Technique - Pulling From the Ground

Let's talk about the difference in pull off of the ground for both lifts.

First and foremost, the MOST important for both lifts - before worrying about anything else - is making sure the belly is tight, back is flat, and heels are down.

For BOTH lifts, the goal is to keep the bar close and keep the bat traveling in a straight path.

In general, for the DEADLIFT, the hips will be a bit higher - to keep knees out of the way or the bar path and to recruit max amounts of glute and hamstring! We still need SOME knee bend to add some help from the quads as well! Gaze is down - roughly 6 feet in front of you on the ground. This works because you are not needing as much visual awareness as you will need for the clean - and keeps your spine completely neutral.

For the CLEAN, we lower the hip a bit which will put us in a better position to jump the bar straight UP instead of swinging it forward...we don't want the clean to mimic a KB swing in the path of the object. We will look straight forward and keep the chest up throughout. This will help us keep the chest on a good position for the jump and the catch-and will help maintain balance!

Keep in mind the CLEAN pull is not completely just a squat. Raise the hips enough to find tension in the hamstrings!