SQCleans and Sprints

There will be no Yoga this Sunday. The 7PM Friday Competitor class is cancelled tonight and going forward.

There is no way of cheating a 440lb squat clean. Notice how quickly he pulls himself under the bar. His pull is not far beyond the hips. He gets the bar going up just enough then he sneaks under it.

Some words on squat cleans from Bill Starr. This article was published in the CF Journal in 2009.

Most beginners fail to fully extend before moving to the
bottom, fearful that they aren’t going to get there in time
to rack the weight. But because they don’t fully extend,
they don’t provide that final, critical jolt to the bar, and that
jolt is needed to allow them time to jump into the bottom.
In addition, when the pull is cut short, the body is leaning
forward slightly, and this is not what you want. It costs time
for you to return to the upright position. Otherwise, you’ll
be leaning forward when you rack the bar, and this usually
results in the bar being bumped.

Knowing when to bring the traps into play and when to
bend the arms are the two most difficult parts of the pull.
Bring the bar off the floor smoothly in a tight, controlled
line. When the bar passed your knees, drive your hips
forward forcefully and immediately contract your traps. All
the while, your elbows are locked and arms are straight.
But once you activate your traps, bend your arms and drive
your elbows up and out to provide that final bit of impetus
to the upward-moving bar. At that same instant, you should
be high on your toes. This latter point is extremely important
for a couple of reasons.

The calves help to elevate the bar a bit higher, and quite
often that bit is the difference between success and failure.
You can also move to the bottom faster when you’re on
your toes than when you’re flat-footed. When your body is
perfectly vertical with your elbows up and out and you feel
the bar jump, that’s your cue to drive to the bottom.

These paragraphs really touch on how to get the weight going up, and how to pull under it quickly for the catch.

Strength
Every minute on the minute for 15 minutes
3 Squat cleans

Each set should be heavy but you may ascend in weight..example first 5 minutes @ 135, next 5 @ 145, last 5 at 155.  ADV – 185,195,205 make it challenging.  If you have to take a minute off do so and start on the next minute but asses a 5 bar-facing burpee penalty at the end for each round missed.

WOD
8 Intervals
200m Sprint
Rest 1 Minute