Elitefts™ Director of Education Mark Watts explains an easy progression to help beginning athletes acquire an appropriate athletic position to perform explosive exercises such as jumps, snatches, cleans, and pulls from the hang position.
1. Stand tall without talking about the width of stance. Let the athlete stand with their feet naturally in terms of width. If they ask, guide them to a hip-width stance.
2. Have the athlete flex their quads and then relax. This will help them avoid excessive knee bend and still maintain a "soft knees" position.
3. To maintain proper posture in the thoracic spine, a verbal cue would be to have the athlete "put their shoulder blades in their back pockets". This cue still might not be enough for the athlete to properly retract and depress the scapula.
4. A physical cue to achieve this position is to have the athlete stand with their elbows at their sides and forearm parallel to the ground (like a "six-shooter"). This will help them understand the scapular retraction and depression component by pushing their elbows back and down.
5. Lastly, to re-position into a power position, have the athlete place their hands on their thighs while keeping the appropriate knee bend and scapular position. Slide your hands down your thighs by pushing your hips back. You can also have the athlete perform this movement facing away form the wall to give them a physical cue to push their hips toward.
This position can serve as a basic starting point for the Power, Rack, Catch, Jumping, or Landing Positions.