always a snatch with good-looking technique.
The number one mistake I find in the snatch is letting the elbows drop, they always need to keep their elbows high and outside on that third pull.
27. Power Snatch:
Now I usually skip directly to the power snatch. The movements of the hang snatch and getting the bar back into the body from the power position are exactly the same for the snatch as the clean and they already know them so we practice power snatching now.