What is the difference between a clean deadlift and a clean pull?

Both start in the same clean position, but the clean deadlift ends once you stand tall with flat feet, while the Barbell Clean Pull finishes with an explosive extension of the hips, knees and ankles, usually with a shrug. The clean deadlift is slower, so it suits heavier loads and work on position, and the clean pull trains the speed of the finish.

How is a clean deadlift different from a regular deadlift?

The clean deadlift starts with lower hips, the shoulders over or slightly in front of the bar and the knees pushed out inside the arms, and it holds the back angle until the bar passes the knees. A conventional Barbell Deadlift lets the hips sit higher, since its only goal is to lift the most weight.

How heavy should clean deadlifts be?

Coaches commonly program them at about 80 to 120% of your best clean for sets of 2 to 6 reps. Newer lifters whose clean is held back by technique often need the higher end, but the weight should never go past what you can lift in proper clean positions.

Should I do clean deadlifts before or after cleans?

After. Heavy pulls are usually placed after the clean and its variations so they do not tire you before the more technical lift, and before squats unless squat strength is your priority.

Can I use straps for clean deadlifts?

Yes. Because pulls usually come late in the session, straps keep a tired grip from limiting the set. Training some sets with a hook grip is still worthwhile if you clean with one, since the full lift is done without straps.

Barbell Clean Deadlift

What Is the Barbell Clean Deadlift?

Barbell Clean Deadlift is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back, glutes, quads and hamstrings and also engages the adductors, trapezius, lats and grip. It is an intermediate-level movement in which the bar is pulled from the floor to a standing position using the grip, setup and positions of the first part of a clean, with no jump, shrug or catch at the top.

Weightlifters use it as the basic strength builder for the pull of the clean. Because it moves more slowly than a clean, it lets you handle loads around or above your best clean while you practice the things that decide a clean off the floor: a steady back angle, balance spread over the whole foot and a bar that stays close to the legs. Coaches also use it as a remedial drill for lifters whose pull drifts out of position, and as an early step when teaching the clean.

It is easy to confuse with two lifts it sits between. The Barbell Clean Pull uses the same start but finishes with a fast, violent extension of the hips, knees and ankles, usually with a shrug, to train the speed of the clean's finish. The clean deadlift stops once you stand tall with flat feet, so it trains strength and position rather than power. Compared with the Barbell Deadlift, the start has lower hips, the shoulders over or slightly in front of the bar and the knees pushed out inside the arms, which puts more of the work on the quads and adductors and keeps you from drifting into the higher-hip, heel-weighted position a powerlifting pull allows.

It suits weightlifters, CrossFit athletes and other athletes who clean as part of their training. If floor pulling is still new, build a solid hinge with the Barbell Deadlift or the Barbell Romanian Deadlift and leg strength with the Barbell Front Squat first, then add the clean deadlift once you can hold a flat back from the floor.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Biceps Femoris: Primary
Erector Spinae: Primary
Gluteus Maximus: Primary
Vastus Lateralis: Primary
Adductor Magnus: High
Rectus Femoris: High
Semitendinosus: High
Upper Trapezius: High
Vastus Medialis: High
Flexor Carpi Ulnaris: Medium
Latissimus Dorsi: Medium
Gastrocnemius (Medial Head): Low

Instructions

Stand with your heels about hip-width apart and your toes turned slightly out, with the barbell over the balls of your feet.
Squat down and grip the bar with both palms facing you, hands just outside your legs at the width you use for a clean. Use a hook grip if you clean with one.
Set your hips lower than for a regular deadlift, push your knees out inside your arms and bring your shoulders over or slightly in front of the bar.
Straighten your arms, lift your chest, flatten your back and look straight ahead.
Take a deep breath and brace your core.
Push the floor away through your whole foot and lift the bar off the floor, keeping the same back angle as the bar travels up your shins.
Keep the bar close to your legs as it passes your knees.
Once the bar reaches your mid-thigh, bring your hips forward as your legs finish straightening.
Finish standing tall with your feet flat, your hips and knees fully extended and your arms straight. Do not shrug, rise onto your toes or lean back.
Lower the bar back to the floor under control, keeping your grip and position, and reset before the next rep.

Common Mistakes

Hips rising first
Letting the hips shoot up as the bar leaves the floor tips the shoulders too far over the bar and shifts the work from the legs onto the lower back.
Pulling like a powerlifter
Setting up with high hips and the weight on the heels practices conventional deadlift positions instead of the clean positions this lift is meant to build.
Bar drifting forward
Letting the bar swing away from the shins and thighs pulls your balance onto your toes and lengthens the lever on your lower back.
Bending the arms
Pulling with bent elbows does not help lift the weight and builds a habit that disrupts the bar's path in the full clean.
Adding a jump or shrug
Finishing with a shrug or a rise onto the toes turns the lift into a clean pull and skips the controlled, flat-footed finish this version trains.
Leaning back at the top
Arching the lower back to finish, rather than standing tall with the hips fully open, stresses the spine without adding anything to the lift.

Injuries

Barbell Clean Deadlift is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. It is a heavy pull from the floor, often loaded above your best clean, so the lower back takes most of the strain, followed by the hamstrings and the hands, especially the thumbs when you use a hook grip.

Brace your trunk before the bar leaves the floor, keep your back flat and the bar close to your legs, and never load the bar beyond what you can lift in the clean positions. When your hips start to rise faster than your shoulders or your back begins to round, the set is over. Build the weight up over several sessions rather than jumping to heavy singles, and give your lower back time to recover between heavy pulling days.

To regress, lower the load, start from blocks or from the hang just above the knee, or go back to the Barbell Romanian Deadlift or the Trap Bar Deadlift, whose centered load eases the lower back. To progress, add a pause just below the knee, lower the bar slowly over 3 to 6 seconds, or move on to the Barbell Clean Pull to add speed to the finish.

Stop if you feel sharp pain in the lower back, pain, numbness or tingling running into a leg, or a sudden pull in the back of the thigh.

Overview

Primary Focus: Back, glutes, quads, and hamstrings
Equipment: Barbell
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between a clean deadlift and a clean pull?: Both start in the same clean position, but the clean deadlift ends once you stand tall with flat feet, while the Barbell Clean Pull finishes with an explosive extension of the hips, knees and ankles, usually with a shrug. The clean deadlift is slower, so it suits heavier loads and work on position, and the clean pull trains the speed of the finish.
Q: How is a clean deadlift different from a regular deadlift?: The clean deadlift starts with lower hips, the shoulders over or slightly in front of the bar and the knees pushed out inside the arms, and it holds the back angle until the bar passes the knees. A conventional Barbell Deadlift lets the hips sit higher, since its only goal is to lift the most weight.
Q: How heavy should clean deadlifts be?: Coaches commonly program them at about 80 to 120% of your best clean for sets of 2 to 6 reps. Newer lifters whose clean is held back by technique often need the higher end, but the weight should never go past what you can lift in proper clean positions.
Q: Should I do clean deadlifts before or after cleans?: After. Heavy pulls are usually placed after the clean and its variations so they do not tire you before the more technical lift, and before squats unless squat strength is your priority.
Q: Can I use straps for clean deadlifts?: Yes. Because pulls usually come late in the session, straps keep a tired grip from limiting the set. Training some sets with a hook grip is still worthwhile if you clean with one, since the full lift is done without straps.