LEARN TO CLEAN - STEP 5 - CLEAN FROM FLOOR. Learn the Clean and Jerk lift from U.S. Olympic & Team USA coach, Harvey Newton. The final step in the top-down teaching method for learning the clean is to perform the full lift (squat, split, or power clean) from the floor. The lifter gets into a proper get-set position with the barbell on the platform. Place the feet about hip width apart, with the bar positioned over the toes. Squat down, grasping the bar with a hook grip a little wider than shoulder-width. The knees are forward of the toes, the balance is toward the front part of the foot. Arms are straight, hips are slightly higher than the knees, and the shoulders are in front of the bar. The spine is neutral (slightly concave). The lift is initiated with the lower body muscles pushing away from the platform, raising the shoulders and hips at the same angle until the bar is just below the knees. This is the first pull. The center of pressure on the foot moves from toward the front of the foot to near, but not on, the heels. As the bar moves upward and inward, the knees nearly straighten to allow the bar to pass. This posture is exactly like the position from which the lifter previously practiced low block or low hang pulls and cleans. Initially, this lift can be done in a segmented manner, i.e., perform the first pull, then stop for a second or two to confirm the posture. Then continue to the power position and hesitate for a second or two, confirming the lifter is in the correct posture. From here execute the explosive second pull, followed by the pull-under phase, catching the bar on the shoulders and clavicles. Realize that any hesitation is cause for disqualification in competition, so within a few workouts accomplish the clean in a single, explosive motion with no hesitation. Regardless of style used to clean, the lifter recovers to a standing position, flips the bar off the shoulders and catches the weight about mid-thigh, then returns the barbell to the platform with the same neutral spine posture used to elevate the weight.