Sports Institue Northern Ireland

HIGH PULL	BY PETER SMYTH
The high pull is an assistance exercise of the power clean used to help develop technique and strength in the muscles that are responsible for the first and second pull in the clean. The high pull involves all the major muscle groups of the body similar to the clean pull, the upper arm muscles (biceps brachii, brachialis, brachioradialis) are greater involved due to bending of the elbows at the end of the movement. The exercise is a progression used to develop efficient pulling technique before the full clean is learnt.
1. STARTING POSITION The starting position is the same as the deadlift/clean pull as shown in Picture 1 and is described in greater detail under the deadlift article in the “Exercise of the Month”. It is essential that the athlete point the elbows along the bar so that the barbell can be pulled close to the body. Like all exercises ensure the starting position is correct to ensure a safe and efficient lift before commencing the lift.
2. FIRST PULL Once starting position has been perfected the lift is initiated by pushing against the ground with the legs in a slow and controlled fashion until the bar reaches knee level (Picture 2). The back should stay in its neutral curve ensuring that the hips and knees rise at the same rate. The legs should primarily perform this movement, not by the back. Exactly the same movement as the first pull in the clean pull.
3. SECOND PULL Upon passing knee level the athlete drives the hips explosively forward rising up on the toes and powerful shrugs the shoulders. At this point the movement continues by pulling the bar with the upper arms finishing the high pull with the barbell in the middle of the trunk as shown in Picture 3. Return the bar down to the ground keeping the back in its neutral curve as explained before in the deadlift/clean pull.
COMMON MISTAKES The same mistakes for the deadlift and clean pull apply to the high pull. The most common mistake with the high pull is the over use of the upper body muscles to lift the barbell. This can also lead to the timing of the movement out of sequence as athletes that have a stronger upper body muscles try to muscle the bar up with the upper body as opposed to fully using the explosiveness of the legs. Other faults include swinging the barbell with the upper arms so that the bar curves away from the body. This creates an inefficient lift and athletes run the risk of loosing balance and over extending the vertebrae in the spine causing unnecessary stress in this area. The barbell should be kept close to the body throughout, but not bounced of the thighs with the back in its neutral curve. Again as with all exercises ensure that the load is kept light concentrating on technique before increasing the weight on the barbell. View the video>> (FILE SIZE 272KB - PLEASE ALLOW TIME TO DOWNLOAD)