When performing the hangclean you stand with the bar hanging and your chest forward and ass out.
My question is when you lower the bar into the start position do you do so with the hamstrings loaded almost like a partial RDL?
Or do you sort of bend more from the knees and not have the hams loaded?
I apologize if this doesnt make sense. It feels more explosive and beneficial to me to have the hams loaded like in a partial RDL and then explode up with the bar from the hips/glutes with full extension.
If this is correct please let me know I have looked at tapes of the hang clean and my angles are correct but this is more of a cue I think than anything. (Though an important cue hehe)
You do a combination of both. Lower the bar by pushing the hips back (stretching the hams) while having the knees bent (approx 90-115 degrees angle between the lower leg and upper leg).
However coaches will teach the lift different ways. “old school” coaches (or those favoring the “russian technique”) will teach the lifter to “not” push the hips back, bend the knees more and bend forward at the trunk (while still keeping the bar close to the body). This is because it’s more specific to the technique they preach on the lifts from the floor (lifting the bar in a straight line from the floor) which is basically a qiad dominant technique.
The modern coaches (or those favoring the “bulgarian technique”) will use the method I first described since this is specific to the technique they use from the floor (pulling the bar toward their body, brining the hips back, keeping the weight on the heels during the whole pull). This is basically a hamstring, lower back dominant technique.
Another form of lift from the hangis basically a jump snatch or jump clean: the lifter will only lower the bar by bending the knees. The hips are not pushed back, the trunk doesn’t bend forward. Basically you duplicate a vertical jump. This technique will not allow you to use as much weight (that’s why it’s not used by competitive lifters) but for some athletes (volleybal players, basketball players…) it is very effective.
The technique you will choose will depend on what you want to train the most.
Great post, now that was hang cleans 101 in just a few lines, great! I’ll have to check my technique, I think I have a mix of all three LOL. It’s already quite advanced to do OL’s in this country, certainly no one knows how to do them well or what they’re doing. I see I found a loophole in my program, because I had been doing OL’s without really checking my technique (actually no one had even ever given me any pointers, I was just doing what I saw).
If you don’t have a coach I STRONGLY advise you to film yourself while lifting. This is the only way you can truely assess your technique and see if it’s adapted to your needs or not.
Then the technique I first mentionned is the best suited to your needs! But be sure to extend the hips while you pull. Good coaching points are to feel the hams stretch on the way down and the hams and glutes contract while lifting the bar.
I have looked at tapes of the hang clean and my angles are correct but this is more of a cue I think than anything. (Though an important cue hehe)