I'm looking for an exercise to strengthen, and better prepare me to do power cleans for when i start squatting heavy. I need to learn how to power clean heavier weights because thats how I get the bar up when I squat ( no squat rack ).

YouTube - Jerry Hill's CrossFit Challenge; Sumo Deadlift high Pull

Would sumo deadlift high pull's be optimal for what i'm trying to achieve?

Or... would "clean high pulls" be better?

YouTube - Clean High Pull

Why not a power clean? That'd leave you in a better position to press the weight over you head and deposit it on your delts, wouldn't it?

Though I would probably just settle for front squats from there, as I can't think there are many people out there who can push press enough weight to make for a challenging back squat. I guess you could do a clean and jerk, but I'm not sure if that would be easier or harder than simply taking a little rest after the clean and push pressing it the rest of the way up. I'd think the former would be significantly more difficult, but I've never tried it, so, yeah.

Edit: Why not try dumbbell squats? They're awkward, yeah, but doable without a rack, and safer for your floor.

Edit: Lol, just noticed you said to prepare you for power cleans. I'm an eejit. But, uh principle of specificity? Guess I'd say clean high pull, if forced to choose between the two. Me, I'd just start power cleans with light weight and work up to it.

Well. The only reason I'm trying to learn power clean, is so i can squat heavier. And if I try to add any more weight, i can get it up about half way through before momentum stops. Thats why i was asking for exercises that can strengthen my power clean.

I guess I could try doing 4-5 sets of power cleans with a lower weight?

Well, yeah, if you're only needing to get the weight up there, why do any more reps than that? I would work on form and then start accumulating weight as you get closer to needing the extra squat weight. Until then, I'd settle for dumbbell squats. They're kind of annoying because of the way you have to tent your arms out to keep the bells from dragging on you, but it's better than idling.

I seem to be assuming you have access to heavy/adjustable dumbbells, though.

Hopefully some of the heavy hitters will be able to tell you something like, "Oh, yeah, that's easy. You just do ______s and ______s."

Speaking of form, though, are you sure yours is good? I can't remember who that was asking about something like form on the cleans (I think it was karky), but it can make a pretty big difference, from what I've read/seen in videos. You gotta start driving hard from about when the bar passes your knees, and really give 'er. Do you hop right off the ground?

Trying to lift up heavy weight for your squat, one of your muscles can fail on you and hit you in the nose/head or somewhere else.

By the way, instead of power cleaning or snatching the weight up overhead to go to a squat, why don't you do a push press instead or even better... work on your front squat? People's front squat is usually weeker than their back squat. You can also do a Hack Squat, which is picking the barbell up from the ground behind you and squatting.

Oh and when people power clean, do they power clean with an upright row? I heard that upright row is not good for the shoulders. In power clean clips I have seen, it looks like they upright row before getting into their front squat position.

When you power clean, the bar doesn't go over the head so it wouldn't hit your head. And how am I supposed to military/push press if i can't clean the bar unto my shoulders? I don't like Hack squats.

Please, only reply if you actually have experience with oly lifts. I don't need people to reply that haven't done this and all they have are their theories.

There is no upright row in the clean. The bar is brought up by a powerful pull of the posterior chain and the shrugging of the traps.

Haha, fair enough. Just trying to be helpful, though.

Phate, it's really hard to talk someone through a clean or one of its variants. There are a lot of nuances that a good coach would behoove you to have around. Bad habits are formed easily. Check the USA Weightlifting website for certified instructors near you. I'd invest in a lesson a week or every two weeks for a bit of time. Mine charged $10 a lesson and every 3rd one was free. A session could easily last 2-3 hours.

Now...the best you can really do is watch teh videos and attempt them at home. Video yourself and show it back for feedback. If you're at school, then you can always attempt to ask one of the football players to show you, typically football players spend a lot of time doing bench, squat, and power clean.

But if the clean is just to get to a squatting movement, then do one power clean and do X number of reps for the squat or push press.

You might try working on a hang clean from the high thigh area and working your way down.

Tell me about it. This has got to be the most difficult exercise i've tired so far.
Georgen linked me to GAYLE HATCH :: broadband video channel and they have excellent oly lifting tutorials, but it's still difficult.

Even when i do the power clean when I squat, it's not nearly how its supposed to be in the video. For one, when the bar is almost over my shoulder my left leg comes forward to counter-balance the momentum, and second, my arms bend a bit, i tired keeping them as straight as possible while i'm bringing the bar up..but its a technique thats hard to master.

YouTube - Hang Clean Tutorial
Hang clean's like these?

I'll try that, but i've been doing almost the same thing for my squats for a long time now and it hasn't allowed me to clean more....

Oh okay awesome. =) I need to work on my posterior chain and get rid of my anterior pelvic tilt before I even start to do power cleans. I do not want to injure myself.

Your hams have origins in the pelvis. If you have stronger hams you will have an easier time with your posture. You should look into using a GHR and a reverse hyper machine.

Evo gave good advice on the oly lifts. I don't have a coach but I've spent a fair deal of time trying to get the form down. There's a lot of info out there and it's very easy to get confused. Take it from me, I've tried getting cleans but I'm more often than not stuck sifting through all the info that may or may not be helpful. Getting a coach should be easy since you live in higher population density area.

that crossfit thing isn't a pull, it's a muscle pull (like a hybrid between a pull and an upright row)

Can you post a youtube vid of what a real pull would look like

http://www.pinnaclestrengthandfitnes...h_pull_set.AVI