Clean and Press Exercise Guide: Master the Clean and Press

The clean and press, also known as the barbell clean and press, is a compound exercise that activates muscles throughout your body. Perform clean and presses by lifting a weighted barbell from the floor into a front rack position on your shoulders. While keeping your back straight, lift the bar overhead. Repeat this movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Regularly practicing clean and presses can have several benefits.

1. 1. Clean and presses are a total-body exercise. Clean and presses build strength in different muscles across your upper and lower body—including in your hamstrings, quadriceps (quads), biceps, glutes, triceps, deltoids, rhomboids, trapezius, and lower back. The clean and press works your core muscles as well.
2. 2. Clean and presses can add a cardio element to your lifting routine. When practiced with multiple reps, the clean and press can increase your cardiovascular endurance.
3. 3. Clean and presses can improve your lifting technique. By combining two foundational strength-training exercises—the clean and the push press—this full-body workout can improve your performance during other compound exercises. The clean and press can also prepare you for Olympic weightlifting exercises like the clean and jerk and the snatch.

For clean and presses, begin by using a weight that you can control for 2–3 sets of 3–8 repetitions. Choose a weight that allows you to maintain good technique throughout all sets and repetitions.

1. 1. Stand directly in front of the barbell with your toes underneath the barbell. Your posture should be tall, with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees. Your shoulders should be directly over your hips with a neutral head and neck position. Your chin should remain tucked throughout the movement, as if you were holding an egg under your chin.
2. 2. Evenly distribute your weight and grip the floor with your feet to create a stable position. Your arms should remain long by your sides with a slight bend in your elbows. Pre-tension your shoulders, hips, and core with a good inhale and exhale before lowering toward the barbell.
3. 3. Hinge from your hips and begin to bend your knees to lower your body toward the barbell. Your shins should be close to the barbell while remaining upright.
4. 4. Grab the barbell with an overhand grip and your hands spaced slightly wider than your hips as you would with a deadlift. Rotate your shoulders outward to engage your back muscles. Your chest should be higher than your hips and your hips should be higher than your knees. All repetitions should begin from this starting position.
5. 5. Keep the barbell close to your body as you start your upward movement by pushing your feet through the floor to stand up. Maintain your back position and keep your shoulders over the barbell. Your chest and hips should rise at the same time while maintaining your back position.
6. 6. As the barbell passes your knees and your upper body becomes upright, explosively push your legs into the ground as if you were jumping. While straightening your hips, knees, and ankles, aggressively shrug your shoulders. Your arms should still be long, with your elbows pointed outward.
7. 7. As your shoulders reach their highest point, quickly pull your body under the barbell while rotating your hands around and under the barbell.
8. 8. Quickly punch your elbows forward and rotate your wrist under the barbell to catch the barbell on your upper chest and shoulders and lower into a front squat position. Your legs should finish in a full squat position lower than parallel with the floor. You should only lower as far as you can maintain a level pelvis and a strong squatting position.
9. 9. Stand tall as if you were finishing a front squat repetition.
10. 10. Lower your elbows slightly to get into an optimal overhead pressing position. While keeping your chest high, maintain a neutral spine and begin the downward movement by bending your knees to lower your body a couple of inches.
11. 11. While maintaining an upright position, explosively push your feet into the floor to begin to straighten your legs. Once your legs straighten, allow the momentum of your legs to help drive the barbell overhead as if you’re performing an explosive overhead press.
12. 12. Your heels should rise slightly off the ground as you push the weight overhead. The barbell should finish slightly behind your ears, with your arms locked out overhead. Your head should be pushed forward to its neutral position. Your shoulders and upper back should support the barbell in the overhead position. Your shoulders should finish over your hips.
13. 13. Lower the barbell to the floor in a controlled manner and set up for another repetition.

Once you’ve mastered the basic clean and press, try these clean and press variations.

1. 1. Dumbbell clean and press: If you’re a novice lifter, consider using a pair of lighter-weight dumbbells to practice your clean and press movement pattern. If you want to focus on your lifting form, consider a single-arm variation.
2. 2. Kettlebell clean and press: Practice this variation by lifting a single kettlebell from between your legs to shoulder height and then pressing it overhead.
3. 3. Power clean and press: Perform power clean and presses by using a partial squat position when receiving the barbell rather than the full squat position associated with the standard clean and press.

If you have a previous or pre-existing health condition, consult your physician and a personal trainer before beginning an exercise program to reduce the risk of injury. Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of an exercise program, but you may need to modify each exercise to attain optimal results based on your individual needs. Always select a weight that allows you to have full control of your body throughout the movement. When performing any exercise, pay close attention to your body, and stop immediately if you note pain or discomfort.

To see continual progress and build body strength, incorporate proper warm-ups, rest, and nutrition into your exercise program. Your results will ultimately be based on your ability to adequately recover from your workouts. Rest for 24 to 48 hours before training the same muscle groups to allow sufficient recovery.

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