Hang Clean

The hang clean is a full body power movement. You start with the bar hanging at mid thigh, hinge back, then explode through the hips and pull yourself under the bar to catch it on your shoulders. Starting from the hang cuts out the floor and lets you focus on the part that builds power. It is technical. Get coaching or spend real time with an empty bar, because a sloppy clean is a fast way to hurt a wrist or a back.

How to Perform

1. Take the bar from a rack or a deadlift and stand tall with a shoulder width grip and a hook grip if you can.
2. Hinge at the hips and slide the bar down to mid thigh with your chest over the bar and your back flat.
3. Drive the feet through the floor and extend the hips and knees violently, keeping the bar close to your body.
4. Shrug and pull your elbows high as the bar rises, then whip them around and under the bar.
5. Catch the bar on the front of your shoulders in a quarter squat with the elbows up.
6. Stand up to finish, then lower the bar back to the hang under control.

Tips

• Start with an empty bar until the catch is automatic. Load is the last variable you add.
• Keep the bar against your body. If it swings out front, you are pulling with the arms too early.
• Stop the set the moment the bar path changes. Power work with bad reps is just risk.
• Three to five sets of two to three reps is the right range for building power.