Upper thighs getting sore
 

Is it bad that my upper thighs get sore from olympic lifts? I know banging the bar is bad but I'm not sure if i'm initiating hip drive too early or if the bar is too far away and I have to overcorrect.. could this be the case?

Get some vids up and we'll see!

If it's DOMS then don't worry, it'll go away as you get used to the training. If it's an "Ooh, let's see how elastic my massive quads are" kind of sore, then get a video up like Steven said.

Is there bruising?

Yeah, that.

I'm going to try to get video soon once I can borrow a camera. There isn't bruising, but it's that type of soreness where the bar might hit against my upper thighs when i'm in second pull. Is there any drills to help so the bar stays in contact with my thighs during second pull?

Here's what helped me (as an ex-thighbruiser myself):

I start my OLs with a frog stance (wide knees and feet turned out about 45degrees). This allows for the knees to get out of the upward path of the bar for me--I have a really long torso, and Greg E. suggested I start this way.

Next, I started doing clean or snatch pulls after my full lift work, concentrating on feeling the bar moving straight up and down during the shrug portion. Getting my pulls better has really helped reduce the looping. I do my pulls at 5-10kg heavier than my heaviest full lift for the day, usually about 3 x 3.

My mental cues are: "Straight up, jump". I figure the "land" part happens automatically, so I don't add any thinking about that.