Fourth Annual "Are Power Cleans Good for Football" Debate

[boogerred]

It is time once again to bring this one up. So, are they good for football? Don't just say yes or no. That is mundane and boring. Have a reason for your answer.

I say yes! Cleans work the knees, hips and shoulders - all of which are important for football. If done correctly, I believe cleans work the hips as well as or maybe even better than the other core lifts.

[Fonzie]

I say yes, cleans as you said work everything. I believe that if the players are doing cleans they need to be watched closely while doing them. If done incorrectly there can be serious injuries. But overall I see no reason why power cleans would be bad for football.

[madpolecat]

a dissenting opinion...

http://www.criticalbench.com/strongman_ ... tball1.htm

[Fonzie]

that article is just saying that its to time consuming to do things the right way. I understand but also believe that it is a critical lift to include in an athletes workout.

[madpolecat]

Merely fueling the debate, good sirs...

[Fonzie]

got ya....

[meatswinger]

our coach at sg sez these are bad for yer wrists so we dont do them.

[Howard Cosell]

I think cleans are great if used along with polymetrics.

[jiveturkey]

a dissenting opinion...

http://www.criticalbench.com/strongman_ ... tball1.htm

Maybe using tires to get the same muscle work done is the way to go.

[91blue14]

no

[Fonzie]

a dissenting opinion...

http://www.criticalbench.com/strongman_ ... tball1.htm

Maybe using tires to get the same muscle work done is the way to go.

i am told that the old tire workout is very bad on the back, I have never did it but is this true?

[OVCfan32]

cleans are the best. . . and when you add a squat to the end. . nothing comes close. . .

that being said, its not hard, but the kids can't have that macho attitude, cleans should be low weight anyways, max out is pretty much pointless. . .unless an adamant lifter no one should go over their weight for workouts on cleans. . . .more benefit is likely made by trying harder. . .go low, jump hard, squat slow. . .. . and once again. . all that being said. . .if you don't feel 100% in the legs or back. . just a lil' hitch in that knee. . "no no its nothing" don't mess with cleans. . specially that higher weight

[cadmussasquatch]

[JohnKnight]

Go to every major college football program in the US and see if they are doing cleans.

[sider]

Not only do they work the hips, hamstrings, quads, lower back, forearms, and shoulders they teach maybe the most important aspect in football explosion.

[boogerred]

Go to every major college football program in the US and see if they are doing cleans.

First of all, To "go" to every major college football program and see if the team cleans or not would be expensive because the distances between the schools. It would probably be cheaper to look at the teams' websites or call and ask.

Just because major college football teams are or are not doing something doesn't necessarily have an automatic impact on whether or not high school football players in SE Ohio should do a particular lift.

How many high school coaches say, "Now, Let's make sure we do (insert activity) because (insert college team name) is doing it"?

Do colleges call around and see what programs the high school players are using?

Are the high schools in this area supposed to be prep schools for NCAA FBS teams? What percentage of high school football players play major college football? So if the majority of the kids are not going to be college athletes, should the high-school program be designed for the ones who are potentially college athletes or for the average high-school student? (I think this will vary from school to school since some schools have higher percentages of their athletes continuing on to play college football than other scools)

In case someone says, "But you didn't say that this was a topic just about high school football." That is implied since this is the high school football forum.

I am also sick of people saying that cleans are "dangerous". Any lift is potentially dangerous if done incorrectly. If proper technique (included here is the notion that "heavy" weight should not be used) is taught and constantly stressed, the chance of injury will decline significantly. Saying that cleans are dangerous is a copout used by coaches that are too lazy to supervise the lift correctly.

[JohnKnight]

So you think high school football coaches don't go to college clinics and practices to see what those guys are doing? I see, someday I will figure this high school football thing out I guess. I always thought you were supposed to try to get your kids working to a level of the BEST in the country. Maybe we just need to do dips, pushups and pullups. That is the way they did it in the old days!

[boogerred]

Pushups, situps and dips should be included in every weightlifting program.

I agree that the goal is to be the best. But the best college teams (USC, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Florida, etc.) only recruit kids that are already top of the line athletes. Some of the college workouts contain activities that some high kids could not complete.

It would be like trying to solve Physical Chemistry problems without even taking General Physics.

[madpolecat]

While going to the colleges and looking around to see how they do things can generate lots of good ideas, I would say that there are high school coaches out there who blindly adhere to what the guys at State College USA are doing without asking if the things they do at State College USA are appropriate for high school athletes.

Example: Speed development. To whom should a HS program designer look to develop his team speed? Should he/she turn to the guy who is advocating a program which will make fast kids (those at D-I schools, for example) faster or to the person who works with building speed in kids from the ground up?

As far as pushups, pullups, situps, and dips, more of those exercises wouldn't hurt most kids anyway.

There are lots of kids trying to lift weights who don't really have the good foundation of strength that those exercises provide.

[madpolecat]

However, all the power cleaning in the word can't hold a candle to a good cattleball workout!