What is the clean and press?
The clean and press is a great movement that should be included
in your training. I'm sure that you are already doing it, but
is there any harm in refreshing your memory? You're right, there
is no harm at all.
The clean and press is a move that works all of your body so
well that if I had to choose two exercises to get strong I would
choose the clean and press and the one legged squat (pistol).
Why is the clean and press such a good exercise? Well, like
I have already stated, you work so much of the body with the
one clean and press that it gets rid of the isolation crap that
has been thrown upon the general public/strength training community.
You are working a ballistic movement and a grinding movement.
If you can recall, you need both of these movements to become
strong. Also, it is natural for us to press something overhead
after we have cleaned it. You will find that it is a very natural
movement and we should treat it as such.
How do I do them?
As Pavel has stated in his fine book The
Russian Kettlebell Challenge: Xtreme Fitness For Hard Living
Comrades (RKC) "the clean draws it's name from the
requirement to bring the weight to the shoulder in one clean
movement", remember that for the safety of your wrist you
need to keep your wrist in a neutral alignment (keep it straight).
Swing the girya ("kettlebell" in Russian) from between
your legs and shoulder it once you are midway through he swing.
Remember that this all has to be done in one clean movement,
once the girya has reached the shoulder dip slightly to absorb
the shock. Do not lean back (this is very important for back
safety) and expel some air.
Now when you have the girya at your shoulder keep your whole
body tight and coiled like a tight steel spring. I mean your
body should now be a solid rock. Press the girya up keeping
your ABS, GLUTES, LATS and LEGS very tight. Press the girya
with everything you have. Remember that you should use power
breathing and raise the girya slowly (if the weight is good
and you are using high tension techniques then the lifting speed
will take care of itself).
There are two keys to remember when pressing the bell:
1. PUSH YOURSELF AWAY FROM THE GIRYA.
2. WHILE YOU KEEP THE WEIGHT OF YOUR BODY AND THE GIRYA ON YOUR
HEELS TRY AND PUSH THE FLOOR AWAY THROUGH YOUR HEELS.
Why isn't the clean and press a popular movement?
Well there are a number of reasons that come to mind but I
would just be speculating but I will give you a couple of reasons.
The general public and the strength community have been corrupted
by the horrible world of bodybuilding. Society associates strength
with size and how do these (fake) supermen train? They isolate
their body parts (well they try don't they?). Isolation as you
already know doesn't work and it never will when the load is
respectable. Another problem thanks to bodybuilders is people
don't understand the old time clean and press. Look at any gym
and if the people there aren't steroid munching bodybuilders
they will probably be doing the latest routine from men's health
or men's fitness, these toners and shapers cant understand the
point or workings of the clean therefore they will not be able
to clean and press.
Others who do know about the clean and press are scared of
it because if means hard work when done properly (when a nice
weight is used). These guys don't like hard work. That's why
the use gloves over chalk, go and buy all sorts of training
clothes instead of a singlet and shorts or something as simple.
You see it's a simple formula: HARD WORK + GOOD FOOD + ADEQUATE
REST = STRONG BODY. These toners and shapers want to take away
the hard work so things can be easy.
Now here is the goal:
Sig Klien once was noted as saying the "secret"
exercise of the old time European strongmen was the repetition
clean and jerk, not only will this add some meat to your bones
it will make you a better man. He said to aim for a dozen (12)
reps with two 75lb dumbbells, but I think a better goal and
test of strength would be ten reps with two 2 pood (32kg) giryas.
Train hard and enjoy!
