Dumbbell Clean Guide: How to Master Dumbbell Cleans

The dumbbell clean, also known as the dumbbell squat clean, is a bodybuilding exercise that activates muscles across your body. Perform the dumbbell clean by starting in a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart and a pair of dumbbells at your sides. After bending your hips, knees, and ankles, explosively push into the ground. Pull yourself under the dumbbells and lower your body into a squat stance. Catch the dumbbells at shoulder height in a front squat position. Bring the dumbbells back to your sides and repeat this movement for the desired number of repetitions.

For dumbbell cleans, begin by using a weight that you can control for 2–3 sets of 6–10 repetitions. Choose a weight that allows you to maintain good technique throughout all sets and repetitions.

1. 1. Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them by your sides. Your palms should be facing your legs. 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 and hips with a good inhale and exhale, and engage your core. All repetitions should begin from this starting position.
3. 3. While keeping the dumbbells close to your body, maintain a neutral spine as you begin to bend your hips, knees, and ankles. Lower until your upper legs are parallel or slightly below parallel with the floor. You should only lower as far as you can maintain a level pelvis. The weight on your feet should be evenly distributed.
4. 4. To begin the upward movement, explosively push your legs into the ground as if you were jumping. As your shoulders reach their highest point, quickly pull your body under the dumbbells while rotating your elbows forward.
5. 5. Quickly punch your elbows forward and catch the dumbbells on your shoulders and lower into a squat. Your upper legs should finish parallel or slightly lower than parallel with the floor. Only lower as far as you can maintain a level pelvis and a strong squatting position.
6. 6. Stand tall as if you were finishing a squat repetition. Lower the dumbbells under control back to your sides and lower into a squat position to begin the next repetition.

Regularly practicing dumbbell cleans can have several benefits.

1. 1. Dumbbell cleans are a full-body workout. The dumbbell clean is a full-body exercise that targets many of the major muscle groups throughout your body. Dumbbell cleans can help you build muscle mass across your upper body and lower body.
2. 2. Dumbbell cleans encourage muscle symmetry. Like other dumbbell exercises, the dumbbell clean can highlight muscle asymmetries you may have developed by favoring one side of your body over the other when performing barbell cleans or other exercises using a single piece of equipment.
3. 3. Dumbbell cleans activate your stabilizer muscles. As you lift the pair of dumbbells through a full range of motion, you stabilize yourself by using the muscles in your arms, shoulders, lower back, and core.

Dumbbell cleans work muscle groups throughout your entire body, including your glutes, hamstrings, calves, biceps, quadriceps, triceps, deltoids, spinal erectors, and lower back muscles.

Once you’ve mastered the standard dumbbell clean, try one of these variations.

1. 1. Dumbbell clean and press: Perform this variation by adding a push press movement at the top of the exercise, lifting the dumbbells overhead from shoulder height.
2. 2. Kettlebell clean: If you want to try the dumbbell clean exercise with a different kind of free weight, practice the kettlebell clean variation.
3. 3. Dumbbell hang power clean: Practice the dumbbell hang power clean by explosively lifting a pair of dumbbells from waist level to shoulder level.
4. 4. Single-arm dumbbell clean: If you want to focus on unilateral lifting form, practice this variation by lifting a single dumbbell through a clean movement pattern one arm at a time.

If you have a previous or pre-existing health condition, consult your physician before beginning an exercise program. 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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