• Introduction
• Learning the Clean
• Variations

Introduction

The clean is the most efficient way to lift a barbell from the ground to shoulder-level.

The clean starts in roughly the same position as a deadlift. The barbell is jumped to full extension without bending and lifting with the arms. When the legs are fully extended at the top of the jump, the shoulders shrug, then the elbows are lifted high and outside (like a scarecrow) in the process of violently pulling the body under the bar. The bar is received on the shoulders supported by the fingertips.

In the clean (also called the squat clean), the bar is received at the bottom of a full-squat, then a front squat is executed to return to a standing position. In a power clean, the bar is received in a quarter squat (without dropping all the way down into a full squat). A variation on both of these lifts is to start the lift with the barbell held at the hips (the ending position of a deadlift). The term “hang” is used to denote this variation. The following table summarizes these four main clean variations.

Learning the Clean

Most of the progressions outlined in the snatch article also apply to the clean. The two main differences are that the clean uses a narrower grip, and the bar is received at the chest instead of overhead.

Mike Bergener talks about the clean wmvmov

Variations

When the word “clean” is used by itself, it usually means “squat clean”. This video demonstrates the difference between the power clean and squat clean.