Hang Power Clean

The hang power clean is a barbell Olympic lift that starts with the bar above the knees and finishes with it racked on the front of the shoulders. It trains explosive hip extension and full-body power, with the glutes, hamstrings, and traps doing the most work; the quadriceps, forearms, core, and upper back support the lift.

Set up by standing tall with your feet about shoulder-width apart and the bar resting near mid-thigh in the hang position. Keep your arms straight, the bar close to your body, your shoulders over or slightly in front of the bar, and your elbows turned out so they can move quickly.

Lower the bar to just above the knees by pushing your hips back and bending the knees slightly. Then explosively extend your hips and knees, shrug your shoulders, pull your elbows high and outside, and immediately whip them around to catch the bar on your shoulders while dropping into a quarter squat. Stand up with the bar racked, then lower it under control back to the hang. Move with maximal intent on each rep, but stop before your form breaks down.

Breathe in and brace your trunk before the pull, then stay tight through the catch. If the skill is too high right now, practice jump shrugs or medicine-ball clean variations instead. Once you own the pattern, you can lower the hang start or progress to full cleans from the floor with a coach watching. Because this is a technical lift, learn it with light load and a coach, and keep the work away from failure.

Fault: The bar drifts away from the body during the pull. Fix: Keep the bar sliding close to the thighs and hips, pull the elbows high and outside, then turn them fast to the rack.

Fault: The arms bend early and try to curl the bar. Fix: Let the legs and hips drive the bar up first; explode the hips, then pull with the arms.

Fault: The catch is slow or the elbows drop under the bar. Fix: Spin the elbows around quickly to meet the bar on the shoulders, and ride the catch down into a solid quarter-squat position.