Coach Beth demonstrates a “clean” deadlift versus a conventional deadlift

Weightlifters do things a bit differently than traditional lifters. Here is an example:

The exercise shown below is called a “clean pull” and it begins with a 3 second pause at about 2 inches off the floor, then again at the knee, then lastly at the hips. It is at this point at the hip crease where the lifter would normally explode upwards, shrug up, and pull themselves under the bar to catch it.

The position you see me in at 2 inches off the floor and at the knee are what we call a “clean deadlift.” These are in no way the same as a conventional deadlift. In a clean deadlift, the bar is away from the shins. The bar is over the ball of my feet and comes straight up. The bar path won’t start to sweep back in towards my body until it’s made its way above my knees. So the first 2 pauses I take here, the bar is about an inch away from my body. The feel is completely different from that of a conventional dead, and places far more stress on the lower back and hamstrings. We must practice these positions in order to build confidence in our first pull, which is why we usually complete these with 100% or more of our max clean.

I nerd out when it comes to weightlifting and all of the little differences and idiosyncrasies that are involved in both the snatch and the clean and jerk. I hope someone else out there digs this as much as I do ?