Position - Stand, holding the bar with a closed, over-hand grip. Grip the bar so that the arms are straight and outside the legs. An advanced technique for the grip is the use of the hook grip, where the thumb goes around the bar first, then the fingers close over the thumb and around the bar. The feet are slightly wider than hip width with toes straight ahead, feet parallel, and the knees following the line of the feet. The bar rests just above the knee caps on the thigh. The knees are bent to 45 degrees. The spine is straight and the head is neutral with the eyes looking straight ahead, not up at the ceiling. The arms are fully extended and rotated medially (elbows turned out) to maximize the pulling action and minimize the chances for the athlete to reverse curl the bar.
Movement - Think jump. The hang position is a controlled jump by pushing down against the floor and rapidly extending the hips and knees. Straighten the torso and begin to pull with the arms and shrug the bar all at once. As the bar reaches mid-thigh, the athlete "brushes" the bar against the thighs.
Catch - Finish this with a stomp. When the bar is ascending, the athlete is descending and stomping the floor, forcing the center of gravity to drop, catching the bar in a front squat position, with elbows out in front of the body. The stomp emphasizes landing as flat-footed as possible. After the catch, gather, stand tall with the bar.
Note - The initial position needs mastering before anything else. Spend adequate time practicing this on the bar so the individuals learn where the optimal hip position is. You may see early on that as one technical error is fixed, another arises. This is why practice makes permanent. All segments must be aligned properly and in order before beginning anything else.
