How To Assign Your Grip Width In The Clean
Assigning your grip width is the FIRST step you should take when learning how to Clean.
Your grip width is ultimately going to dictate where the bar makes contact in your power position and what your front rack ultimately ends up looking like.
For most people, the bar should make contact between your low to mid thigh.
Your front rack is important because in the Clean, we are trying to produce force and absorb force effectively. You produce force through extension in your pull and you absorb force when receiving the bar on your shoulders making the transition into your squat and squat recovery.
So, how do we determine our grip width?
The first thing you want to do to is look at your body’s natural carrying angle without the barbell. In this video, Wes Kitts rotates his hands out and we can see that there is a carrying angle that exists from his shoulder to his elbow to his hand.
As a result, his hands flare distal from his shoulders and we need to account for that in his front rack. By applying this same carrying angle to our front rack position, we’re going to produce a stable front rack that can support the weight through our Latissimus Dorsi muscles as we brace through our core properly.
How do we brace through our core?
Bracing through your core can be best thought of as pushing out against your weight belt, imagining a complete 360 degree brace around your mid line.
Now that you have determined your grip on the barbell, make sure to use a hook grip instead of a regular overhand grip.
Why is this critically important?
The hook grip allows you to relax your arms while maintaining connectivity to the barbell.
So, how do we hook grip?
To execute the hook grip, try to wrap at least your first two fingers (your pointer and middle fingers) around your thumb.
Will this hurt at first? YES.
It’s normal for you to experience discomfort in your thumbs but overtime this will go away and you’ll be well on your way to heavier and more efficient Cleans!
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