Grip Width For The Clean, The Front Squat, The Push Press and The Jerk

A good starting point for these lifts is to take a grip wide enough to place the index fingers and thumbs just outside the shoulders when holding the bar in the front squat rack position.The rack will be discussed in more detail later. Ideally, you will want to try to find one hand spacing that you can use for cleans, fronts squats,  jerks and presses. The advantage to finding one standard grip spacing is simplicity and efficiency. If the same grip can be utilized for all these movements, compound exercises such as the clean + front squat + push press can be performed with a greater degree of fluidity.

Not all lifters are able to achieve the "one grip fits all" goal. Many high level lifters will clean using one hand spacing that provides a more powerful pulling motion and then after cleaning the bar they will move the hands out wider to facilitate what is, for them, a better spacing for executing the jerk.

Grip width is all about trade offs. At the start of the pull from the floor, a wider grip will generally place the lifter's hips in a less advantageous position but the trade off for less advantage from the floor is the bar won’t have to be pulled as far because the wider grip places the bar higher when the lifter is standing erect. A narrower grip for the pull will likely be stronger off the floor, but will have to be pulled higher as a result. Additionally, the lifter may have to widen the grip after the clean to be able to jerk the bar successfully: just one more thing to think about.

A wider grip in the jerk may facilitate an easier lockout position overhead as well as a shorter distance the bar has to be driven overhead. However, the wider the grip the more stress is placed on the shoulder joints and the greater the shoulder strength that is required to hold the bar overhead. A narrower grip for the jerk is more stable but more shoulder flexibility is required to get the bar securely locked out overhead. Additionally, the bar has to be driven higher with a narrow grip and the lifter has to split wider/deeper to receive the bar.

As a general rule, avoid using an extreme grip spacing (wide or narrow) since extremes will likely stress the joints in potentially injurious ways. With experimentation early on and while using light weight, you will find a grip that will be comfortable for you and will allow you to execute the lifts properly. Endeavor to use a the above “starting point” grip and deviate from it gradually. You will not  likely decrease the spacing between the hands, but you may want to widen out slightly. A deficit of  shoulder flexibility and mobility is often a determining factor and should be addressed concurrently while  finding your preferred grip width.

Comments

[Annabella]

Well, that makes sense.
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