The power clean is one of the most impactful exercises you can include in your gym routine, as it targets several muscles throughout your body. But performing it may be more difficult than it seems, and improper technique can lead to injuries and unnecessary stress. Here’s what you need to know.
What Is a Power Clean?
The power clean is an exercise that focuses on developing your total body strength and is often advertised as one of the key motions for a complete workout. It’s a prevalent exercise among athletes, as it has been linked to numerous benefits in sports performance. Yet, it’s also known for being harder to do than some other motions — and improper form could lead to serious injury.
The “clean” part of the power clean refers to a pulling motion, similar to, for example, deadlifts — another key exercise for total body strength. The “power” part addresses the explosiveness of the motion, which should be performed in a quick and smooth movement.
Before attempting power cleans, make sure that your deadlift and squatting technique is flawless. Power cleans are partly based on these two motions, so performing them correctly is crucial. Furthermore, if you’re a beginner, it’s always a good idea to ask your trainer to help you with the proper power clean form.
What Muscles Does a Power Clean Work?
Even without taking into account their many variations, power cleans are famous for being one of the best exercises for total body strength, working muscles all along your back and legs. Here are some of their primary targets:
Gluteus. The gluteus is a set of muscles that lie in the back of your pelvis, at the top of your legs. Composed of the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus, they are the target of many gym-goers, who often target them with motions like squats and deadlifts. The gluteus muscles are responsible for extending and abducting your hips while also being crucial to the rotation of your legs.
Hamstrings. The hamstrings are located beneath your hips and are responsible for bending the knee joint and extending and rotating the hip joints. They are one of the most crucial muscles for running, which makes them a primary concern for most athletes. But they can be injured very easily, so it’s key to maintain proper form while exercising them.
Upper back. The upper back plays an essential role in moving your body, head, neck, and shoulders, along with maintaining good posture and helping you breathe. Muscles like the latissimus dorsi and the trapezius are key in supporting your weight and provide a framework for your bones.
Spinal erectors. The spinal erectors are a group of muscles that run deep in your back, covering most of its width. They are the most powerful muscles involved in extending your back while also being fundamental to maintaining your core strong. Planks, crunches, and yoga are great complements to the power clean exercise for strengthening your spinal erectors.
How to Do a Power Clean
Like any other free weight exercise, power cleans should be performed with proper form to avoid injuries. Incorrect technique may also lead to inefficient repetitions, causing unnecessary tiredness and risk. Here’s how to do a proper power clean:
- Place the barbell on the floor in front of you. Once you load the plates, separate your feet to match your hips, make sure that your back is straight, and bend forward at the hip.
- Grip the bar at shoulder width and pull it upward, close to your body — at the same time, push your feet into the ground explosively. This is known as the first pull and is somewhat similar to a deadlift.
- After the bar reaches your knees, push your hips forward and up while still pulling the bar upward. This motion, known as the second pull, should also be done explosively, so make sure you practice it before trying it with real weights.
- When the bar passes your belly button, move your body under the bar, pointing your elbows forward with your palms facing the ceiling. At the same time, your hips should drop below your knees, similar to a squat. Finally, stand all the way up to complete the repetition.
- After finishing each repetition, make sure you return the barbell to the starting position in a controlled manner to avoid injury and unnecessary stress.
Power Clean Adaptations
The power clean has dozens of different adaptations that accomplish different purposes, ranging from bypassing mobility problems to targeting other muscles. Some of these originated for a specific sport, like basketball or rugby, but may also serve other people. Here are some of the most popular variations of the power clean:
- Clean pull
- Hang clean
- Jump shrug
- Kettlebell clean
- Sandbag clean
- Water bag clean
Power Clean Benefits
Power cleans are one of the most effective exercises you can implement into your gym routine when it comes to total body strength. Widely praised for the number of different muscles it targets, this exercise is crucial for anyone looking to grow their back and leg muscles in size.
It also strengthens your bones, allowing them to become more flexible as long as you use proper form and weight. This also applies to connective tissue and joints, making them stronger as you progress through learning this exercise.
Power cleans are also known to increase athletic performance, thanks to working dozens of muscles in an improved manner. Olympic weightlifters should pay special attention to this, as it allows them to ingrain the correct technique for other compound exercises.
Power Clean Mistakes to Avoid
Like most other compound exercises, proper form is a crucial part of performing a successful power clean. If you’re a beginner, it might be a good idea to ask a trained professional to show you the correct technique. But if you aren’t able to ask someone to check your form, pay special attention to these common mistakes:
- Starting out with a loaded barbell instead of practicing with an empty one
- Using your lower back to lift instead of your hamstrings and glutes
- Loading too much weight, leading to injuries and unnecessary stress
- Lifting your heels while on the final pull
