More power means more strength. More power means you can achieve higher
speeds faster. Olympic lifts develop power. They teach you to explode
under the bar. Power Cleans are an Olympic Lift.
Olympic lifts are more technical than Squats or Deadlifts. If you want
to become an Olympic Lifter, you’ll need a coach. If you don’t have
access to a coach, use this beginner’s guide to learn how to Power
Clean.
What’s a Power Clean? The Clean starts in a position similar as for the
Deadlift. Clean the floor from the barbell by pulling it on your
shoulders. Catch the bar in the Front Squat starting position.
Variations of the Clean:
Squat Clean. You Squat under the weight. Hips go below parallel. You
can lift more weight as you don’t have to pull the bar as high.
Split Clean. Cleans done with a split, like Lunges. Popular before
1960. Improves single-leg strength & stability and hip mobility.
Hang Clean. Cleans with the bar starting around knee level instead
of on the floor. The bar “hangs”. Powerful movement.
Power Clean. Hips don’t come lower than parallel. You need to pull
the bar higher & accelerate as much as you can
Benefits of Power Cleans. Box Squats, Plyometrics & Olympic Lifts
develop power. Power Cleans are the easiest Olympic Lift you can learn.
Benefits:
Power Development. You achieve higher speeds faster. More power and
more speed means more strength.
Muscle Development. Power Cleans work your posterior chain hard:
calves, hamstrings, glutes & lower back but also upper-back &
traps.
Racking the Bar. Power Clean the bar on your front shoulders for
Front Squats & Overhead Presses if you don’t have a Squat Rack yet.
The Power Clean Movement. The Power Clean consists of 2 pulls. You’ll
spend most time working on the technique of the 2nd pull which is
trickiest to learn.
1st Pull. Pull the barbell from the floor to your knees. The 1st
pull is similar to a Deadlift and is a slow movement.
2nd Pull. Pull the barbell from your mid-thighs to your shoulders by
extending your hips. The 2nd pull is an explosive movement.
Necessary Flexibility for Power Cleans. Lack of flexibility will make it
harder to learn how to Power Clean with correct technique.
Wrists. Stretch your wrists & triceps. Warm-up with some Front
Squats using the clean grip so you get used to the rack position.
Hips & Ankles. You need flexible hamstrings for the 1st pull and
mobile ankles for the 2nd pull. Improve your hip mobility & ankle
mobility.
Upper-body. Keep your chest up and shoulder-blades back & down
at all times. Improve upper-body posture by doing shoulder dislocations.
Power Clean Learning Procedure. The Power Clean starts with the bar on
the floor. You’ll learn it the other way around.
Romanian Deadlift. Teaches you proper hip extension. Pull the
barbell from knee to thigh level using your hip muscles.
Rack Position. Lack of wrist & triceps flexibility makes it
impossible to rack the weight correctly. Practice the rack position.
Hang Power Clean. Pull the weight from mid-thigh level to your front
shoulders. You’ll spend most time practicing this one.
Power Clean. Clean the floor from the barbell by pulling the bar to
your shoulders. Piece of cake once you master Hang Power Cleans.
Power Clean Setup. The setup is always the same, whether you’re doing
Romanian Deadlifts, Hang Power Cleans or Power Cleans.
Shoulder-width Stance. Keep the weight on your heels. Curl your toes
up if necessary. Jump up a few times, use that stance for Power Cleans.
Hook Grip. Use the hook grip so you can relax your forearms and
avoid pulling with your arms. Grip width should be about 54cm/21″.
Chest Up, Shoulder-blades Back & Down. Prevents your back to
round. Make a big chest, lift it up. Keep your shoulder-blades back
& down.
Step 1: The Romanian Deadlift. Teaches you to bring the bar from knee to
mid-thigh level using your hip muscles. Unlike Deadlifts, Romanian
Deadlifts starts from the hang position, not from the floor.
Straight Arms. Keep your arms straight at all times. Do not bend
them. Use the hook grip & relax your forearms.
Straight Legs. The goal is to bend at the hips, not at the knees.
Keep your legs as straight as possible. Unlock your knees to avoid
stress.
Hips Back. Key to Romanian Deadlifts & Power Cleans. Lower the
bar by bringing your hips back as far as you can. Hamstring stretches
help.
Squeeze Your Glutes. Bring your hips forward to get the bar up. Push
from the heels & squeeze your glutes hard. Don’t pull with your
back.
Bar in Contact with Legs. The bar must touch your upperlegs at all
times. Don’t let the bar go away from your body.
Step 2: Rack Position. Skip this step if you already do Front Squats
using the clean grip. Put the empty bar on your shoulders like in the
picture below. How you put the bar on your shoulders doesn’t matter yet.
Bar Against Throat. Make a big chest & open your hands. Put the
bar on top of your shoulders, behind your clavicels, against your
throat.
Elbows High. Catching the weight with low elbows stresses your
wrists & elbows. Put your elbows high. The higher the better.
Elbows Pointing In. Easier on your wrists and builds a firmer base
for the bar to sit on. Some don’t need to do this, so experiment.
Step 3: Hang Power Clean. Start in the Romanian Deadlift position with
the bar at mid-thigh level. Arms stay straight, hips back. This is your
starting position.
Jump. Catch the bar in the rack position. If you hesitate, just jump
up. Your body will figure out how to rack the bar.
Stomp. Your body coordinates stomping with racking. The harder you
stomp, the faster you’ll rack. Stomp your feet back into your
footprints.
Elbows High. Racking with low elbows will hurt your elbows and
wrists. Rack the bar by throwing your elbows as high as possible.
Video of the Hang Power Clean
Hang Clean Tutorial
Step 4: Power Cleans. Practice Hang Power Cleans a lot before switching
to Power Cleans. 2 tips.
Pull Slowly from The Floor. Jerking the weight causes bad technique
in the 2nd pull. Pull slowly from the floor. Accelerate once above the
knees.
Put Your Hips Higher. Hips are higher on Power Cleans than
Deadlifts. You’ll feel tension in your hamstrings when putting your hips
correctly.
Common Power Clean Errors. Chest up, shoulder-blades back & down,
weight on heels, looking forward & engaging your hips will fix most
Power Clean errors. Other things you can do wrong:
Pulling with the Arms. Your traps & upper-back pull the weight,
not your arms. Use the hook grip and relax your forearms.
Low Elbows. Focus on throwing your elbows higher. Do lots of Front
Squats to learn the Rack Position. Stretch your wrists & triceps.
Pulling Back. Power Clean by throwing your hips forward, not by
pulling with your lower back. Use your glutes. Do glute activation
exercises.
Falling Forward. Keep the weight on your heels and the bar in
contact with your legs. Pull once the bar reaches mid-thigh level. Try
to touch your chest on the way up.
Practice. Each movement eventually becomes 2nd nature if you keep doing
it. The more you practice, the better your technique will be.
3x a Week. 5×5 or 8×3. You can also practice the Romanian Deadlift
on rest days at home using the broomstick.
Focus on Technique. Forget about the weight. Start light, focus on
quality and add weight progressively.
Persist. Can’t do Hang Power Cleans correctly? Go back to Romanian
Deadlifts. Do 20 sets of 5 reps. Then go back to Hang Power Cleans
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