What is the difference between a hang clean and a hang power clean?

Both start from the hang, but the hang clean is caught in a full front squat with the hips below the knees, while the Barbell Hang Power Clean is caught above parallel. Because the bar does not have to travel as high, the squat catch lets you handle more weight, and in a study of ten competitive weightlifters the heaviest hang clean they could catch above a quarter squat averaged about 60% of the heaviest they could catch in a full squat.

Where should the bar start in the hang?

The most common starting point is just above the knees, which keeps the lift close to the second pull of a full clean. Starting higher, at mid-thigh or the hip, shortens the drive and demands a faster turnover, while starting below the knee adds more of the pull and is harder to time.

Is the hang clean worth learning if I do not compete in weightlifting?

It can be, because it trains fast hip and knee extension against a load, and coaches use clean variations in programs for many sports. Many athletes outside weightlifting stay with the hang power clean, though, since it needs less mobility and teaching time while training the same explosive pull.

How heavy should I go on hang cleans?

Pick a load you can move fast with clean technique on every rep, usually in sets of 1 to 5 reps. If the bar slows down, the arms take over or you can no longer meet the bar in the bottom of the squat, the weight is too heavy.

Can I do hang cleans without bumper plates?

Yes, as long as you lower the bar from your shoulders back to your thighs under control instead of dropping it. Bumper plates and a platform still make heavy work safer, because a missed catch can be pushed forward and dropped.

Barbell Hang Clean

What Is the Barbell Hang Clean?

Barbell Hang Clean is a compound exercise that primarily targets the glutes, quads, hamstrings and upper back, and also engages the calves, core and shoulders. It is an advanced-level movement in which the bar starts from a hang above the knees, is driven upward by an explosive extension of the hips, knees and ankles, and is caught on the front of the shoulders in a full front squat before the lifter stands up.

The hang clean is a derivative of the clean, the first half of the Olympic Barbell Clean and Jerk. Starting from the hang removes the pull from the floor, so each rep focuses on the second pull, where the hips and knees extend hard, and on the fast turnover into the rack. Weightlifters use it to sharpen that part of the clean, and strength coaches program clean variations like it for athletes in sports such as football, basketball, wrestling and sprinting. It usually comes early in a session, while the lifter is fresh, in low-rep sets.

What sets it apart from the Barbell Hang Power Clean is the catch. The power version is received above parallel, while this one is received with the hips below the knees, so the bar does not need to travel as high and heavier loads can be handled. The trade-off is a deep, loaded front squat recovery that works the quads and glutes harder and asks for more ankle, hip, upper back and wrist mobility. Compared with cleans from the floor, such as the Barbell Power Clean, the hang start shortens the pull and makes speed through a short range the main challenge.

It suits lifters who already squat and hinge well and want to build explosive lower body power. Before learning it, build a solid Barbell Front Squat with the elbows high in the rack, own the hinge with a clean-grip deadlift and the Barbell Romanian Deadlift, and practice fast triple extension with the Jump Squat. Many lifters learn the hang power clean first and add catch depth once the turnover is quick and the bottom of the front squat feels comfortable.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Gluteus Maximus: Primary
Vastus Lateralis: Primary
Vastus Medialis: Primary
Biceps Femoris: High
Erector Spinae: High
Rectus Femoris: High
Upper Trapezius: High
Adductor Magnus: Medium
Soleus: Medium
Deltoid: Low

Instructions

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and grip the barbell overhand, hands just outside your thighs.
Stand tall with the bar resting against your upper thighs, arms straight, chest up and core braced.
Push your hips back and let the bar slide down your thighs to just above your knees, keeping your back flat and your shoulders slightly in front of the bar. This is the hang position.
Drive hard through your whole foot, extending your hips, knees and ankles together so the bar travels up close to your body. Keep your arms long until your hips are fully open.
As your legs finish extending, shrug and pull your elbows up and out so you pull yourself down under the bar rather than lifting it with your arms.
Move your feet out slightly into your squat stance and drop into a full front squat as you whip your elbows forward around the bar.
Catch the bar on the front of your shoulders with your hips below your knees, elbows high and pointing forward, fingertips under the bar and chest up.
Steady yourself in the bottom, then stand up out of the squat with your elbows high until your hips and knees are straight.
Lower the bar back to your thighs under control and reset before the next rep.

