December 2014; Vol. 3, No. 2: Pages 53-56

A comparison of maximal power clean performances performed from the floor, knee and mid-thigh

Jonathan Kelly, John J. McMahon, Paul Comfort

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to compare one repetition maximum (1RM) power clean performances, performed from the floor, the knee and from mid-thigh, to determine the differences between variations. Design and Methods: Using a within subjects repeated measures design, healthy male subjects (n=12; height 1.83 ± 0.08 m; body mass 92.17 ± 13.18 kg; age 21 ± 3.69 years), performed each variation of the power clean on two separate occasions to determine reliability of each assessment. A repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc analysis was used to compare performances between each variation. Results: Power clean from the floor (93.75 ± 16.53 kg) resulted in significantly greater loads lifted than the power clean from the knee (87.92 ± 16.85 kg, p=0.04, Cohens d = 0.35) and the mid-thigh power clean (87.33 ± 16.43 kg, p=0.02, Cohens d = 0.53). There was no significant difference between the power clean from the knee and mid-thigh power clean (p>0.05, Cohens d = 0.15). Coefficient of determination between the power clean and the power clean performed from the knee (R2 = 0.923) and mid-thigh power clean (R2 = 0.923) were high. Conclusion: From the findings of this study, when maximal load is required, the power clean from the floor permits the use of the greatest load, which can be used to predict the 1RM of the other variations. Moreover, when determining changes in performance in each variation of the lift, changes ≥6.14%, ≥7.18% and ≥7.66% for the power clean, power clean from the knee and power clean from mid-thigh, respectively, can be considered meaningful changes.

Received November 7, 2014; accepted December 1, 2014

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