Clean

How to do the Clean, step by step

1. Stand with your feet hip-width, bar over midfoot, grip just outside your legs.
2. Lift the bar with a neutral back until it passes your knees.
3. Explosively extend your hips, knees, and ankles.
4. Pull yourself under the bar fast into a full squat.
5. Catch the bar on your shoulders with your elbows high.
6. Stand up out of the front squat.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Slow getting under the baractively pull yourself down instead of just dropping
• Elbows drop in the catchelbows up, chest tall
• Tipping forward in the catchkeep your weight over midfoot
• Pulling with the arms too earlyfinish the hip extension first

How to scale the Clean

If you can't do the movement cleanly yet or the workout is too heavy, use one of these variations:

• Power Clean plus Front Squat
• Hang Squat Clean
• Squat Clean with an empty bar

What's a good Clean?

A rough reference for your 1RM relative to body weight. At 80 kg body weight, "1.25 ×" means 100 kg.

Compare all strength standards

Also known as

Squat clean · Full clean · Sq clean · Sqcl

Benchmarks with Clean

• Elizabeth21-15-9 Clean 60 kg, Ring Dips
• Linda10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1: Deadlift 1.5 × body weight, Bench Press 1 × BW, Clean 0.75 × BW
• Badger3 RFT: 30 Squat Cleans 42.5 kg, 30 Pull-ups, 800 m Run
• Klepto4 RFT: 27 Box Jumps 61 cm, 20 Burpees, 11 Squat Cleans 65 kg
• Open 15.48 min AMRAP: 3 HSPU, 3 Cleans 85 kg, 6 HSPU, 3 Cleans, 9 HSPU, 3 Cleans, 12 HSPU, 6 Cleans … (HSPU +3 each round, Cleans +3 every 3 rounds). Score: reps
• Open 16.2Start with 4 min: 25 Toes-to-Bar, 50 Double Unders, 15 Squat Cleans 60 kg; finished → +4 min and 13 × 85 kg, then 11 × 102.5, 9 × 125, 7 × 142.5 kg (each with 25 T2B + 50 DU). Max 20 min. Score: reps
• Open 18.2a1RM Clean in the time left of the 12 min after 18.2
• Open 19.2Start with 8 min: 25 T2B, 50 DU, 15 Squat Cleans 60 kg, 25 T2B, 50 DU, 13 × 85 kg; finished → +4 min: 25 T2B, 50 DU, 11 × 102.5 kg; then 9 × 125 kg, 7 × 142.5 kg (each with 25 T2B + 50 DU). Max 20 min. Score: reps
• Open 21.4Max load for the complex 1 Deadlift, 1 Clean, 1 Hang Clean, 1 Jerk (7 min, right after 21.3)
• Open 23.1 / 14.414 min AMRAP: 60 cal Row, 50 Toes-to-Bar, 40 Wall Balls 9 kg, 30 Cleans 60 kg, 20 Muscle-ups. Score: reps
• Open 25.35 Wall Walks, 50 cal Row, 5 WW, 25 Deadlifts 102.5 kg, 5 WW, 25 Cleans 60 kg, 5 WW, 25 Snatches 42.5 kg, 5 WW, 50 cal Row (Cap 20 min)
• Open 26.32 rounds each: 12 Bar-facing Burpees, 12 Cleans, 12 Bar-facing Burpees, 12 Thruster – first 42.5 kg, then 52.5 kg, then 60 kg (Cap 16 min)

These descriptions are general guidance and don't replace a coach. Have someone at your box show you new movements, and stop if anything hurts.