What muscles does the power clean work?

Full body under speed: hips and legs create the force, traps and shoulders finish it, everything braces at once. It is classed as a power / full body movement and trains the full body primarily.

How many sets and reps of power clean should I do?

4 to 6 sets of 1 to 3, resting 2 to 3 min between sets. Low reps, high focus. These are skill lifts, never trained to failure.

Is the power clean good for beginners?

Not as a starting point. Build the basic pattern with a simpler version first, then earn this one once your position holds under load.

Full body · Power / full body

Power Clean

The power clean is a barbell power / full body movement for the full body. Here is the setup, the execution, the mistakes worth avoiding, and how to program it.

Equipment

Barbell

Trains

Full body

Level

Advanced

ELBOWS THROUGH FASTPULL UNDER BAR

Muscles worked

Full body under speed: hips and legs create the force, traps and shoulders finish it, everything braces at once.

Set up

1
Set the feet under the hips, hands set, and shoulders slightly ahead of the bar.
2
Take the slack out of the bar before you pull. A soft start turns into a rounded back.
3
Warm up the pattern with an empty bar every session, no exceptions.

How to do it

1
Pull off the floor with the same patience as a deadlift. Speed comes later.
2
Explode through the hips once the bar passes the knee.
3
Get under the bar fast and catch in a stable, braced position.
4
Stand up under control, then reset for the next rep from the floor.

Common mistakes

Pulling early with the arms
Fix: Arms stay long until the hips finish. Ropes, not levers.
Bar drifting away from the body
Fix: Keep it brushing the thighs the whole way up.
Chasing weight before position
Fix: Technique first. These are skill lifts before they are strength lifts.