Position - 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 at 45 degress with a straight spine. The arms are fully extended and rotated medially (elbows truned out) to maximize the pulling action and minimize the chances for the athlete to reverse curl the bar. The head is neutral with the eyes looking straight ahead, not up at the ceiling. The spine is straight and with the shoulder blades. The traps provide a powerful shrugging movement during the ascent of the bar.
Jump Phase/2nd Pull - Think "jump" in order to accelerate the bar upward. Intiate a pull (upright row style) bending the arms and shrugging at the same time. Bring the bar at least to arm pit level with the elbows above the bar. As the bar is ascending, the athlete extends the entire body through the concept of triple extension. This comes from the rapid, powerful extension of the hips, knees, and ankles so that the athlete is on the balls of the feet.
Catch - The finish comes with a stomp of the feet which causes the hips or center of gravity to drop putting the bar in position for the athlete to catch or rack it. Executing the stomp only involves a minimum of ground clearance. As the bar is ascending, the athlete extends the entire body through the concept of triple extension. This comes from the rapid, powerful extension of the hips, knees, and ankles. Once the body is extended and the bar is chest high, the body then quickly drops, catching the bar in a front squat position with elbows out in front of the body. The stomp landing is as flat-footed as possible, with the weight towards the heels, not the balls of the feet or toes. After the catch, gather and stand tall with the bar.
Front Squat - Once the bar is in the rack position, the athlete gathers by widing the feet so that the hips can go between the knnes while performing a front squat. Depth can be determined by when the elbows can hit the top of the thigh.
Press - From the bottom, the athlete then begins to rise and pushes the weight over head in one movement. The power for the push press comes from the lower body as much as the upper body. To get the bar in the finish position, some athletes are able to execute a double bend of the knees; the first is at the beginning and the second occurs just before lock out, when the athlete's body drops out from under the bar into the 1/4 squat postion. Lower the bar to the shoulders while standing up and return it to the starting position.
