The hang power clean is a derivative movement of the clean, the Olympic weightlifting movement performed in competition as part of the clean and jerk. Typically, the hang power clean involves taking a load from just above the knees to a support position at the shoulders. The hang power clean also requires the athlete to receive the bar at the shoulders in a partial squat — the crease of the hips must stay above the top of the knees — rather than a full squat. While it may not develop our neurological skills to the same extent as the clean, the hang power clean still hones all 10 general physical skills, allows for the execution of this valuable movement pattern even for those with impaired mobility, and is useful for developing strength and power. Read further to learn everything you need to know about the hang power clean:
- What Is the Hang Power Clean?
- Hang Power Clean Benefits
- Muscle Groups Worked
- How to Prepare for the Hang Power Clean
- Equipment Needed
- How to Warm Up for the Hang Power Clean
- How to Perform the Hang Power Clean
- Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Hang Power Clean Modifications
- Hang Power Clean Lift Variations
- Common Hang Power Clean Workouts
- Get Started Today!
What is the Hang Power Clean?
The hang power clean requires the athlete to lift the barbell typically from above the knees to the shoulders while receiving the bar in a partial squat, meaning the crease of the hips may not descend below the tops of the knees. Generally, the deepest position for the lift to still count as a hang power clean is when the bar is received with the tops of the thighs parallel with the ground. To complete a hang power clean, the athlete, with the bar positioned at mid-thigh, aggressively “jumps” to fully extend their hips and legs to impart speed and upward momentum on the bar. With the bar moving vertically, the athlete immediately pulls themselves down under it, receiving the bar in a partial front squat and then standing to full hip and knee extension with the bar on the shoulders to finish the lift.
Hang Power Clean Benefits
The hang power clean is a valuable training tool that develops cardiorespiratory endurance and stamina, strength, power, speed, and agility, and a whole host of neurological adaptations.
Cardiorespiratory Endurance and Stamina
Although commonly associated with heavy 1-3-rep sets, the hang power clean delivers a significant dose of cardiorespiratory endurance and stamina when performed for high reps. Sets of hang power cleans for 15 reps or more can be performed safely and effectively with light to moderate loads, and with the weight traveling at a relatively high speed, they elicit similar cardio benefits to 800-meter runs. In these sets, stamina, or local muscular endurance, is also developed in the forearms, spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings, traps, and quads.
Strength
Hang power cleans develop full-body strength as athletes must apply significant force while performing a dynamic jump and a partial squat. The hang power clean, therefore, develops great strength in the upper back, spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, abdominals, and obliques. The hang power clean develops great core strength as the body must absorb the impact and load of receiving the bar at the shoulders without letting the elbows drop and the upper and lower back round. Given the same great technique, every pound added to the bar increases the strength development potential of a hang power clean.
Power
To calculate power, we look at the load used, the distance traveled, and how long it takes to complete the movement. When a large load is moved long distances and quickly, high power is produced. With its capacity to move relatively heavy loads from just above the knees to the shoulders with blinding speed, the hang power clean is a clear expression of power and produces powerful athletes. Furthermore, the hang power clean, as opposed to the power clean, sets the athlete up in the perfect “launch” position to jump the bar to the shoulders. As a result, the athlete avoids any of the technique difficulties of taking the bar from the ground to the mid-thigh position, and they can focus solely on jumping aggressively to launch the bar upward.
Speed and Agility
Hang power cleans teach the ability to forcefully and fully extend, and then immediately and rapidly flex the hips as the bar is jumped from the hang position to the shoulders. This skill is necessary to improve cycle time in repeated sprints, agility movements, jumps, or squats.
Neurological Adaptations
The technical complexity of the hang power clean develops neurological aspects of fitness such as coordination, accuracy, and balance. The hang power clean requires the coordination of every joint and every major muscle group and transfers well to other complex motor patterns. The hang power clean develops balance by resisting the tendency to be pulled forward out of position in the first pull and in the receiving position. It also necessitates maintaining balance and stability while absorbing the force of an external load as the bar arrives at the shoulders. Athletes must be accurate in all phases of the movement — from setting the bar at the mid-thigh position, to the jump, to the pull-down, and around the bar — to execute a hang power clean optimally.
With high-rep hang power clean workouts, athletes can practice sound technique and develop neurological adaptations while fatigued, which mimics requirements found in sport as well as many endeavors enjoyed outside of the gym.
Muscle Groups Worked
The hang power clean places demands on all major muscle groups throughout the entire body.
Lower Body
The muscles of the legs, especially the hips, quads, glutes, and hamstrings, are prime movers in hang power clean. These muscles are engaged in jumping the bar vertically, receiving the bar in a partial front squat, and standing the weight up.
Upper Body and core
The shoulder girdle, back, and core muscles are engaged throughout the hang power clean. These muscles contract isometrically to allow for the efficient transfer of forces from the ground into the bar. When the athlete jumps the bar 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 bar. The upper back works to maintain the proper rack position of the bar when standing with the load on the shoulders.
How To Prepare for the Hang Power Clean
Preparing for the hang power clean requires assembling the proper equipment and performing a general and specific warm-up to get the body ready to move through the ranges of motion required.
