A Biomechanical Comparison of Successful and
Unsuccessful Power Clean Attempts
By:
Timothy M. Murphy
EXSC 550: Advanced Biomechanical Analysis
Dr. David Titcomb
A Biomechanical Comparison of Successful and Unsuccessful Power Clean Attempts,
Kristof Kipp and Carolyn Meinerz, Sports Biomechanics, Volume 16, Issue 2, Pages 272-282
An athlete that is working on becoming stronger with weight training, one of the best
workout techniques is the power clean. The power clean is the simplest of all the clean workouts
series. The main purpose of the power clean is for building speed and power production. This
training technique is a great workout for multiple muscle groups to be used for one exercise. The
power clean is one of the few workouts that can help improve a person’s posture.
The objective of the article is to compare the biomechanical performance of the power
clean exercise with the attempts of successful and unsuccessful. The study wants to figure out the
differences in the barbell kinematics and kinetics the difference phases of the repetition. The
speed and placement of the barbell with the body has effect on the participants completing in the
study. The study is focused on the posture of the athletes and how the snatch of the power clean
can affect the durability of the individual.
The study took place with fifteen male NCAA division I lacrosse players, the average age
for the lacrosse players was 20.1 (+/-1.2). Each individual did a one repetition max with an
average of 100.4 (+/- 8.1) kg. The study was taken after each induvial completed a 12-week
strength and training phase regiment. The study took place in the per-season part of the training,
The study used a dynamic warm up with a period of aerobic activity and different body weight
exercise. The participants agreed to have each session videotaped to see what is successful and
unsuccessful.
The results of the bar positioning were a factor in the successful and unsuccessful power
clean. The second pull of the power clean had a greater displacement forward in the unsuccessful
power cleans. The velocity and the forward momentum were some of the key factors to being a
successful power clean. Hypothesis believed that some of the individual will have an excessive
forward motion that will affect the progression of the power clean. The peak backward velocity
for the second pull was smaller for the unsuccessful clean attempt. The peak horizontal
acceleration had no difference between successful and unsuccessful power clean attempts.
The biomechanics of the successful and unsuccessful power clean was partially supported
from the hypothesis. The unsuccessful power cleans showed a difference during the second pull
of the power clean. The force of each clean showed more use during the unsuccessful attempts
since they barbell position was displaced by body positioning. The test data was proven that
there was extra movement used during specific times of the in the second pull. Participants
showed that they were some inexperienced lifters when doing the study have some affect of the
case study.
The power clean exercise consists of multiple muscle movements and the energy that is
used to complete the exercise can be exhausting. The force exerted from this exercise need to the
fluid and don in a single motion conserving the extra movement. The best way to reduce to extra
motion in an unsuccessful power clean is use better placement on the dumbbell in from of the
athlete and use a comfortable grip and quickly snatch the bar up to the chest without swing the
body.
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