“Understanding variation is the key to success in quality and business.”—W. Edwards Deming
I would add to the quote above that variation can be a key to success in quality teaching and learning not just business. A subtle shift in language or a specialized variety drill can lead to overcoming obstacles to progression. For example, two key skills to efficient kettlebell cleans and snatches are “connection” and “taming the arc,” and two key skills in the military press are finding your pressing “groove” or “path” and having a “stable base.” But these can be difficult concepts for students.
For the clean and snatch, “connection” means keeping the arm as connected to the body as long as possible during the hip extension of a clean or a snatch. And it means getting the arm reconnected as soon as possible during the drop of both drills. “Taming the arc” refers to keeping the kettlebell as close to the body as possible during both the concentric (or upward movement of the kettlebell) and eccentric (or lowering movement of the kettlebell) phases of both lifts.
For the military press, finding the pressing “groove” or “path” sets up a vertical forearm and individual path for the press so “ideal” intermuscular coordination can be achieved. This ideal intermuscular coordination is part of being a strength professional where there are smooth transitions between muscle groups during the movement. And finding the ideal groove based on the individual structure helps us accomplish both.
Having a stable base not only relates to the old saying, “you can’t shoot a cannon from a canoe” but also to not increasing the side lean and preventing back extension during the press. This also refers to removing any lower body “assistance” in the press. A little bit of leg drive or a “kick” from the hip can easily sneak into your military press.
Within StrongFirst teaching we use drills to provide a feeling that we then apply to the goal skill so the variations are meant to provide a drill where the variables are contained and only the “right” thing can happen. And then we apply it to the goal skill.
For the clean and the snatch, we have three useful variations to learn connection and taming the arc: the loaded dead clean, the dead clean, and the hang clean.
The Loaded Dead Clean
The loaded dead clean (LDC) begins with the kettlebell behind the heels in a very deep hinge where the arm is pinned to the ribs and a clean is performed “dead,” meaning without a hike or preload from that position.
Key Points:
- Proper spine and hinge position are maintained. If you cannot maintain a neutral spine in the deep hinge position, this is not the drill for you.
- The arm cannot disconnect from the body early.
- The clean is finished smoothly without overpulling and banging the forearm.
- The kettlebell is returned to the deep hinge position with proper form. If you cannot do this, then place it on the ground safely and step into position for the next rep.
- The exhale must be synced with the hip extension. Even using a grunt to begin the movement.
- Pause in the deep hinge position before performing another rep.
You will receive a lot of “self-correcting” information during the LDC:
- If the arm disconnects early the kettlebell will swing out and “come back” to get you resulting in hitting or banging the forearm.
- You will learn to drive through the ground and fully extend the hips or you will have to pull with the arm.
- A sore bicep can mean you are overpulling with the arm and not using the hips—remember the hips drive and the arm guides.
Perform two to three reps of loaded dead cleans and then rest for a bit and perform a set of three to five regular cleans trying to keep the feeling of the LDC.
The Dead Clean
The dead clean is much the same as the LDC except for the position of the kettlebell. Instead of being placed behind the heels, it is placed between the feet. This will require you to create the connection to the body and the taming of the arc without the benefit of the loaded position. It will require a bit more focus and power.
We are looking for everything we were looking for in the LDC (key points and self-correcting information).
Perform two to three reps of dead cleans and then rest for a bit and perform a set of three to five regular cleans trying to keep the feeling of the dead clean.
The Hang Clean
The hang clean is a bit of a different “animal” since this clean is performed with the kettlebell literally hanging an inch off the ground. It requires powerful but smooth acceleration of the hips with strong connection of the arm to the body and the patience to wait for the hips to blast the kettlebell up and be guided softly to the rack position. In this variation in particular you must be careful not to pull with the arm.
Perform two to three reps of hang cleans and then rest for a bit and perform a set of three to five regular cleans trying to keep the feeling of the hang clean.
All of these variations can also be performed as drills for the snatch and can be performed with double kettlebell.
For the military press we have the bottom-up press and the tall kneeling press to teach both the “ideal” groove and the stable base.
The Bottom-Up Press
The bottom-up press requires cleaning the kettlebell into the bottom-up position and then performing the press.
Key Points:
- Proper grip on the handle is the same as if you were going to perform pushups on the kettlebells. This will have the wrist slightly extended so a “shelf” is formed to set the kettlebell handle on the ulna. From there it is crush gripped to keep it stable.
- You should be able to perform and hold the bottom-up clean for 5-10 seconds before attempting the bottom-up press.
- If you rush the transition from the bottom-up clean to the bottom-up press or if you have a lack of intermuscular coordination in the movement it will be difficult to keep the kettlebell bottom-up. Nail the clean then press.
