How much volume on powercleans to maintain gains on DL?

[kittenSmash]

Hi Charles,
I am currently following a bastardized version of Rip's advanced novice program. I have changed the pulling exercises to: Mon - pull ups/chins alternated 3Xfailure and back ext 3X10 (adding weight), Wed - deads 1X5, and Fri - Powercleans 5X3
I recently worked with a USAW Oly Coach on my clean form, and it was awesome. My problem is that I can do a fairly easy 5X3 at 205, but I screw up the double knee bend and jump with my torso leaned over, screwing it all up. I need to reset to like 60kg to keep my form clean, and break years of bad habits. Should I go to 8X3 or more to provide enough stimulus for my DL to maintain progress since the much lower weight?
If it is relevant, my lifts are:
squat-3X5@410# (making 10# progress a week)
bench-3X5@270#
press-3X5@185# or 226X1# (probably more, hurt hand though)
deads-1X5@435#
powerclean-1X250# (ugly form...real ugly)
I am trying to milk novice gains as long as I can, and feel I have more in me. Thanks for your time Charles.

[Charles Staley]

First, I would strongly advise against bastardizing one of Rip's programs. He'll find out about it somehow an they'rll be hell to pay, trust me.

That aside, if I understand your question correctly, if/when you have technical issues with the clean, I'd advise setting up a times (20 mins?) practice session for cleans using a weight that's heavy enough to give you the required feedback, but no so heavy to cause you to do "whatever it takes" to make the lift. After 20 mins of this, use clean pulls for the "work" portion- i.e., practice your cleans, then get a training effect from clean pulls, and then move on to the next item on the menu. Make sense?


Hi Charles,
I am currently following a bastardized version of Rip's advanced novice program. I have changed the pulling exercises to: Mon - pull ups/chins alternated 3Xfailure and back ext 3X10 (adding weight), Wed - deads 1X5, and Fri - Powercleans 5X3
I recently worked with a USAW Oly Coach on my clean form, and it was awesome. My problem is that I can do a fairly easy 5X3 at 205, but I screw up the double knee bend and jump with my torso leaned over, screwing it all up. I need to reset to like 60kg to keep my form clean, and break years of bad habits. Should I go to 8X3 or more to provide enough stimulus for my DL to maintain progress since the much lower weight?
If it is relevant, my lifts are:
squat-3X5@410# (making 10# progress a week)
bench-3X5@270#
press-3X5@185# or 226X1# (probably more, hurt hand though)
deads-1X5@435#
powerclean-1X250# (ugly form...real ugly)
I am trying to milk novice gains as long as I can, and feel I have more in me. Thanks for your time Charles.

[kittenSmash]

Okay, that makes alot of sense. I like it. Thanks for the advice Charles. That was exactly what I was looking for, the clean pulls look like they would be great to work on my form issue while getting to use some relatively heavy weight as well. I just felt like I wasn't getting enough stimulus doing cleans with like 65% of my normal work sets, just to get my form dialed in better (although form is obviously a big concern).
Thanks again, and hopefully Rip won't read this and realize I f@&!ed with his program. Please refrain from informing him.

[Charles Staley]

You bet- don't take the 20-minute thing too literally, just establish a pre-determined time frame, whatever it happens to be, to work on clean technique. This will (in the inimitable words of Rip) "Un-mindfuck you" in terms of worrying about how much weigh to use, how many sets to do, etc. Just put in the practice time, and use that as a dynamic warm-up for clean pulls, which you can use for a training effect. Then on to the rest of your session. Works like a charm


Okay, that makes alot of sense. I like it. Thanks for the advice Charles. That was exactly what I was looking for, the clean pulls look like they would be great to work on my form issue while getting to use some relatively heavy weight as well. I just felt like I wasn't getting enough stimulus doing cleans with like 65% of my normal work sets, just to get my form dialed in better (although form is obviously a big concern).
Thanks again, and hopefully Rip won't read this and realize I f@&!ed with his program. Please refrain from informing him.