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Clean And Press

The Clean and Press

Also see Power Clean.

Address the bar (assuming you're using a barbell) with the feet roughly shoulder width or slightly wider. The bar should be within 1-2 inches of your ankles. Grasp the bar with an overgrip (pronated) at just outside shoulder width. Squat down to the bar and assume a low enough position so that your back is slightly arched (or at least straight.) The arms should be straight.

Now commence the pull by pushing through your feet and driving upwards with the legs, striving to maintain your back's position. The arms are still straight at this point. Continue this drive till the bar is roughly at the position of your hips.

Now, the arms start to pull in conjunction with a high shrug of the shoulders and raising up on the toes. This is all one coordinated movement that is hard to describe. In weightlifting, it is called the second pull and is an explosive movement.

Now, this is where it gets sticky.

You can squat clean the weight...which means that at the end of your second pull, the bar will be at appromimately the lower pectorals/midsection. While continuing to pull and maintain momentum, with the elbows fairly high...you simultaneously drop into as deep of a squat as necessary to place the bar at the shoulders, with the wrists suddenly turning over and catching the weight at the shoulders/basin of the throat amd collarbone area. Again, a lot of things happening at once. Recover to the upright positon while maintaining the position of the bar at the shoulders, with the elbows thrust forward and high to ensure that the bar doesn't roll.

It is much easier to just "power clean" the weight...which means no squat to catch the weight...you pull to shoulder height before the wrists snap over to catch the weight. Since the weight won't be as heavy when you're doing repetition cleans and presses...I prefer the power clean style.

(IMPORTANT NOTE) Do NOT attempt to "muscle" a clean to the shoulder that isn't quite high enough...it is very easy to injure a wrist tendon if you do this. It is better to drop the bar or stop the lift and start over. Trust me on this.)

Do I need to explain the press? Simply tuck the chin in tightly and push the bar to arm's length in one smooth movement. Lower under control to the shoulders. (NOTE If you have shoulder issues or pain, you may find it preferable to lower the bar to just the level of your chin. This doesn't stress the shoulder attachments as much as lowering to the shoulders and may allow you more comfort.) From here it is either pressed again or lowered as follows:

When letting the bar down, it is lowered in one controlled movement to approximately waist level, then "ridden down" to the floor under control. You may also do what is called a "hang clean" by lowering the bar as described but to only the knees or mid-shin height, before quickly setting position and pulling the bar up in another clean. The bar doesn't touch the floor until the end of the set, when doing hang cleans. Tough on the grip and upper back.

Breathing should be what is comfortable for you. I inhale when cleaning, exhale on the press.

If this exercise is done as a complete movement each time, meaning for every clean there is a press and vice-versa, it becomes quite a metabolic stimulator. Wicked Willie

• This thread fleshed out the details of the clean and press a bit more.

• J.V. Askem has written several articles on basic Olympic lifting (including the clean and power clean) and pressing.

• There a video clips of various cleans under the technical lift tabon this UWOSH site.

Here's Dave's take on the Clean and Press

Taken from Dave Draper's book, Brother Iron, Sister Steel

Standing or seated, this is tough. Grasp the bar just outside shoulder width and position it across the front of the shoulders, just under the chin. It will require some practice, trial and error to pull the bar from the floor in one swift and directed motion to the target starting position.

Hint: Partially bend over and partially squat down to grasp the bar and then, with focused might, pull the bar up to the shoulders and allow the weight to cradle on upturned palms and front shoulders. The power comes from the concerted effort of the thighs and back. This is an amazing exercise all by itself, called the power clean, part of an Olympic lifter’s clean and press exercise. It’s a very comprehensive movement for dynamic overall structure development and explosive power: lots of trap, low back, hamstring and quad. A favorite of serious football players for the kind of explosive power needed to crush the opponent. Fun stuff.

Once in place, press the bar continually to a locked-out overhead position, briefly hold and slowly lower to your shoulders and repeat. This is to be done with a minimum of back lean or leg thrust. I highly recommend you use a tough leather lifting belt to girdle the midsection and protect the lower back.

This is not a low-level or medium-level movement. It is a high-level movement, comprehensive and systemic, meaning in simple terms a full-body, major-muscle, multi-joint exercise, responsible for sending messages throughout the entire body to grow — to adapt — and meet the demand. This includes enzymes, neural pathways and hormones. Cleans and presses growl. They bad.