Reclaim the Hang and Stop Lifting from the Floor!
Written by Bryan Miller
Did you know that Kendrick Farris (The United States’ ONLY male lifter in the 2012 Olympics) will lift from the hang position for six months straight, with working sets of 3 reps and 5 reps?
What exactly is this “hang” position? The “hang” refers to where the barbell starts while performing the Olympic lifts. There are three starting positions; the high hang, where the bar is high on the femurs; the mid hang, where the bar is in the middle of the femurs, and finally the low hang, where the bar is between just above or just below the knees.
Hang positions take away the need to navigate the knees, which makes the lift less complicated and in turn allows the lifter to focus more on speed and other technicalities.
Could lifting from the floor be halting your progress? While Olympics lifts are performed from the floor in competition, it is important to understand that the explosion phase takes place around the mid thigh. Everything prior to that position is about maintaining control and positioning of the bar, like this article points out. Basically, the knees mess everything up. It is very difficult to get the bar from the floor to the proper position in the explosion phase. Enter the hang position.
What now? I challenge you to work on your lifts from the hang position for 6-8 weeks, and then retry lifting from the floor. I would be very surprised to hear if you don’t PR, or even PR your snatch during that 6-8 weeks from the hang period. If you are an advanced lifter and think you are beyond improving with practice from the hang, look at Kendrick Farris.
References
1. “FuBarbell.” FuBarbell. N.p., 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. URL: http://fubarbell.com/content/got-text-kendrick-farris-kendrickjfarris-other-day
Great post. I will definitely be “hanging out” for the next 8 weeks!
If it’s good enough for Kendrick….
This just made my night. I love Kendrick!