- If you do lose the bottom-up position be prepared to step out of position and guide the kettlebell to the ground. Do NOT allow the kettlebell to fall over and crash into your forearm.
- Make sure your training area is clear from any obstacles so you can step out of position safely.
- The bottom-up position will enforce a vertical forearm and from there focus on driving from the elbow to press overhead. Video or have a training partner confirm the groove from this press so you can make sure this groove (or very close to it) is used in the military press.
The Tall Kneeling Press
The tall kneeling press is just that, a press performed from the tall kneeling position after a cheat clean.
Key Points:
- Use a small amount of padding for the knees if required.
- Use a small hip hinge to assist in performing the cheat clean to bring the kettlebell to the rack and the body up into a stable tall kneeling position.
- Tight glutes and a tall spine are required.
- This press will bring awareness to any lack of a stable base and will provide the feeling of pressing with no leg involvement.
Conclusion
Understanding variations in the skills you are teaching such as the clean, snatch, and military press can be the key to overcoming roadblocks to technical progression. As powerful as proper cuing is, remember that as Gray Cook has said, “The language of movement is not language. It is feeling.” Use drills that constrain the variables so only the right thing can happen and let the drill “speak.” Practice them to improve your connection, taming of the arc, military press groove and base and let us know how it goes on the StrongFirst Community Forum.
Excellant article. I will definitely incorporate this into my training regimen
Amazing well written article from the master, keep up the great work Brett
Excellent cues Brett. I’ve used the dead clean and dead snatch to teach cleans and snatches, and the BU press is a great tool for getting a student to press the next bell size up. I like all the above cues for stand alone training as well.
Love it doc! Great stuff
Did my first loaded dead cleans at the dome a few weeks ago. Shown to me by mister John Scott Stevens. Completely blew my mind, my cleans have never felt so smooth. It’s a staple in my teaching now. I can’t wait to try all these other variations now.
Really like the Clean variations. Going to try them with the Snatch as well.
I have used the tall kneeling press to improve base stability for military presses and have just begun incorporating BU presses (but didn’t realize how helpful these could be as well). I appreciated the Loaded Dead Clean information the most here….I am going to give these a try in my programming. Curious, when you mentioned the snatch, did you mean loaded dead snatches, dead snatches AND a hanging snatch can be used?
Di Beals
Yes—all of the clean variations can be performed with the snatch
Yes—all clean variations can be performed with the snatch as well.
Brett,
Do you use the tall kneeling bottoms up press much?
Craig,
I do not. Your options to get out from under a bad rep are greatly reduced so I typically keep the BU work in standing.
Thank you Sir for this article. I really like ideas how to practice clean in different variants, especially LDC. I never tried it before so time to change it.
Thanks Brett. The press technique items are very timely. Going to integrate them into today’s practice.
These are terrific variations, Brett. Definitely helpful when tackling some of the issues that come up in the clean and also when you’re just in the mood for something that’s “the same but different.”
Thanks for this!
Great read.. will be swapping hang cleans in on my SA practice
Valuable article. Cleans are generally the movement with which my clients struggle most frequently. Dead cleans have helped tremendously. I look forward to adding hang cleans to the troubleshooting toolbox. Thank you for this, Brett.
Thank you everyone and keep the comments going and check out all the other articles.
Awesome article, thank you. The Hang Clean is a great drill for control, finesse, and feeling the connection of the arm to the body. Great reminder to use this skill / drill more often!
Thank you, Brett. I believe the loaded dead clean and hang clean will be a valuable drill for some of my students that have challenges “smoothing out” their clean.
As always, a great read Brett.
Thank you.
I really like BU presses. How much BU volume is too much? Would a typical pressing program be too much to recover from?
Jim,
This is a “spice” not a “main dish” so a “dab’ll do”
2-5 sets of 1-2 reps IMO
A classic tool for those to understand the clean is an upward projection of force.
Liked this article. Well done Brett
Excellent article. The Loaded Dead Clean has made my cleans a lot smoother.
Really like the look of the “loaded version”. Will test it out soon!
The LDC and the bottoms up clean are my favorite variations from this article. I have found great value in practicing them over the years.
A lot of ground covered very efficiently here. Nice article
This is great, the LDC is very helpful.
Thank you
Thank you for this article, For the half kneeling position, is there a preference on whether the legs are in line with the hips or together?
Robby—For working the press knees in line with hips or a bit wider. To challenge stability narrow the base but keep it successful but challenged.
Hi Brett,
Thanks for directing us to this article… It was great! For the tall kneeling position, is there a preference to have the legs together or underneath the hips?
Thanks again,
Robby—For tall kneeling press the knees wider than hips but not wide enough to feel any stretch.