How is a clean pull different from a deadlift?

In a clean pull the back angle stays the same until the bar passes the knees and the shoulders stay over the bar, and the bar speeds up into a fast extension and shrug. A deadlift lets the torso become upright sooner and simply finishes standing, at whatever speed the weight allows.

How heavy should clean pulls be?

Most programs load them from around your best clean to somewhat above it, with lighter weights used when the goal is speed and position. If the bar slows to a grind or the back angle changes off the floor, the weight is too heavy for a clean pull.

Do clean pulls help your clean?

They are used for exactly that, because they train the pull of the clean with more weight than you can catch. In one study, well-trained weightlifters who did snatch and clean pulls at 110% of their best lifts the day before testing lifted 3.1% more in the clean and jerk than after a rest day, while their snatch did not change.

Should my heels come off the floor at the top?

Not necessarily. Many coaches let the heels rise slightly as a result of an aggressive finish, while the version shown here finishes flat-footed. What matters is not rocking onto your toes early, before the hips and knees have extended.

Should I use straps for clean pulls?

Straps are common on heavy sets because there is no catch to bail out of and they stop your grip from ending the set early. Lighter sets with a hook grip or a plain overhand grip still train your hands.

Barbell Clean Pull

What Is the Barbell Clean Pull?

Barbell Clean Pull is a compound exercise that primarily targets the glutes, hamstrings, quads and upper back, and also engages the calves, lats and shoulders. It is an intermediate-level movement that follows the start and pull of a clean from the floor to full hip and knee extension, then finishes with a shrug instead of a catch.

The clean pull is a staple in Olympic weightlifting programs and in strength and conditioning for athletes. Taking away the catch makes the lift simpler to learn and removes the need to get the bar high enough to drop under it, so the load is no longer capped by what you can catch. The NSCA position statement on weightlifting notes that pulls from the floor have been prescribed at up to 120% of a lifter's best catching lift, and recommends them as a complement to the full lifts rather than a replacement.

Although it starts like a Barbell Deadlift, the clean pull is a different lift. The back angle stays the same while the bar travels from the floor to the knees, the shoulders stay over the bar longer, and the bar speeds up all the way to a fast, tall finish rather than grinding to a lockout. The clean-width grip, with the hands just outside the thighs, lets you start with the hips higher than the wide grip of the Barbell Snatch Pull does. The quads do most of the work off the floor, the glutes and hamstrings take over as the hips extend, and the traps finish the shrug.

Weightlifters use clean pulls to build strength and speed in the positions of the clean, and field and court athletes use them to train powerful hip and knee extension without having to learn the catch. Because nothing has to be caught, it is easy to drift into lifting without real intent, so each rep should be pulled as fast as the load allows. Build a solid hinge with the Barbell Romanian Deadlift and a flat-backed pull from the floor with the deadlift first, then learn the clean pull with light weight before loading it heavily or moving on to the Barbell Power Clean.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

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

Instructions

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and toes turned out slightly, with the bar over the middle of your feet.
Hinge at the hips and bend your knees to grip the bar overhand, hands just outside your thighs, arms straight.
Set your start position: hips above your knees, shoulders slightly in front of the bar, back flat and chest up.
Push the floor away with your legs and lift the bar off the ground, keeping your back angle the same as the bar rises to your knees.
Keep the bar close as it passes your knees and slides up your thighs, with your shoulders still over it and your arms straight.
As the bar reaches your upper thighs, drive your hips and knees into full extension as fast as you can and stand tall with your feet flat on the floor.
At full extension, shrug your shoulders up toward your ears, letting your elbows bend slightly and point out to the sides while the bar stays at hip height.
Lower the bar under control by hinging back down, set it on the floor, and reset your start position before the next rep.

Common Mistakes

Bending the arms early
Pulling with the arms before the hips and knees have fully extended takes force away from the legs and hips and turns the finish into an upright row.
Pulling it like a slow deadlift
Grinding the bar up at a steady speed and leaning back early misses the point of the lift, which is to keep the shoulders over the bar and speed up all the way to the finish.
Hips shooting up first
Letting the hips rise faster than the shoulders off the floor tips the chest forward and leaves the lower back to lift the bar.
Letting the bar drift forward
A bar that swings away from the shins and thighs pulls you onto your toes and wastes force, so keep it close all the way up.
Cutting the extension short
Shrugging or bending the arms before standing fully tall leaves the hips and knees short of the full extension the lift is meant to train.
Rounding the back
Losing the flat back at the start or under a heavy load puts strain on the lower back and changes the positions you are trying to practice.

Injuries

Barbell Clean Pull is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. There is no catch and nothing goes overhead, but the bar is pulled fast and often heavier than you can clean, so the lower back and hamstrings take the most strain, especially when the back rounds off the floor or the hips shoot up first and leave the back to lift the weight.

Bending the arms before the hips and knees have extended shifts the work to the elbows and biceps, and heavy sets can tear up the hands and thumbs, particularly with a hook grip. Straps are common on heavy clean pulls because there is no catch to bail out of. Start light, keep the back flat and the bar close, and add weight only while the back angle and bar speed hold up from rep to rep.

If the pull from the floor is the problem, regress to the Barbell Deadlift or the Barbell Romanian Deadlift to build the positions, or shorten the range with the Barbell Rack Pull. Once the pull is consistent, progress to the Barbell Power Clean and then the full Barbell Hang Clean.

Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the lower back, pain at the front of the elbow, or a pull in the hamstring, and lower the weight if the back starts to round or the bar slows to a grind.

Overview

Primary Focus: Full body
Equipment: Barbell
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is a clean pull different from a deadlift?: In a clean pull the back angle stays the same until the bar passes the knees and the shoulders stay over the bar, and the bar speeds up into a fast extension and shrug. A deadlift lets the torso become upright sooner and simply finishes standing, at whatever speed the weight allows.
Q: How heavy should clean pulls be?: Most programs load them from around your best clean to somewhat above it, with lighter weights used when the goal is speed and position. If the bar slows to a grind or the back angle changes off the floor, the weight is too heavy for a clean pull.
Q: Do clean pulls help your clean?: They are used for exactly that, because they train the pull of the clean with more weight than you can catch. In one study, well-trained weightlifters who did snatch and clean pulls at 110% of their best lifts the day before testing lifted 3.1% more in the clean and jerk than after a rest day, while their snatch did not change.
Q: Should my heels come off the floor at the top?: Not necessarily. Many coaches let the heels rise slightly as a result of an aggressive finish, while the version shown here finishes flat-footed. What matters is not rocking onto your toes early, before the hips and knees have extended.
Q: Should I use straps for clean pulls?: Straps are common on heavy sets because there is no catch to bail out of and they stop your grip from ending the set early. Lighter sets with a hook grip or a plain overhand grip still train your hands.
Q: Are clean pulls useful if I never plan to do a full clean?: Yes. Field and court athletes use them to train fast, powerful hip and knee extension without having to learn the catch, which also makes them a common step before the Barbell Power Clean.