The dumbbell hang clean is the dumbbell variation of the Olympic weightlifting barbell hang clean exercise. This movement requires a combination of great technique, power, speed, strength, and flexibility. When programmed at a light load and high reps, this movement can develop endurance and stamina. The dumbbell hang clean is a valuable tool in any fitness program and is also a great option when minimal equipment is available. Read further to learn everything you need to know about the dumbbell hang clean:
- What Is the Dumbbell Hang Clean?
- Dumbbell Hang Clean Benefits
- Muscle Groups Worked
- How to Prepare for the Dumbbell Hang Clean
- Equipment Needed
- How to Warm-Up for the Dumbbell Hang Clean
- How to Perform the Dumbbell Hang Clean
- Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Dumbbell Hang Clean Modifications
- Dumbbell Hang Clean Variations
- Common Dumbbell Hang Clean Workouts
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What Is the Dumbbell Hang Clean?
The dumbbell hang clean starts with the athlete standing tall with one dumbbell in each hand. The athlete initiates the movement by hinging at the hips and lowering the dumbbells to approximately the middle of the thigh or slightly lower. From this point, they accelerate quickly upward and fully extend the hips and knees, while keeping the arms straight. At this point, the athlete shrugs the shoulder and pulls under the dumbbells into the bottom of a dumbbell front squat position. To complete the lift, the athlete stands to full extension of the hips and legs with the dumbbells still touching the shoulders.
The dumbbell power snatch trains qualities such as power, speed, strength, flexibility, coordination, accuracy, agility, and balance. The movement is also commonly performed for an abundance of reps with light to moderate loads, which aid in building cardio-respiratory endurance and stamina. This dumbbell variation of the classic barbell movement provides a dose of variance while maintaining similar technical demands.
Dumbbell Hang Clean Benefits
The dumbbell hang clean is a valuable training tool and may be a more friendly version of the traditional barbell movement. When used with light to moderate loads for a significant volume of reps, it can aid in developing cardiorespiratory endurance and stamina. Although not typically known for its ability to build absolute strength, this movement can be done with challenging weights for low to moderate reps, which will aid the development of strength, power, speed, and agility. Regardless of how the movement is performed, the complexity of the movement will develop the neurological adaptations necessary for athletic performance.
Cardiorespiratory Endurance and Stamina
The dumbbell hang clean is typically performed for a significant volume of reps as a component of a conditioning workout to deliver a significant dose of cardiorespiratory endurance and stamina. Workouts may include sets of upwards of 30 reps that can be performed safely and effectively with light to moderate loads. The function of this movement builds stamina or local muscular endurance throughout a large portion of the body, targeting the forearms, trunk, glutes, hamstrings, quads, and upper-back musculature.
Strength, Power, Speed, and Agility
Although not typically classified as a pure strength-building movement compared to movements like heavy deadlifts, squats, presses, and classic Olympic lifting variations, the dumbbell hang clean can still enhance strength development when used for challenge loads and relatively low rep ranges. Aggressively extending the hips and legs to place momentum on the dumbbells. The arm pull under aspects and receiving the dumbbells at the bottom of a squat will also develop strength and stability throughout the legs and trunk. Power, speed, and agility are developed due to the rapid acceleration demanded from the hips and legs to extend the lower body and retreat quickly under the dumbbells.
Neurological Components (Skill)
The technical complexity of a well-executed dumbbell hang clean develops neurological aspects of fitness such as coordination, accuracy, and balance. The dumbbell hang clean requires the coordination of every joint and transfers well to other complex motor patterns. The dumbbell hang clean develops balance by training the ability to stabilize the body to correctly absorb the force of an external load while descending into the bottom of a challenging squat position.
Coordination is developed by ensuring that the athlete follows core to extremity principles. In this instance, the athlete fully extends the hips and legs before using their arms to pull on the dumbbells. This coordination is necessary to maximize the efficiency of the movement.
Athletes must be accurate in all phases of the movement. They must accurately elevate the load in a straight line and accurately move the body to meet the dumbbells at the correct height when pulling under them.
With high-rep workouts, athletes can practice sound technique and develop neurological adaptations while fatigued, which mimics requirements found in sports as well as many endeavors enjoyed outside of the gym.
Muscle Groups Worked
The dumbbell hang clean will place a demand on all major regions of the body, with the lower body and trunk handling the bulk of the demand.
Lower Body
The muscles of the legs, especially the hips, quads, glutes, and hamstrings, are prime movers in the dumbbell hang clean. These muscles are utilized during the drive phase of the movement to elevate dumbbells upwards, to receive the dumbbells in a squat position, and when standing the weight up.
Upper Body and Core
The shoulder girdle, back, and core muscles are active throughout the dumbbell hang clean. The core muscles contract isometrically to allow for the efficient transfer of forces from the dumbbells. When the athlete jumps the dumbbells into the rack position, these muscles keep the midline stable, so the force produced from the rapid hip and leg extension will pass through the midline into the dumbbells. The upper back works to pull under the dumbbells and to maintain the proper rack position of the dumbbells when standing with the load on the shoulders.
How to Prepare for the Dumbbell Hang Clean
Preparing to perform the dumbbell hang clean requires a pair of dumbbells and performing a general and specific warm-up to get the body ready to move through the ranges of motion demands of the movement.
Equipment Needed
All that is needed are two dumbbells loaded to meet the intent of the workout and adequate floor space. This is an excellent movement for those who need to exercise while having little equipment available and when staying at a hotel.
