Dumbbell Hang Clean
What Is the Dumbbell Hang Clean?
Dumbbell Hang Clean is a compound exercise that primarily targets the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and upper back, and also engages the calves, lower back and shoulders. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you hold a dumbbell in each hand, start from a hang just above the knees, drive the dumbbells upward with an explosive extension of the hips and knees, and catch them on the front of your shoulders at the bottom of a full squat before standing up.
The main purpose is power: producing force quickly through the hips, knees and ankles, then getting under the weight fast. Starting from the hang removes the pull from the floor, so your legs and hips have to create all the speed over a short distance. It is the dumbbell counterpart of the Barbell Hang Clean, which catches in the same full squat, and it is a common movement in CrossFit-style conditioning workouts, where it is done for higher reps with lighter dumbbells. In a strength program it usually sits early in the session, before squats and other heavy work, while you are fresh enough to move fast.
The catch depth is what separates it from the Dumbbell Power Clean, which receives the dumbbells above parallel. Here you ride the dumbbells straight into a full squat, so every rep finishes with a loaded front squat that works the quadriceps and glutes through a much longer range, and the dumbbells do not need to travel as high to be caught. The glutes and hamstrings drive the hip extension out of the hang, the trapezius shrugs the dumbbells upward, and the shoulders and arms guide them close to the body and turn them over onto the shoulders. Because each dumbbell moves on its own path and rests on the shoulder with a neutral grip, the rack asks far less of the wrists than a barbell front rack, but a weaker side has nowhere to hide.
This exercise suits athletes and intermediate lifters who want an explosive lower-body drill with simple equipment, and anyone preparing for workouts that include it. Before adding it, you should be able to hold the bottom of a Dumbbell Front Squat with your chest up and elbows forward, and hinge with a flat back in a Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift. If the full squat catch is still too hard, learn the timing with the Dumbbell Power Clean first, then let the catch get deeper as your mobility allows.
Muscles Worked
- Biceps Femoris
- Primary
- Gluteus Maximus
- Primary
- Upper Trapezius
- Primary
- Vastus Lateralis
- Primary
- Vastus Medialis
- Primary
- Erector Spinae
- High
- Rectus Femoris
- High
- Adductor Magnus
- Medium
- Deltoid
- Medium
Instructions
- Stand tall with your feet about hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides with your palms facing your body and arms straight.
- Brace your core, push your hips back and bend your knees slightly to lower the dumbbells to just above your knees, keeping your back flat and chest up.
- Drive explosively through your feet, extending your hips and knees fully and shrugging your shoulders, with your arms still straight and the dumbbells close to your thighs.
- As the dumbbells rise, pull your elbows high and out to the sides to keep the dumbbells close to your body, and move your feet out to about shoulder width.
- Drop quickly into a full squat, rotating your elbows forward around the dumbbells so they land on the front of your shoulders with your palms facing each other.
- Catch at the bottom of the squat with your hips below your knees, chest up, elbows pointing forward and knees tracking over your toes.
- Drive up out of the squat until you are standing tall with the dumbbells still resting on your shoulders.
- Lower the dumbbells under control to your sides, then hinge back to the hang position for the next rep.
Common Mistakes
Bending the arms too early
Pulling with bent arms before the hips and knees finish extending turns the lift into a curl and robs the dumbbells of speed.
Cutting the extension short
Dropping under before the hips and knees are fully extended leaves the dumbbells too low to reach the shoulders.
Letting the dumbbells swing out
Dumbbells that drift away from the thighs pull you onto your toes and make the catch unstable.
Rounding the back in the hang
Lowering the dumbbells by bending the spine instead of hinging at the hips loads the lower back right before the explosive drive.
Catching high and riding it down
Receiving the dumbbells in a partial squat and then sinking to the bottom makes the catch slower and harder on the knees.
Low elbows in the catch
Catching with the elbows pointing down and the chest dropping lets the dumbbells pull the torso forward and land on the wrists.
Injuries
Dumbbell Hang Clean is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The weights are usually lighter than in a barbell clean, but the movement is fast and ends in a deep, loaded squat, so small errors are magnified. The lower back is strained most often, when the spine rounds in the hang or the dumbbells swing away from the body and pull you forward. The wrists and elbows take the hit when the dumbbells crash onto the shoulders with the elbows pointing down, and the knees suffer when you catch high and drop into the bottom, or let the knees cave in as you land.
To stay safe, hinge with a flat back and braced core, keep the dumbbells close to your thighs as they rise, and meet them in the squat rather than letting them fall onto you. Use a weight you can move fast and catch with the elbows up and chest tall on every rep, keep sets short when the goal is power, and end a conditioning set once the catch starts to collapse.
If the full squat catch feels unstable, regress to the Dumbbell Power Clean and build the receiving position separately with the Dumbbell Front Squat, and strengthen the hang with the Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift. Once your technique holds under heavier dumbbells, the Barbell Hang Clean is the natural progression. Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the wrists, knees or lower back, or if your back starts to round in the hang.
Other Names for the Dumbbell Hang Clean
The Dumbbell Hang Clean is also known as:
- Dumbbell Hang Squat Clean
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is the difference between a dumbbell hang clean and a dumbbell power clean?
The catch. A Dumbbell Power Clean receives the dumbbells above parallel, while the hang clean starts from the hang and receives them at the bottom of a full squat, so every rep includes a front squat and the dumbbells do not need to travel as high.
- Q: Where should the dumbbells start in the hang?
Most coaches start with the dumbbells between the middle of the thigh and just above the knees, reached by hinging at the hips with a flat back. A lower start gives you a longer drive, while a higher start shortens it and asks for more speed.
- Q: How heavy should the dumbbells be?
Use a weight you can drive high enough to catch in a deep squat with your elbows forward and chest up on every rep. For power work keep sets to about 1 to 5 reps; in conditioning workouts go lighter and stop the set when the catch gets sloppy.
- Q: What if I can't reach a full squat with the dumbbells on my shoulders?
Work on the bottom position with the Dumbbell Front Squat and use the Dumbbell Power Clean in the meantime. Only squat as deep as you can with a flat back and knees tracking over your toes.
- Q: Is the dumbbell hang clean easier than the barbell hang clean?
Usually it is easier to learn, because the dumbbells rest on the shoulders with palms facing each other and the arms are free to find their own path, so the wrists do not need to bend back as in a barbell front rack. The Barbell Hang Clean lets you lift heavier loads, so it remains the better choice once you want to train the clean with maximal weights.