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What is a Power Clean?

The power clean is a derivative of the Olympic Lifts and inherently explosive by nature. In other words, it can’t be done slowly. “Power,” in this instance means it is an abbreviated form of the Olympic or Squat Clean. “Clean” because it starts from the floor and is “clean” heaved directly to the shoulders. The power clean is the most technical of the lifts in Starting Strength, and being such requires the most practice. Don’t be alarmed if you don’t progress past using a barbell for the first few workouts. 

The benefits of this lift are many. Explosive Olympic lifts create the highest level of Central Nervous System activation. The result is that they recruit the highest percentage of muscle fibers. Because they are a highly skilled lift, they require a high degree of fine motor control. The combined effect is an improvement in speed, balance and overall coordination. Speed and correct form are more important than weight with this lift. Done correctly the lift occurs in the blink of an eye and therein lies its Power. Speed x Strength = POWER. 

As stated above this (plus the squat) is the hardest lift to master. This exercise alone is given 40 pages of detailed instruction in Starting Strength 2nd Ed.

Powercleans are great for:

1. Incredible traps
2. Great explosiveness which helps in deadlifts and squats
3. Grip and forearm development
4. Deltoid development
5. Deadlift assistance
6. Variety

How do I properly perform a power clean?

Mark recommends actually learning the movement from the top down. Too many trainees who start their training from the bottom lose precision and the lift quickly becomes an upright row/reverse curl. In fact forget right now about using the muscles in your arms to move the barbell in this lift. Your arms’ sole function is to transmit the energy from your ankles/hips/and knees (triple extension) to the bar. In other words, your arms become like straps, only intended to tether your shoulders to the bar.

First let’s go over some terms:

The Key Positions

The Rack Position 

• Grip is about half an inch or less outside shoulder width
• Stance is neutral. Similar to deadlift.
• Bar rests on front deltoids (not hands or neck or collarbone),
• Elbows are high pointed straight ahead at the wall.
• Should feel stable and pain-free.
• This is where the power clean finishes

The Hang Position 

• Arms extended and taut (think straps), bar touches thighs, legs straight, chest up.

The Jumping Position 

• From the hang position, stick butt back and lower knees,
• Bar stays in contact with the thighs,
• Lower to about 1/3 to halfway down your thigh.
• Arms are still straight, shoulders are slightly ahead of the bar

Performing the Power Clean 

The Slow Bits

1. Grab a barbell and get in the Rack Position, focus on flexibility. If your wrists aren’t quite bendy enough to completely rest the bar on your delts, don’t worry. After a few more workouts and some additional weight on the bar, you’ll be there.
2. Now get in the Hang Position using the same grip you found in the Rack Position
3. Get in the Jumping Position. Practice going from the Jumping Position to the Hang Position: Unlock the knees/move hips back->move hips forward/lock the knees->unlock the knees/move hips back->move hips forward/lock the knees. Get comfortable with this back-and-forth movement. Chest remains up, back is locked, barbell stays in contact with the thighs as it slides up and down.
4. Now do the exact same thing again, but instead of beginning from the Jumping Position, start lower at the base of the knee. Practice this transition a few times.
5. Keep practicing your transition, going lower each time, all the way down to mid-shins. Focus on keeping the bar on the thigh, keeping your chest up, arms straight and taut, and bringing your hips backward and forward once they pass the knee. Hips lower the bar to the knees and knees lower the bar to the floor.
6. Yes, you’ve basically been doing a deadlift. That’s the first part.

The Explosive Bits

Now for the fun part. Getting the bar to the shoulders.

1. Get back in the jumping position.
2. Jump and catch the barbell on your shoulders. Are you in the proper Rack Position (elbows up!)
3. Repeat step #2, but land in the correct Rack Position. Get those elbows ALL THE WAY around.
4. Repeat step #3 and touch your shirt with the barbell on the way up (Don’t let me catch you using your arms!)
5. Repeat step #4 and stomp your feet on the catch. (Was the bar still touching your thighs? and your shirt?)

Still having trouble? It takes practice! It’s hard man, but you rock for doing them. Some things that will help you get explosion (hereafter referred to as “The Triple Extension”) are: 
Hip Extension: thrusting your hips forward 
Here’s an awkward illustration. Imagine you have no arms. They were taken from you by the man standing right on the edge of that cliff over there. Now imagine you walk up directly behind him and you shove him as hard as you can with your pelvis. That’s how hard you want to be thrusting your hips forward. (Yeah, I said it was awkward… but what hip thrusting analogy isn’t?) 
Power Shrug 
Explosively shrugging your shoulders up to your ears. Imagine trying to touch your shoulders to your ears as fast as you can. 
Foot Stomp Stomp your feet on the landing. If you’re wearing weightlifting shoes it should sound like a gunshot.

Putting all the Bits Together

1. Transition the slowpart (the slow deadlift) to the top of the knee and explode the bar up onto your shoulders.
2. Repeat step 1 but only while remembering everything else that you diligently practiced from above.
3. Repeat step 2 and make the transition smooth. There is no break between “the deadlift” and “the triple extension.” You go from slow (first pull) to fast (second pull) in one fluid motion.

It’s a lot to think about, but you’ll get there. To start out use 3 sets of 5 reps while you’re still learning the lift. Later use 5 sets of 3 reps once you have mastered correct technique and the load becomes heavier.

What if I don’t want to/can’t do Power Cleans

Try the Practical Programming Novice Program instead. No power cleans at all. It’s too bad that you’ll be missing out on one of the most outstanding, challenging and fun exercises of all-time.

Usually, people just feel intimidated by anything that resembles a technical exercise and just would rather not do them. This is just being a pussy, and sets a bad precedent for the management of both training and life. I think the Starting Strength includes an understandable method for learning to power clean, and just in case it’s not simple enough I rewrote it for the new book so that it is even simpler. You don’t really need bumper plates to do them if you don’t have access, so that doesn’t wash either. They are in the program because an explosive movement is a valuable contribution to power production, and they make deadlifts get stronger faster.

Okay, you don’t need a coach to learn power cleans, because we fixed things up so that you can learn them out of the book. And what exactly is the downside of trying to learn them and failing? Firing squad? The fucking bodybuilders making fun of you from the safety of the dumbbell rack? Loss of wages? Just try them before you decide you can’t learn them without a coach.

– Mark Rippetoe

Will I have to drop the barbell on the floor?

No. You can “catch” the barbell on your thighs and lower it to the ground from there. Adds an extra component of difficulty and fatigue so definitely be doing sets of 3 when you’re employing this technique. Eventually, yes, it will get too heavy to drop on your thighs… and you’ll need to drop it on the floor, but don’t worry, it’ll be a while before you need to buy those bumper plates.

What are bumper plates?

The answer awaits you here. Bumper plates are solid rubber plates that feature some sort of metal ring or ‘eye’ in the middle. They usually start at 10kg (22lbs)and go up to 25kg (55lbs) and are the same height as a 45lb iron plate. Because they are the same height as a 45lb plate, you can load them first on either side of the barbell and then add iron plates that are 35lbs or smaller, thus allowing you to drop the barbell without damaging your iron plates.

Should I use a hook grip?Edit

The hook grip enables you to hold the bar more securely. It’ll hurt at first, but I suggest you start training with it as soon as you have your technique down pat. Before you know it, you’ll be hooked.

What kind of clean should I do? Power clean, hang clean, or squat clean?

Stick with the basic power cleans. It is the best choice for overall force and power development for the novice and beginner trainee. For now, leave the other power based variations to intermediate, advanced and Olympic athletes.