How to warm up for the Dumbbell Hang Clean
To warm up for the dumbbell hang clean, the athlete should perform general movements that work every joint through their full range of motion and elevate the heart rate. Jumping rope, goblet squats, bar hangs, ring rows or pull-ups, lunges, pass-thrus, shoulder presses, and GHD hip extensions are good choices for the general warm-up. A sample general warm-up is as follows:
2 rounds at a moderate pace
1-minute jump rope
10 air squats or goblet squats
10 ring rows
10 GHD hip extensions or light kettlebell swings
10 dumbbell shoulder press, light
20-second hollow hang
For the specific warm-up, a variety of teaching progressions exist. Consider the following:
Step 1: Dumbbell front squat
Step 2: Dumbbell hang muscle clean + front squat
Step 3: Dumbbell hang power clean + front squat
Step 4: Dumbbell clean
Use a light set of dumbbells and perform 3-7 reps at each step. After performing the progression, do an adequate number of build-up sets to prepare for the workout.
How to Do the Dumbbell Hang Clean
The dumbbell hang clean is a skill-intensive movement that can be broken down into an extension phase, a shrug and pull-under phase, a receiving position, and a finish phase.
Extension Phase
This movement starts with the athletes standing tall with a dumbbell in each hand and arms straight. The extension phase replicates the second pull of the traditional Olympic lifts. After hinging at the hips to initiate the movement, the athlete performs an aggressive hip extension and leg extension element before pulling under the dumbbells. This is best accomplished by focusing on jumping through the full foot and aggressively extending the legs and hips fully to accelerate the dumbbells vertically. The arms are still long during this extension phase.
Shrug-and-Pull-Under Phase
Once the athlete has completed the “jump” (i.e., the full extension of the legs and hips), the third pull begins with a violent shrug and the athlete’s arms bending to pull under the dumbbells to receive the bar at the bottom of a front squat. During this phase, the feet move quickly from hip width to shoulder width, and the athlete aggressively rotates the elbows forward and up to receive the dumbbells in a stable and strong dumbbell front squat position.
Finish
After receiving the dumbbells in the bottom of a stable squat, the athlete finishes the movement by standing up to full hip, knee, and arm extension with the dumbbells still racked on the shoulders.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
There are several common dumbbell hang clean mistakes that athletes should be aware of and avoid. The following list contains major elements to consider and does not contain all of the nuanced minor faults that may exist.
Shrugging or Pulling Early
The arms should remain straight, and the shoulders should not shrug until the hips and knees have fully extended during the drive phase. It is common for athletes to bend their arms early. When this occurs, power output and efficiency are reduced, the dumbbells may move away from the body, and fatigue will arise prematurely in high-rep workouts. To improve this fault, athletes can focus on keeping their arms straight until the hips have extended and incorporate a timing drill, such as performing two dip-drive-shrugs, followed immediately by one dumbbell hang clean.
Not Fully Extending the Hips and Legs
When the athlete completes the “jump” or “drive” phase of the movement, their legs and hips should be fully extended. However, it is a common fault for athletes to cut this extension short by not fully extending the hips and trying to “sneak” under the dumbbells to receive them in the front rack position. This limits the power transferred into the dumbbells and diminishes their upward travel and speed. Athletes should focus on jumping hard before they pull themselves under the dumbbells.
Collapsing in the Receiving Position
A proper receiving position of the dumbbell hang clean sees the athlete in the bottom of a dumbbell front squat, chest up, back engaged, knees tracking in line with the toes, and a proper rack position established with the elbows high. Often, athletes fail to receive the dumbbells in this strong position. Instead, they receive the dumbbells with low elbows, let the shoulders and chest roll forward and the back round, making it very difficult to stand up with the load. To properly receive the dumbbells, athletes should aggressively push the elbows forward and upwards to move the dumbbells into the rack position and keep the chest up. Practicing dumbbell front squats with a pause in the bottom position can help build strength and awareness of a more ideal receiving position.
Dumbbell Hang Clean Modifications
The dumbbell hang clean requires not only strength and power, but also flexibility and mobility, sound technique, agility, and speed. In training, athletes can be accommodated by modifying the load, implement, and positions.
Light Load
The athlete can scale workouts to extremely light loads. Dumbbells are available that are only a few pounds to accommodate nearly any individual’s strength levels.
Perform Medicine-Ball Hang Cleans
If performing the dumbbell hang clean creates a safety issue, the movement can be modified to a medicine-ball hang clean variation.
Perform a Dumbbell Hang Power Clean, Followed by a Front Squat
If the athlete has issues with pulling under the dumbbells into a squat position quickly, they can perform a dumbbell hang power clean (the athlete receives the dumbbells in a partial squat position), claim stability in this position, and then complete the range of motion by performing a dumbbell front squat.
Dumbbell Hang Clean Variations
There are many dumbbell hang clean variations that can be programmed that revolve around altering the receiving position of the dumbbells.
Dumbbell Hang Power Clean
The dumbbell hang power clean removes some of the receiving position demands of the movement because the athlete does not receive the dumbbells in a full squat after completing full hip and knee extension on the drive phase. To further replicate the dumbbell hang clean demands the athlete can follow this movement by performing a front squat.
Dumbbell Hang Split Clean
In the dumbbell hang split clean, the athlete jumps the dumbbells to the shoulders, but instead of receiving the dumbbells in a full squat, they receive them in a shallow lunge position. This version challenges footwork significantly.
Common Dumbbell Hang Clean Workouts
Santiago
7 rounds for time of:
18 dumbbell hang squat cleans
18 pull-ups
10 power cleans
10 handstand push-ups
♀ 25-lb dumbbells, 95-lb barbell
♂ 35-lb dumbbells, 135-lb barbell
Nick
12 rounds for time of:
10 dumbbell hang squat cleans
6 handstand push-ups with hands on dumbbells
♀ 30-lb dumbbells
♂ 45-lb dumbbells