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Exercise library · Full body

Hang clean

Explosive lift for the whole body with a barbell.

How to do it

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Bar in front of your thighs

  1. Starting position

    Stand hip-width with the bar in front of your thighs, grip just outside your legs and hinge with a straight back until the bar is just above your knees.

  2. The movement

    Extend your hips and knees fast, keep the bar close, catch it on your shoulders with bent knees and stand, then lower it to your thighs.

Most common mistake

Don't pull too early with your arms, extend your hips and knees first and keep the bar close to your body.

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Muscle group
Full body
Equipment
Barbell
Where
Gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The hang clean is an Olympic lift started from your thighs instead of the floor. A fast extension of your hips, knees and ankles supplies the power, with your glutes and thighs doing most of the work. Your traps and upper back keep the bar rising, and your arms pull you under it. In the catch, your legs and trunk absorb the weight and the front of your shoulders supports the bar. Without the pull from the floor, it is usually easier to learn than a power clean.

Common mistakes

  • Shoulders behind the bar at the start. Your hips then have nothing to load. Lean forward until your shoulders are just in front of the bar, with straight arms and your weight mid-foot.
  • Jumping forward. Rise onto your toes too early and your body follows, landing you ahead of where you started. Stay mid-foot until you have extended, and land where you stood.
  • Elbows left low in the catch. The bar then sits in your hands and pulls you forwards. Whip your elbows through, rest the bar on your shoulders and keep your grip loose.

Variations and alternatives

  • The power clean starts from the floor, the next step once this lift is solid.
  • The clean and jerk is the full competition lift, adding a jerk overhead.
  • The Romanian deadlift trains the hip hinge of the start position slowly.
  • The front squat strengthens the catch and the stand-up.

Sets and reps

Speed is what counts, so keep the reps low: many lifters do 3 to 6 sets of 1 to 3 reps with two to three minutes' rest. Start with an empty or light technique bar, ideally with someone who knows the lift watching. Do it early in the session, after a warm-up covering your hips, wrists and shoulders. The guide to sets and reps has more on low reps and long rest.

Stop the set once the bar slows or your reps start to vary. Add weight in small steps, and only when every rep looks the same. That is progressive overload in a lift built on speed. If your wrists, back or knees hurt, stop the exercise and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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