Common Mistakes

Pulling with the arms early
Bending the elbows before the hips and knees finish extending cuts the power coming from the legs and turns the lift into a reverse curl.
Letting the bar drift forward
A bar that swings away from the thighs pulls you onto your toes too soon and lands the catch out in front of you.
Rounding in the hang
Letting the shoulders roll forward or the lower back round as the bar lowers to the knees leaves the spine, not the hips, to start the drive.
Cutting the extension short
Dropping under before the hips are fully open leaves the bar too low to get under, even with a full squat catch.
Catching high and riding it down
Meeting the bar in a quarter squat and then letting it crash you into the bottom jars the knees and wrists, so pull yourself under fast enough to meet it deep.
Low elbows in the rack
Elbows pointing down let the bar roll off the shoulders, load the wrists and make it hard to stay upright as you stand out of the squat.

Injuries

Barbell Hang Clean is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The risk comes less from the load than from the timing: the bar moves fast, the catch happens in a deep squat, and errors tend to show up in the wrists, elbows, knees and lower back. Across the sport of weightlifting, a 2024 systematic review of injuries found the knee, lower back, shoulder and hands are the areas most often injured.

The front rack strains the wrists and elbows when the elbows stay low and the bar is squeezed in the palms, while a relaxed fingertip grip with high elbows lets the shoulders carry the bar. The lower back takes over when the back rounds in the hang or the bar drifts forward off the thighs, and the knees take a hard landing when the bar is caught high and crashes the lifter into the bottom. Warm up the ankles, hips, upper back and wrists first, and use bumper plates on a platform so a missed rep can be pushed forward and dropped safely.

If the bottom position is the limit, regress to the Barbell Hang Power Clean, which receives the bar higher, keep building the Barbell Front Squat, and open up the rack with Foam Roller Thoracic Extension. The Kettlebell Hang Clean teaches a similar hip drive with a much lighter load. Once the hang clean is consistent, progress to the full clean from the floor, as in the Barbell Clean and Jerk.

Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the wrists, elbows, knees or lower back, if the bar starts landing hard on your shoulders, or if fatigue makes the pull slow and arm-driven. Technique breaks down quickly in this lift, so end each set while every rep is still fast and crisp.

Overview

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

Alternative Exercises

Other Names for the Barbell Hang Clean

The Barbell Hang Clean is also known as:

Barbell Hang Squat Clean

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between a hang clean and a hang power clean?: Both start from the hang, but the hang clean is caught in a full front squat with the hips below the knees, while the Barbell Hang Power Clean is caught above parallel. Because the bar does not have to travel as high, the squat catch lets you handle more weight, and in a study of ten competitive weightlifters the heaviest hang clean they could catch above a quarter squat averaged about 60% of the heaviest they could catch in a full squat.
Q: Where should the bar start in the hang?: The most common starting point is just above the knees, which keeps the lift close to the second pull of a full clean. Starting higher, at mid-thigh or the hip, shortens the drive and demands a faster turnover, while starting below the knee adds more of the pull and is harder to time.
Q: Is the hang clean worth learning if I do not compete in weightlifting?: It can be, because it trains fast hip and knee extension against a load, and coaches use clean variations in programs for many sports. Many athletes outside weightlifting stay with the hang power clean, though, since it needs less mobility and teaching time while training the same explosive pull.
Q: How heavy should I go on hang cleans?: Pick a load you can move fast with clean technique on every rep, usually in sets of 1 to 5 reps. If the bar slows down, the arms take over or you can no longer meet the bar in the bottom of the squat, the weight is too heavy.
Q: Can I do hang cleans without bumper plates?: Yes, as long as you lower the bar from your shoulders back to your thighs under control instead of dropping it. Bumper plates and a platform still make heavy work safer, because a missed catch can be pushed forward and dropped.