Equipment Needed for the Hang Power Clean
To train the hang power clean, an athlete can use a PVC pipe or barbells of various weights, from 10 to 45 lb, as needed. The barbells used should spin freely to accommodate the speed of the delivery to the rack position and protect the athlete’s wrists. The weights used should be rubber bumper plates so the athlete can safely drop the bar when needed.
How To Warm Up for the Hang Power Clean
To warm up for the hang power clean, the lifter should perform general movements that work every joint through their full range of motion. Goblet squats, bar hangs, ring rows or pull-ups, lunges, pass-throughs, shoulder presses, and GHD hip extensions are good choices for the general warm-up.
For the specific warm-up, a variety of teaching progressions exist. Consider the following:
Step 1: Front squat
Step 2: Hang muscle clean
Step 3: High hang power clean
Step 4: Hang power clean from mid-thigh, start building load to work sets
How To Perform the Hang Power Clean
The power clean can be broken down into distinct phases: the setup, the jump, and the receiving position
The Setup
Stance: The feet start under the hips or slightly wider than hip-width. The weight should be distributed through the midfoot in the start position.
Grip: The lifter utilizes a hook grip with the hands placed slightly outside of the legs or approximately a thumb’s length outside of the hips when standing tall. The grip width can be adjusted to accommodate the needs of the athlete.
Body Position: The lifter adopts a position where the knees are slightly bent, the bar is generally positioned above the knees around mid-thigh, with the hips pushed back and chest forward of the bar so the torso is inclined at about 45 degrees. The chest is up, the low back is engaged to maintain the natural lordotic curv,e and the head is up with eyes focused forward.
The Jump
The “jump” is the aggressive hip and leg extension element before the pull under the barbell. The jump starts with the bar approximately at the middle of the thigh. The athlete “jumps” through the heels aggressively, rapidly extending the legs and hips to accelerate the bar vertically. The bar must stay close to the body during its upward travel, and it’s important to note that the arms are still long in this position.
The Receiving Position
Once the athlete has completed the “jump” (i.e., the full extension of the legs and hips), they initiate a violent shrug and bending of the arms — elbows high and outside — to pull themselves around, down, and under the bar to receive the bar in a partial front squat. Again, the bar stays close to the lifter as the arms bend to pull the athlete down, the feet slide quickly from hip width to shoulder width, and the athlete aggressively rotates the elbows forward and up to receive the bar in a stable and strong quarter or half front squat position. The athlete stands with the bar racked on the shoulders to complete the hang power clean.
Common Mistakes and How To Avoid Them
There are several common hang power clean mistakes lifters 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.
Not Fully Extending the Hips and Legs
At the end of the jump phase of the hang power clean, the athlete’s 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 bar to receive it in the rack position. This limits the power transferred into the bar and diminishes the bar’s upward travel and speed. Athletes should focus on jumping hard before they pull themselves under the bar. Tall power cleans are a good drill to ingrain the finish position in the power clean.
Collapsing in the Receiving Position
A proper receiving position of the hang power clean sees the athlete in a partial 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 bar in this strong position. Instead, they receive the bar 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 bar, athletes should aggressively turn the bar over into the rack position and keep the chest up. Practicing front squats with a pause in the bottom position can help build strength and awareness in the partial position.
Pulling Early With the Arms
The arms should only start to bend and pull on the bar after full hip and knee extension have been achieved. Commonly, athletes will bend their arms early. When this occurs, power output is reduced, and other faults may occur, like the bar drifting away from the body or lack of hip extension. To work on this fault, athletes can perform a barbell complex of 2 hang clean pulls followed by 1 hang power clean.
Hang Power Clean Modifications
The hang power clean requires not only strength but also flexibility and mobility, sound technique, and speed through various positions of the movement. In training, any lifter can be accommodated by modifying the load and positions.
PVC or Light Loads
When learning the hang power clean technique, a PVC pipe is a great tool to allow the athlete to move properly without concern for the bar’s weight. However, the PVC doesn’t adequately mimic the rotation of a real bar, and its lightness makes maintaining a sound front-rack position and feeling the correct positions difficult. In this instance, a light training bar can be used to drill the movement.
Utilize Dumbbells
Utilizing a set of dumbbells can give similar benefits to the barbell and may be advisable for those who have extreme difficulty with the front-rack position of the movement.
Hang Power Clean Variations
There are many hang power clean variations athletes can use depending on the specifications of the workout and the workout demands. Similar movement patterns can also be trained with other pieces of equipment, such as dumbbells, sandbags, or strongman logs and kegs.
Different Hang Heights
Hang power cleans can technically be performed anywhere from the high-hang position to a position where the plates are one inch off the ground and anywhere in between. All of these different hang versions count as hang power cleans. For high-hang power cleans, the athlete stands tall with the bar at the hips and initiates the lift with a dip and drive of the legs (jump) while keeping the torso vertical. If the bar is placed anywhere below the knees (e.g., mid-shin), the athlete must first lift the bar to the mid-thigh position before executing the jump.
Common Hang Power Clean Workouts
For time: 25 hang power cleans / 50 front squats / 25 hang power cleans (115 lb/165 lb)
The Ben Rogers: For time: 800-meter run / 50 hang power cleans (75/115 lb) / 600-meter run / 30 hang power cleans (105/155 lb) / 400-meter run / 10 hang power cleans (125/185 lb)
21-15-9 reps for time of: Hang power cleans / Burpees (75/115 lb)