Olympic Lift - Power Clean

The Olympic Lifts are recommended exercises for inclusion in power and speed training programs. The objective of these exercises is to develop the large muscles of the body in an explosive action that requires the use of many joints and muscle groups in a coordinated movement. The Olympic Lifts comprise of the Clean & Jerk and the Snatch. The Power Snatch and Power Clean are auxiliary lifts that aid in the training of the Clean & Jerk and the Snatch.

Power Clean execution checklist

Bar loaded evenly, collars in place and secure
Feet flat on the floor and approximately shoulder width apart
Bar touching shins
Arms locked, regular grip, thumbs around bar
Back straight
Head facing forward
Thighs parallel to floor
Shoulders over bar
Athlete inhales and holds breath
Easy pull off the floor (1)
Bar comes up straight (not around knees)
Knees move back
Bar stays close to the body
Bar passes the knees
Knees move back under the bar
Bar touching top of thighs
Back tight, arms straight
Body extends fully, athlete up onto the toes
Traps are shrugged to elevate the bar (2)
Continued upward pull by pulling with the arms (3)
Weight racked across the top of the shoulders (4)
Elbows point out and high
Feet spread slightly to the side
Athlete stands up, under control
Athlete exhales while lowering the bar to the start position
Bar lowered under control to top of thighs
Bends at the knees and hips to lower the bar to the floor

(1) Start Position	(2)
(3)	(4) End Position

Page Reference

The reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (1997) Olympic Lift - Power Clean [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/pclean.htm [Accessed

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page: