Strength Training · Olympic Weightlifting · Functional Fitness
Power Clean
The power clean lifts a barbell from the floor to your shoulders, catching it in a partial squat. It trains explosive leg and hip power with coordinated whole-body movement.
Higher injury risk. Read the safety notes before adding weight.
- Advanced
- Compound
- Higher injury risk
- Rest 3 min
How to do it
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and the bar over your midfoot.
- Grasp the bar just outside your legs from a crouch, with your hips above your knees and shoulders slightly ahead of the bar.
- Push through the floor to lift the bar past your knees, keeping your back angle steady.
- Extend your hips and knees explosively as the bar reaches your upper thighs.
- Pull yourself under the rising bar, rotating your elbows forward.
- Receive the bar across the fronts of your shoulders in a partial squat, with your hips above your knees.
- Stand fully upright with the bar resting on your shoulders.
- Return the bar to the platform using a controlled lower or a permitted bumper-plate drop.
Form cues
- Brace your trunk before the pull
- Keep arms long until your legs extend
- Keep the bar close
- Stay balanced over your whole foot
Common mistakes
- Jumping forward to chase the barDrive upward rather than thrusting your hips forward into the bar.
- Landing with feet excessively wideMove your feet only far enough outward to reach a comfortable squat stance.
- Catching with a rigid gripLet your fingers loosen during the catch so your wrists do not carry the load.
Safety
Heavy loads or a poorly timed catch can strain your back, wrists, or shoulders. A missed lift or bouncing bar can strike you or someone nearby.
- Practice the sequence with a light training bar before gradually adding weight.
- Secure plates with collars on a suitable platform with clear space around you.
- Learn to release a missed catch forward while moving clear; never try to catch a bouncing bar.
- End the set when speed, timing, or landing control deteriorates.
If wrist, shoulder, back, or knee pain limits your starting position or catch, get advice from a physiotherapist before doing loaded power cleans.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Barbell Collar
- Bumper Plate
- Knee Sleeves (optional)
- Lifting Belt (optional)
- Olympic Weightlifting Barbell
- Weightlifting Platform
- Wrist Wraps (optional)
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 3–5
- Target
- 2–3 reps
- Rest
- 3 min
Use a load that allows crisp repetitions, resetting your position before each pull rather than rushing.