Clean
You pull a weight from the floor explosively and catch it at your shoulders, in a front squat with a barbell or in the rack position with a kettlebell, working legs, hips and back.
Equipment
- Primary muscles
- Hamstrings, Quads, Glutes, Lower back, Traps
- Secondary
- Upper back, Front delts
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
- Primary muscles
- Lower back, Glutes, Hamstrings
- Secondary
- Front delts, Upper back, Quads
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
The barbell clean is an Olympic lift: it trains you to produce force fast and then get under the bar quickly, which builds power for sport and lifting. It's technical, so learn it with an empty bar or light weight, ideally with a coach. Unlike a power clean, the full clean is caught in a deep front squat, so you need the mobility to hold that position. The kettlebell clean is a much simpler one-arm version, common in kettlebell training and a good step before kettlebell presses and snatches.
How to do it (Barbell)
Stand with the bar over your midfoot, feet hip-width apart, and grip it overhand just outside your legs with your back flat and shoulders slightly over the bar.
Lift the bar by extending your hips and knees together, keeping it close to your shins.
As the bar passes mid-thigh, extend your hips, knees and ankles explosively and shrug your shoulders.
Pull yourself under the bar, whip your elbows through and catch it on your front delts in a front squat, then stand up. Learn this with light weight before loading it.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, kettlebell on the floor between them, and grip the handle with one hand.
Hinge at the hips with a flat back and hike the kettlebell back between your legs.
Snap your hips forward and guide the kettlebell up your body, keeping it close.
As it reaches chest height, rotate your hand around it so it settles on your forearm in the rack position, elbow tucked. Lower it back down along the same path. A loud bang on your forearm means you punched through it instead of rotating around it.
Common mistakes
Pulling with your arms too early
Bending your elbows before your hips and knees finish extending wastes the power from your legs. Keep your arms long through the explosive extension, then pull yourself under.
Letting the bar drift away from your body
A bar that swings out in front is hard to catch and pulls you forward. Keep it close to your shins and thighs all the way up.
Catching with your elbows down
If your elbows point at the floor in the catch, the bar rolls off your shoulders onto your wrists. Whip your elbows through fast so the bar sits on your front delts.
Banging the kettlebell onto your forearm
A loud bang means you punched through instead of rotating around the bell. Keep it close and turn your hand around the handle as it arrives in the rack.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
