Power Clean
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The Power Clean is a dynamic Olympic weightlifting movement performed explosively from the floor to a racked position on the shoulders, building full-body power and speed-strength with a barbell and plates. It primarily targets the glutes, back, hamstrings, quads, calves, and shoulders while enhancing coordination and athletic performance. Ideal for athletes in sports requiring burst power like sprinting or jumping, it demands precise technique to maximize benefits and minimize injury risk. It requires a barbell and plates.
How to Perform Power Clean
- 1Load a barbell on the floor. Stand with feet hip-width apart, shins close to the bar, and grip it just outside your knees with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
- 2Squat down by pushing your hips back and bending your knees, keeping your chest up and back flat, shoulders over the bar until your thighs are roughly parallel to the ground.
- 3Inhale, then drive explosively through your heels to extend your hips and knees, pulling the bar up close to your body and shrugging your shoulders as you rise onto your toes.
- 4Pull your elbows high and fast to flip your hands under the bar, catching it racked across the front of your shoulders with elbows pointing forward, exhaling sharply as you catch it.
- 5Drop into a front squat as you catch the bar, bending your knees and hips to absorb the weight, torso upright and weight balanced over your mid-foot.
- 6Drive up out of the front squat by extending your hips and knees fully to stand tall with the bar racked on your shoulders.
- 7Lower the bar back to the floor under control (or drop it if using bumper plates and platform) and reset your grip and stance for the next rep.
- 8Key form tips: Keep the bar close to your body throughout the pull; maintain a neutral spine and avoid rounding your back; generate power from your hips and legs, not your arms. Common mistakes: Pulling with the arms too early, incomplete hip extension before the pull, or catching the bar too low in a deep squat.
