T Nation

Power Cleans, Squats & DL Same Day?

Powerlifting
#1

Right now, I am doing the 5/3/1 routine like this.

Day 1- OH Press 5/3/1, pullups 50 reps, bench 5x10
Day 2- Squats 5/3/1, deadlift 5x10
Day 3- Bench 5/3/1, rows 5x10, OH press 5x10
Day 4- Squats 5x10, Deadlift 5/3/1

I was thinking of throwing in power cleans. I have always had a desire to do them. I have been reading the things Jim Wendler has written and he says to do them before squats or deadlifts. However, I wasn’t quite sure if he meant it would be ok to do them before squats AND deadlifts. I know people react differently to different methods, but I was wondering your opinion on this or if you have added power cleans to your routine in this way.

#2

I definitely like to include cleans before heavy squats to develop explosiveness. Afterwards, I like to couple deadlifts as an accessory if squats are my main lift. I prefer using RDL or SLDL to target the hamstrings and back without dipping too much into my CNS.

#3

i am on a similar routine. i do power clean and plyo before deadlift, hang clean and plyo before heavy squat. it works out for me. But when you clean, don’t alway hit your max, its just too taxing on your cns, and it will definitely negatively impact your deadlift.

#4

I do power cleans before squats and power snatches before deadlift. I do these with a 5/3/1 rep scheme but set my training maxes pretty low and only go for prescribed reps. It works pretty well, but I would second that you need to keep these pretty light so they don’t interfere with the deadlift and squat.

#5

I like to use full cleans a warm-up for Squats and Deads. FYI, if you have never done them, learning clean/snatch/SGHP can be pretty taxing. So if you don’t know how to do them it might be a good idea to spend a cycle learning them first.

CT wrote about it in his sub forum a while back.