Cleans vs Power Cleans vs Hang Cleans - What's the Difference?!
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Cleans, hang cleans, power cleans, hang power cleans - what are the differences between these lifts, and how can we remember these differences in an easy and practical manner? To sort this out, we first need to understand two words - hang and power.
HANG
Hang refers to a starting position, so if you see the word hang, then you know the lift starts with the bar hanging in your hands. Common hang positions include the mid-thigh, low thigh, above the knee, below the knee, and even mid-shin, but most often (without any other specific qualifiers), hang typically refers to a start position at the mid to low thigh.
Finally, note that if you don’t see the word hang, then you know the lift starts with the bar resting on the floor.
POWER
Power refers to a landing position (AKA receiving position), i.e., the position in which you catch or rack the bar. When you see the word power, simply think partial squat (tip: power and partial both start with the letter “p”). Thus, if you see the word power, you’re going to receive the clean in a partial depth squat (i.e., not a full depth squat). If you don’t see the word power, then you know you’re going to receive the clean in a full depth squat.
Now that you’ve got those two terms down, it’s time for the actual lifts . .
CLEAN (AKA squat clean or full clean)
Since you don’t see the word hang, the bar starts on the floor, and since you don’t see the word power, it’s not received in a partial squat and is therefore received in a full depth front squat before being stood up.
In summary, the clean starts with the bar on the floor, the bar is accelerated upward, it is received in a full depth front squat, and then the lifter recovers (i.e., stands up).
POWER CLEAN
You don’t see the word hang, so the bar starts on the floor, but you do see the word power, so the bar is received in a partial depth front squat.
In summary, the power clean starts with the bar on the floor, the bar is accelerated upward, it is received in a partial depth front squat, and then the lifter recovers.
HANG CLEAN
You see the word hang, so the bar starts hanging in the lifter’s hands, but you don’t see the word power, so the bar is received in a full depth front squat.
In summary, the hang clean starts with the bar hanging in the hands, the bar is accelerated upward, it is received in a full depth front squat, and then the lifter recovers.
HANG POWER CLEAN
Not surprisingly, this is a combination of both the hang clean and the power clean - the love child of both of those lifts. You see the word hang, so the bar starts hanging in the lifter’s hands, and you also see the word power, so the bar is received in a partial depth front squat.
In summary, the hang power clean starts with the bar hanging in the hands, the bar is accelerated upward, it is received in a partial depth front squat, and then the lifter recovers.
By knowing what hang and power mean - and knowing what it means when those words aren’t present - you’ll be able to consistently figure out these variations of the clean. As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
-Phil
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4 Ways You're Ruining Your Clean!
/Quit making these mistakes when cleaning (whether it's a power clean, split clean, or squat clean)! We cover 4 common clean errors as well as how to fix these mistakes.
(This is a Blast from the Past video originally published on 01/31/22.)
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Get a Better Clean Rack Position | Olympic Weightlifting
/If your wrists and elbows despise you when you clean, you need to stop using your hands to rack your cleans. The shoulders catch the clean - not the hands - and we explain and demonstrate how to get this done.
(This is a Blast from the Past video originally published on 01/03/22.)
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The Jerk: Landing Positions
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Jonny performs a power jerk.
(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 07/02/21)
We’ve covered the three landing positions for both the snatch and the clean in past articles, and not surprisingly, there are also three landing positions for the jerk. Again, each has its own advantages, so let’s briefly cover them:
POWER JERK
Landing Position: Partial squat
Advantage: The power jerk is the simplest to learn as your feet do not travel far from their original position. Your feet don’t move very much as they barely leave the ground and then immediately land in a squat-width stance. You receive the bar overhead with your hips and legs in a partial-depth squat position. Due to its simplicity, the power jerk often serves as an intermediate step on the way to learning either the squat jerk or the split jerk.
Note: If your feet never leave the ground during this movement, many coaches will call this a push jerk to distinguish it from a power jerk (but some coaches use the terms interchangeably).
SQUAT JERK
Landing Position: Squat (i.e., full-depth squat)
Jonny performs a squat jerk.
Advantage: Of the three landing positions, the squat jerk allows lifters to drop the farthest under the bar, which means the bar doesn’t have to be lifted as high before locking it out overhead. With this in mind, there is great potential with the squat jerk, but this potential is tempered by two drawbacks - first, the lifter needs excellent flexibility to achieve what is essentially a narrow-grip overhead squat position in the receiving position for this jerk, and second, the lifter has relatively little stability from front-to-back due to the lack of a split (see the split jerk below), so the squat jerk is extremely unforgiving of jerks that are slightly forward or backward.
SPLIT JERK
Landing Position: Split stance
Jonny performs a split jerk.
Advantage: The split jerk allows the lifter to drop further under the bar than the power jerk without requiring the ability to drop into the squat jerk position, and due to the front-to-back split, the split jerk is more stable. For this reason, the split jerk is - by far - the most commonly executed jerk in training and competition.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
-Phil
PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:
Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.
Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.
Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.
Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.
Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.
(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)