Wide Stance For Power Snatch & Power Clean?
Is it OK to receive power snatches and cleans with a wide stance? Maybe!
My rule is pretty simple: If you’re technically proficient—that is, your lift technique is well-developed, stable and reliable, go ahead and let your feet move wide when you power. It helps you brake and reduces the stress on the legs.
If you’re still developing technically, receive your powers with the same squat stance you use to receive the full lifts.
The rationale is simple: Because you’re still learning, we want to practice the same motion and position as much as possible rather than having more variation to confuse and slow the process of skill acquisition.
In addition to this, receiving in your squat stance allows you to safely ride the lift into a full squat if you’re unable to brake in time; if you have a wide stance and fail to stop the squat high enough, you’re opening yourself up for injury by getting slam dunked into a squat position that places more strain on the hips and knees.
If you do use a wide stance, remember the point is to help you stop the leg bend more easily, not to avoid bending the knees by just doing the side splits + back arch like the classic high school football power clean, which is essentially an orthopedic suicide attempt—never do that.
My rule is pretty simple: If you’re technically proficient—that is, your lift technique is well-developed, stable and reliable, go ahead and let your feet move wide when you power. It helps you brake and reduces the stress on the legs.
If you’re still developing technically, receive your powers with the same squat stance you use to receive the full lifts.
The rationale is simple: Because you’re still learning, we want to practice the same motion and position as much as possible rather than having more variation to confuse and slow the process of skill acquisition.
In addition to this, receiving in your squat stance allows you to safely ride the lift into a full squat if you’re unable to brake in time; if you have a wide stance and fail to stop the squat high enough, you’re opening yourself up for injury by getting slam dunked into a squat position that places more strain on the hips and knees.
If you do use a wide stance, remember the point is to help you stop the leg bend more easily, not to avoid bending the knees by just doing the side splits + back arch like the classic high school football power clean, which is essentially an orthopedic suicide attempt—never do that.
