The Barbell Clean Decoded From Hang to Full Clean

Cleans can feel like alphabet soup at first. Hang clean, power clean, hang power clean, full clean, squat clean, they all come from the same family but do different jobs. Once you crack the naming code (hint, it's only two words), the differences get a lot less intimidating. Any version of the lift is one of the best things you can do for explosive power, athleticism, and total body strength.

If you've been avoiding cleans because nobody explained them to you, that ends today. Cleans build massive hip drive which carries over to your deadlift, squat, jumping, sprinting, and pretty much anything athletic.

What Is a Barbell Clean?

A barbell clean is an explosive lift where you pull a barbell from the floor (or a hang position) up onto the front of your shoulders in one motion, finishing standing tall in the rack position with your elbows high.

The clean is half of the Olympic clean and jerk, one of two competition lifts in the sport of weightlifting, and it shows up a lot in strength and conditioning because it trains fast force production better than almost any other lift.

Crack the Naming Code

Two words tell you everything: 

• "Hang" means the bar starts in your hands, off the floor (usually mid-thigh or just above the knee).
• "Power" means you catch the bar in a partial squat (above parallel), not a full-depth front squat.

Who Should Train Cleans

Training cleans is a good idea if you want to build explosive power for sport, develop hip drive that carries over to deadlifts and squats, or train pretty much your full body in one lift. They might not be the best pick if your only goal is hypertrophy (there are easier ways to build muscle), or if you have wrist or shoulder issues that make the rack position painful. Beginners should start with a simpler variation (we'll get to that) before pulling from the floor.

For a solid Olympic barbell at home, the Colorado Bar has the whip and spin you want for the lift. Our roundup of the best barbells for Olympic weightlifting has more options if you want to compare.

How to Do a Barbell Clean

• Set Up Strong: Stand with the bar over your midfoot, feet about hip-width, toes slightly out. Take a clean grip just outside your shoulders. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and keep your chest up and back flat. Arms straight, lats packed, shoulders rotated slightly in (think armpits to pockets) to keep the bar tight on the way up.
• Pull From the Floor: Big breath and brace. Push the floor away with your legs, keeping your back flat and chest over the bar. The bar travels close to your shins and thighs, with your shoulders and hips rising together. Don't let your hips shoot up faster than your chest, and keep your arms straight.
• Triple Extend: As the bar reaches mid-thigh, snap your hips forward by aggressively extending your ankles, knees, and hips at the same time. This is triple extension, and it should feel like you're jumping without leaving the ground. The bar stays close, and the power comes from your legs and hips, not your arms.
• Pull Under and Catch: Once you've extended, shrug and pull yourself under the bar by quickly bending your knees and dropping into a partial squat (power) or full squat (full clean). Whip your elbows up and around to catch the bar on the front of your shoulders, elbows high, chest tall. Stand up to finish.

Barbell Clean Variations

Barbell Power Clean

The barbell power clean starts on the floor and catches in a partial squat. It's the most common variation in strength and conditioning because it builds explosive power without requiring deep front squat mobility. A go-to for athletes, lifters chasing better hip drive, and anyone who wants the benefits of Olympic-style training without the technical demands of the full clean.

Barbell Hang Clean

The barbell hang clean starts at the hang (usually mid-thigh or just above the knee) and catches in a full front squat. Skipping the floor pull lets you focus on hip drive and the deeper catch, and it's a solid progression step between the hang power clean and the full clean.

Barbell Hang Power Clean

The barbell hang power clean is the shortest version, starting at the hang and catching in a partial squat. It's a great entry point for beginners because the movement is simpler than the full clean. Research on trained men found that hang positions can produce higher peak power, vertical ground reaction force, and rate of force development than pulling from the floor, so it's a serious way to build power in its own right, not just a beginner stepping stone.

Barbell Clean and Press

The barbell clean and press combines a clean (usually a power clean) with a strict overhead press to lockout. It was the original test of total body strength before the bench press took over, and it's still one of the best ways to train explosive power and overhead strength in one lift.

If you don't have a barbell handy, you can also train cleans with dumbbells.

What Muscles Do Cleans Work?

Cleans are about as full-body as a lift gets. Your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves drive the bar up, your erector spinae (the muscles along your spine) hold position and finish the pull, and your traps and rear delts power the catch. Grip and forearms work the whole time, and your core stays braced from start to finish.

The full clean, power clean, and hang variations all activate the same main muscle groups in similar patterns, with only minor differences depending on where the bar starts and how deep you catch it. You won't miss muscles by picking one variation over another, it's just a trade off of how complex the move is and how much load you can move.

How to Program Cleans

Program cleans early in your workout when you're fresh, because they require focus, technique, and speed. Quality matters way more than quantity, so don't grind reps when you're fatigued.

Aiming for 3 to 5 sets of 2 to 5 reps with 2 to 3 minutes of rest between sets is a good set up to start with. Practice them two to three times per week to get the hang (hehe) of them.

If you're new, stick with the hang power clean and use lighter loads (50 to 65% of your estimated 1RM) until your technique is dialed. As you advance, you can add load, then start pulling from the floor, then try doing the deeper catch. Adding cleans to a program with sprinting, jumping, or heavy squats and deadlifts will build a ton of athletic power, which every lifter or athlete can benefit from.

Takeaway

The barbell clean is one of the best lifts for explosive power, athleticism, and full body strength. Once you recognize that "hang" means starting above the floor, and "power" means catching in a partial squat, the names explain themselves. Start with the hang power clean while you get used to the overall pattern and the floor pull and deeper catches will come naturally once your technique is down.

FAQs

What is a barbell clean?

A barbell clean is an explosive lift where you pull a barbell from the floor (or a hang position) up to the front of your shoulders in one motion, finishing standing tall in the rack position. It's a competition lift in Olympic weightlifting and a staple in strength and conditioning for building total body power.

What's the difference between a power clean and a hang clean?

A barbell power clean starts on the floor and you catch the bar in a partial squat. A barbell hang clean starts with the bar at thigh or knee level and you catch it in a full depth front squat. The explosive pull is the same, the differences are where the bar starts and how deep you catch it.

What muscles do cleans work?

Cleans work your quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, lower back, traps, forearms, and core. They're a full body lift with a strong emphasis on the posterior chain and hip drive.

Can beginners do barbell cleans?

Beginners can do barbell cleans, but should start with the barbell hang power clean because it's the simplest variation. The hang position skips the technical floor pull, and the partial squat catch doesn't require deep front squat mobility. Build the pattern with light loads before adding weight, depth, or pulling from the floor.

Is the barbell clean and press still a useful lift?

The barbell clean and press is a useful lift if you want to train explosive power and overhead pressing strength in one move. It builds full body coordination, hip drive, and shoulder strength, and was a standard test of strength before the bench press took over.