Clean Pull

Also known as: Barbell Clean Pull

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Body Part: Legs

Description

Lift the barbell from the floor with a clean grip, then extend your hips and knees dynamically and shrug your shoulders. This clean pull finishes with the bar near the hips and a slight bend of the elbows, without catching the bar on the shoulders.

How to Perform

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, with the barbell positioned over the middle of your feet.
Grip the bar just outside your legs using a clean grip, with your hands far enough apart to allow the bar to pass close to your thighs.
Bend your knees and hips to reach the bar, keep your chest up, brace your core, and maintain a neutral spine.
Start the pull by pushing the floor away with your legs, keeping your hips and shoulders rising together and the bar close to your shins.
As the bar passes your knees, sweep it slightly back toward your thighs while continuing to extend your knees and hips.
Drive forcefully through the floor and extend your hips, knees, and ankles explosively, finishing tall with the bar close to your upper thighs.
At full extension, shrug your shoulders and allow a slight outward elbow bend as the bar rises near the hips.
Guide the bar back down under control, reset your starting position, and repeat each repetition with consistent posture and bar path.

What Muscles Work

Primary Muscle:

Secondary Muscles:

Tips

Start with the bar over the midfoot, feet about hip-width apart, and use the same grip and setup you would for a clean.
Start each repetition from a still bar on the floor before accelerating it.
Keep your shoulders over the bar during the first pull, then bring the bar into the upper thigh or hip area under control.
Lower the bar with control, reset your position between repetitions, and maintain consistent technique rather than rushing the set.
Choose a load you can accelerate with the legs rather than merely lift slowly.

Common Mistakes

Rounding the lower back during the initial pull.
Raising the hips faster than the shoulders and turning the lift into a stiff-leg pull.
Bending the elbows early rather than keeping the arms long through the extension.
Failing to fully extend the hips, knees, and ankles before the shrug.
Leaning backward excessively at the top of the pull.
Jumping forward or backward instead of maintaining balanced pressure through the feet.