Power Clean vs Squat Clean vs Split Clean: Which Should YOU Do?
/In weightlifting (AKA Olympic weightlifting), there are 3 different landing positions for the clean, and each has its unique advantages. We cover each version as well as why you might want to perform it.
At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.
The Clean: Landing Positions
/
Maddie performs a power clean.
(This article is a Blast from the Past article originally posted on 06/04/21.)
A couple of weeks ago, we covered the three landing positions for the snatch. There are also three landing positions for the clean, and as with the snatch landing positions, each has its own advantages. Let’s briefly cover them here:
POWER CLEAN
Landing Position: Partial squat (i.e., partial-depth front squat)
Advantage: The power clean is the simplest to learn as your feet do not travel far from their original pulling position. It also doesn’t require learning how to perform a front squat as in the . . .
Maddie performs a clean.
CLEAN (AKA full clean or squat clean)
Landing Position: Front squat (i.e., full-depth front squat)
Advantage: Of the three landing positions, the full clean allows lifters to lift the heaviest weights as this lower receiving position means the bar doesn’t have to be lifted as high before racking it on the shoulders.
Maddie performs a split clean.
SPLIT CLEAN
Landing Position: Split stance - nearly identical to the split jerk stance, but the split is often even longer and deeper.
Advantage: The split clean allows the lifter to drop further under the bar than the power clean without requiring the ability to drop into an front squat position as in the full clean. For this reason, the split clean - although potentially useful at all ages - is especially well-suited to older lifters.
You’ll notice that the word “hang” - as in hang clean or hang power clean or hang split clean - is conspicuously absent in this discussion. This is because “hang” refers to a starting position, not a landing position. If “hang” is added as a prefix, then the lift simply starts with the bar hanging in the hands (usually at about mid-thigh height) as opposed to starting with the bar resting on the floor.
If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.
At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.
Stop Using Your Hands to Catch Your Cleans!
/
This is the correct way to rack a clean.
(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 01/22/21)
The clean is racked (i.e., caught or received) on the shoulders. Not in the hands.
Figure 1: This is the correct way to rack a clean.
When you rack a clean, you do so by rapidly punching your elbows forward and up so that the barbell can sit on the shelf provided by your delts (Figure 1). This shelf is extremely strong, stable, and it can support a lot of weight - more than you can clean, in fact.
On the other hand - or rather, hands - if you receive your cleans by supporting the bar in your hands (Figure 2), your poor, tiny, bent wrists will hate you for it, and it’s possible that your collarbones will too.
Figure 2: Don’t rack your cleans like this. Your wrists will despise you.
To rack the bar properly, jam the elbows forward and up and receive the bar with a loose grip - be sure to let the thumb slip out of the hook grip as you punch the elbows forward.
Figure 3: Elbows forward and up and a loose grip on the bar
It’s possible that your pinky finger (maybe even your ring finger) will slip off the bar during the catch, and while this is not ideal (especially if you need to jerk the barbell overhead yet), it’s not the end of the world. Do whatever you need to do with your grip to permit the receiving of the bar on your shoulders.
Your wrists will not be straight when you catch a clean, and that’s perfectly fine. Whether a lifter receives the bar correctly on the shoulders or not, the wrists will be bent backwards in extension, but a bar caught on the shoulders (with elbows forward and up) is supported by the shoulders, so the wrists - although bent - do not take any of the load. A bar caught with low elbows, however, cannot be successfully supported by the shoulders and is instead supported on bent - and usually painful - wrists.
Tommy doesn’t even need hands to rack his cleans. (We do NOT recommend trying this at home, folks)
Be kind to your wrists and commit to catching your cleans on your shoulders. You’ll enjoy the lift far more when your wrists aren’t screaming at you.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)
If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.
At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?
The Clean: Landing Positions
/A couple of weeks ago, we covered the three landing positions for the snatch. There are also three landing positions for the clean, and as with the snatch landing positions, each has its own advantages. Let’s briefly cover them here:
Maddie performs a power clean.
Power Clean
Landing Position: Partial squat (i.e., partial-depth front squat)
Advantage: The power clean is the simplest to learn as your feet do not travel far from their original pulling position. It also doesn’t require learning how to perform a front squat as in the . . .
Maddie performs a clean.
Clean (AKA full clean or squat clean)
Landing Position: Front squat (i.e., full-depth front squat)
Advantage: Of the three landing positions, the full clean allows lifters to lift the heaviest weights as this lower receiving position means the bar doesn’t have to be lifted as high before racking it on the shoulders.
Maddie performs a split clean.
Split Clean
Landing Position: Split stance - nearly identical to the split jerk stance, but the split is often even longer and deeper.
Advantage: The split clean allows the lifter to drop further under the bar than the power clean without requiring the ability to drop into an front squat position as in the full clean. For this reason, the split clean - although potentially useful at all ages - is especially well-suited to older lifters.
You’ll notice that the word “hang” - as in hang clean or hang power clean or hang split clean - is conspicuously absent in this discussion. This is because “hang” refers to a starting position, not a landing position. If “hang” is added as a prefix, then the lift simply starts with the bar hanging in the hands (usually at about mid-thigh height) as opposed to starting with the bar resting on the floor.
Stop Using Your Hands to Catch Your Cleans!
/The clean is racked (i.e., caught or received) on the shoulders. Not in the hands.
Figure 1: This is the correct way to rack a clean.
When you rack a clean, you do so by rapidly punching your elbows forward and up so that the barbell can sit on the shelf provided by your delts (Figure 1). This shelf is extremely strong, stable, and it can support a lot of weight - more than you can clean, in fact.
On the other hand - or rather, hands - if you receive your cleans by supporting the bar in your hands (Figure 2), your poor, tiny, bent wrists will hate you for it, and it’s possible that your collarbones will too.
Figure 2: Don’t rack your cleans like this. Your wrists will despise you.
To rack the bar properly, jam the elbows forward and up and receive the bar with a loose grip - be sure to let the thumb slip out of the hook grip as you punch the elbows forward.
Figure 3: Elbows forward and up and a loose grip on the bar
It’s possible that your pinky finger (maybe even your ring finger) will slip off the bar during the catch, and while this is not ideal (especially if you need to jerk the barbell overhead yet), it’s not the end of the world. Do whatever you need to do with your grip to permit the receiving of the bar on your shoulders.
Your wrists will not be straight when you catch a clean, and that’s perfectly fine. Whether a lifter receives the bar correctly on the shoulders or not, the wrists will be bent backwards in extension, but a bar caught on the shoulders (with elbows forward and up) is supported by the shoulders, so the wrists - although bent - do not take any of the load. A bar caught with low elbows, however, cannot be successfully supported by the shoulders and is instead supported on bent - and usually painful - wrists.
Tommy doesn’t even need hands to rack his cleans. (We do NOT recommend trying this at home, folks)
Be kind to your wrists and commit to catching your cleans on your shoulders. You’ll enjoy the lift far more when your wrists aren’t screaming at you.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)