Rotation of the Body

Rotation of the body occurs when the athlete’s shoulders move backwards, and the knees move forward, as shown by Figure 1 below. To some extent, there will always be some rotation of the body after the bar passes the knees and as the athlete completes full extension of the body. However, it is highly problematic for the athlete if this rotation is excessive or too early. It may cause a loss of force production and/or may cause the athlete to lose balance backwards. The key is to keep your shoulders slightly in front of the bar until the bar reaches mid-thigh. If the shoulders appear to be behind the bar at the mid-thigh stage, excessive rotation has occurred.

This bar velocity chart is good for acceleration at the finish of the pull, but shows a significant loss of velocity in the middle of the pull. If bar velocity drops even further than shown in the middle of the pull, the athlete risks referees failing lifts for an infringement of the rule requiring a continuous pull.