Strength Training · Olympic Weightlifting · Functional Fitness
Squat Clean
The squat clean takes a barbell from the floor to your shoulders, catching it in a deep front squat before standing. It trains explosive leg drive, strength, and coordination.
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.
- Grip 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.
- Extend your hips and knees forcefully as the bar reaches your upper thighs.
- Pull yourself under the bar, rotating your elbows forward beneath it.
- Receive the bar across the fronts of your shoulders in a deep squat, with your hip crease below your knees.
- Stand fully upright with the bar supported on your shoulders.
- Return the bar to the platform once you are stable.
Form cues
- Brace before the bar leaves the floor
- Keep arms long through the leg drive
- Track knees over toes
- Keep pressure through your whole foot
Common mistakes
- Hips shoot up firstRaise your hips and shoulders together during the pull from the floor.
- Bar swings awayKeep the bar close to your body rather than bumping it forward with your thighs.
- Bar crashes onto shouldersMeet the rising bar with your shoulders instead of dropping underneath and waiting for it to fall.
- Elbows drop during the standPoint your elbows forward throughout the recovery so the bar does not roll off your shoulders.
Safety
A missed catch can trap your wrists or cause a fall beneath the bar. Excessive load or fatigue can also strain your back when your position breaks down during the pull or recovery.
- Learn the sequence with a technique bar before adding weight.
- Secure plates with collars and keep the platform clear of people and loose equipment.
- Practice releasing a missed catch forward while moving clear of the bar before attempting heavy lifts.
- End the set when your timing or balance deteriorates rather than forcing another rep.
If wrist, shoulder, back, or knee pain limits your front-rack position or deep squat, use a pain-free regression and seek advice from a physiotherapist before loading the full movement.
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
- 1–3 reps
- Rest
- 3 min
Reset between repetitions and choose a weight that lets every catch stay controlled.