Strength Training · Olympic Weightlifting
Tempo Clean
The tempo clean uses a deliberately slow pull from the floor before an explosive lift into a squat catch. It trains leg power and control of bar position.
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, with your hips below your shoulders and your shoulders slightly ahead of the bar.
- Lift the bar to knee height over 2–3 seconds.
- Accelerate the bar up your thighs through a forceful extension of your hips and knees.
- Pull yourself beneath the rising bar.
- Receive the bar across the fronts of your shoulders in a squat, with your elbows pointing forward.
- Stand fully upright with the bar supported on your shoulders.
- Return the bar to the platform.
Form cues
- Brace before you leave the floor.
- Keep the bar close.
- Keep arms long until extension.
- Push through your whole foot.
Common mistakes
- Hips shooting up firstRaise your hips and shoulders together during the slow pull so your torso angle stays nearly constant.
- Keeping the entire lift slowEnd the deliberate tempo at knee height so the extension and pull-under remain fast.
- Bar crashing onto shouldersMeet the bar at its available height rather than dropping into the bottom of the squat before it arrives.
Safety
Fatigue during the slow pull can cause your back position to collapse under load. A missed catch can strain your wrists or shoulders, or cause a fall with the bar.
- Use a lighter load than your regular clean while learning the tempo.
- Secure the plates with collars and keep the platform clear of people and loose equipment.
- Practice releasing a missed catch forward while moving yourself clear before adding substantial weight.
- End the set when you cannot maintain the planned tempo or a stable receiving position.
If you cannot comfortably hold a front-rack squat, choose a pull-only variation; seek professional advice first if wrist, shoulder, knee, or back pain limits the 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
- 3–4
- Target
- 1–3 reps
- Rest
- 3 min
Reset fully between repetitions rather than bouncing the bar off the floor.