Hang Clean

What you'll gain

• Trains rate of force development through full hip and knee extension.

• Teaches the second pull without the technical load of a floor start.

• Builds trap, upper back and grip strength alongside the leg drive.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Set your feet at hip to shoulder width and grip the bar just outside your thighs with a double overhand grip.

2. 2

   Stand tall with the bar against the front of the thighs, chest up and lats engaged.

3. 3

   Hold the bar at the front of the thighs with your arms straight and torso upright, ready to start the pull.

4. 4

   Drive the floor away and extend the knees and hips violently, keeping the bar in contact with the thighs.

5. 5

   Shrug the traps and pull your elbows up and around the bar as you drop under it.

6. 6

   Catch the bar racked on the front of the shoulders, stand up, then lower it back to the hang.

Common Mistakes

• Pulling early with the arms, which kills bar speed and pushes the bar away from the body.

• Letting the bar drift forward off the thighs, which forces a forward catch and a missed rack.

• Rounding the back during the pull, which loads the lumbar spine under an explosive effort.

• Catching with low elbows, which drops the bar off the shoulders and puts the load on the wrists.

About This Exercise

The hang clean starts with the barbell already at mid-thigh, so the lift removes the floor and trains the second pull directly. From the upright thigh-level hang, extend the knees and hips violently, shrug the traps and pull the elbows through to rack the bar on the shoulders. The quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings supply the extension while the traps, upper back and spinal erectors finish the pull. Sources differ on whether the quadriceps or the hip extensors lead, so both are treated as primary alongside the traps. For a catalog this clip covers the most requested teaching variant of the clean. It slots into power-development blocks, CrossFit and team-sport program builders, and technique explainers where the hang position needs showing without the floor pull.

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