How to master the Power Clean: improve full-body strength with just one move

ActiveWorkoutsHow to master the Power Clean: improve full-body strength with just one moveReady to add some serious oomph to your workout routine? Say hello to the Power CleanWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Ready to add some serious oomph to your workout routine? Say hello to the Power Clean

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Shot of a man doing front squats in the gym

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The power clean is the ultimate workout move, combining strength, speed, and a dash of athletic grace—which alone should be enough of an incentive to learn how to do it.

This Olympic lift isn’t just for elite athletes or the CrossFit crowd, though; it’s a fantastic way to boost your overall fitness, improve your explosiveness, and impress your gym buddies with your newfound prowess.

The Power Clean

When it comes to Olympic lifts to consider, there are actually only two: the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. Both involve lifting a heavy barbell from the floor to overhead.

The Power Clean is, in fact, a foundational exercise for Clean and Jerk and a compound exercise that works the full body, especially the glutes, core, quads, hamstrings, adductors, shoulders, and forearms. But how and why should you do it?

“A Power Clean is a full-body movement where the bar is lifted fast and explosively from the floor to a racked position on the front of the shoulders, ” says Jack Claxton, Level 3 Personal Trainer and Personal Training Ambassador atDavid Lloyd.

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The Power Clean and Functional Fitness

Being able to lift a load from the ground to your shoulders in one powerful movement - AKA the power clean is also very useful for every day life; think jobs around the house, carrying young kids - and even heaving around heavy bags.

How to do Power Cleans

We think you’ll agree that the Power Clean is a good all-round egg that’s challenging, yet fun to learn and fun to perform. Here’s how to do it"

Power Clean basics

The Power Clean is highly technical, which can feel pretty intimidating at first. Here are a few tips to help you along the way.

Before performing a Power Clean, always warm up. The exercise involves explosive movements that require adequate muscle activation and flexibility. To help prepare your body for the move, perform dynamic stretches andmobility exercisestargeting the hips, knees, ankles, shoulders, and wrists.

Start with light weights and focus on perfecting your technique. Gradually increase the weight as you become more comfortable with the move and are 100 per cent certain you can maintain proper form.

It’s important to incorporate assistance exercises to help improve your power clean. Assistance exercises that target the specific muscles and movement patterns involved in the lift include frontsquats, which will work on your wrist flexibility, quads, and hip flexors;deadlifts, which will help build up your hamstrings and lower back, as well as hang cleans; and high pulls, which will help buildgrip strengthand improve shoulder strength and mobility.

Keep the bar close. To do this, imagine shaving your shins, thighs, and torso with the barbell as you lift it up from the floor. Letting the bar get too far away from your body will cause you to lose momentum, which will have a huge impact on the efficiency of the movement. It will also put too much strain on the back and shoulders.

“The power clean is an athletic and explosive movement which takes a lot of focus to execute. You certainly don’t want to do them in a fatigued state and cause an injury, which is why you’ll need to keep the reps low and power output high. The trick, as always, is to find the balance between pushing to get stronger whilst keeping your form on point.”

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The Power Clean and Functional Fitness

How to do Power Cleans

Power Clean basics