CrossFit Journal Article Reprint.

First Published in CrossFit Journal Issue 11 - July 2003

The Clean
Greg Glassman

The King of All Exercises

Were it not for the snatch, the clean would have but
laughable challenges to the title “King of All Exercises.”
Oddly, we start our examination of the clean with
mention of the snatch, as many of the superlatives
attributed to the clean apply equally to the snatch.
Clearing the air early with admission of the snatch’s peer
status, we can speak more freely of the clean’s unrivaled
qualities and need not repeatedly suggest the snatch’s
possible exception to the clean’s peerless qualities.

Mechanics
The clean is a pure bit of functionality. The clean is simply
pulling a load from the ground to the shoulders where
frequently the object is being readied for lifting overhead.
reason, while these are important movements, they are
With the clean we take ourselves from standing over an
not the clean’s peers. Power is that important.
object pulling it, to under it and supporting. (Compare
this to the muscle-up where we take ourselves from Developmental Qualities
under an object to supporting ourselves over it.)
The clean builds immense strength and power but
In its finest expression the clean is a process by which this is only the more obvious part of the clean’s story.
the hips and legs launch a weight upward from the (This complex movement actually contains within itself
ground to about bellybutton height and then retreat two princely exercises – the deadlift and squat.) The
under the weight with blinding speed to catch it before clean is unique among weight training exercises in that
it has had the time to become a runaway train. The it demands extraordinary athleticism beyond strength
movement finishes with the hips and legs again working and power.
by squatting the weight up to full extension.
Experience coaching the clean will show that a
The speed and force with which the clean (and, yes, the lack of sufficient speed and flexibility are common
snatch) drives loads give it developmental properties impediments to learning the clean and that refinements
that other weight training movements cannot match. in coordination, accuracy, and balance are the biggest
Deadlifts, squats, and bench presses will never obstacles of all.
approximate the speed and force and consequently the
power required of a clean at larger loads. For this simple

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The Clean (continued...)
The clean requires and develops
enormous strength, flexibility, power,
speed, accuracy, agility, coordination,
and balance. The movement is as
complex and nuanced as any movement
in sport and can only be improved,
never fully mastered.
At high reps, especially when fused
with the push-jerk, the clean becomes
a powerful tool for developing vitally
important functional cardiorespiratory
endurance and stamina.
There’s no part of your physical
development that can’t be positively
impacted by developing and improving
your clean. The benefits to strength,
flexibility, power, speed, accuracy,
agility, coordination, and balance are
directly proportionate to the load
you can clean, and the benefits to
your cardiorespiratory endurance and
Setup and Preparation
stamina are directly proportionate to the reps and load
you can clean. Ideally you’d like to acquire a training bar and plates to
learn the clean. The rig in the photo above is a fifteen-
Application pound “Alumalite” bar and five-pound training plates
The clean is as complete as an exercise can be, trains from Bigger Faster Stronger. The entire setup comes in
for super useful core to extremity motor recruitment at only twenty-five pounds.
patterns, and trains and conditions the body to apply
It is all too common for beginners to practice with
large and sudden forces. It is “golf swing” or “baseball
too much weight. Typically, when learning the clean
pitch” complex yet accessible to all who want to learn
the lighter weight seems to fly around erratically. In an
it.
attempt to control the movement, the athlete often
Fortunately, you need not develop marked technical wants to pile weight on the bar. All this accomplishes
proficiency at the clean to benefit from its broad and is to mute the effect of some of the errant movement,
potent athletic offering. In fact, errors in the clean’s which serves only to mask errors in technique.
execution may actually increase many of the demands
of the movement at any given load, so that the more If you cannot perform the movement consistently and
trouble you have developing a good clean the more properly empty-handed or with a broomstick, your
benefit practicing and training it deliver. progress will come to an early screeching halt with
weight. When that happens, your faults can only be
Finally, the clean is a gateway exercise to the clean and diagnosed and corrected back at training loads, which is
jerk – one of the two Olympic lifts. The clean and jerk tantamount to starting over. Don’t waste your time by
continues the clean’s journey from ground to shoulders being in a hurry to lift large loads.
with a second, powerful, whole body movement, the
jerk, which sends the load overhead. If the training bar and plates are out of your budget, you
can make a training rig from PVC pipe and plywood.
It is the combined movements, the clean and jerk, that World Class Coaching’s videotape on the clean, “The
at high-rep protocols simultaneously improve all ten
World’s Most Powerful Lift,” features homemade
general physical skills associated with physical training.
lightweight training bars and plates.
Learning and working toward mastery of the clean is
well justified by this application alone.

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The Clean (continued...)
Taping and Chalking
Taping the wrists can help with the discomfort in the
racked position. The thumb also can be taped to keep
the skin on it while using the hook grip. Use cloth
athletic tape.
Chalk up with gymnastics and weightlifting chalk
(magnesium carbonate) available from most sporting
goods stores.

Hook Grip
The hook grip will greatly add to your lifting capacity.
Though initially uncomfortable, if not painful, with
practice the hook grip will feel perfectly natural.
Push your hands down hard on the bar and then reach
around the thumb, with the index, middle, and ring finger
trapping it against the bar. The pinkie finger, unable to
reach over the thumb stays wrapped around the bar.
Depending on the size of your hand, you may or may
not be able to get your ring finger around the thumb.
With a load, the bar does not stay in the hand but hangs
from the fingers. The hook grip may eventually increase
your clean by 50 percent or more!

Stance and Hand Placement

The starting stance for the clean places the legs and feet
directly under the hips. This stance is slightly narrower
than a squatting stance.
The chalk outlines in the photo at right show foot
outlines of positions for both the starting stance and
the “catching” or squatting stance. The starting stance
is forward and narrower than the catching stance.
The hand position is just wide enough to keep the arms
from interfering with the legs while pulling from the
ground.
Ultimately your hand position will be determined by
adjusting the grip so that the bar hits the explosion
point where you’ve maximum capacity for hip and leg
extension. More on this later.
Dave Leys, right, is in the starting stance. His feet are
in the inside chalk outlines seen above right. When he
drops under, he’ll land in the outer, rearward outlines.

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The Clean (continued...)
The Rack
Notice in the picture to the right
that the weight is sitting squarely
on Dave’s chest and shoulders with
his elbows pointing forward. This
posture, called “racked,” is critical
to weightlifting and demands and
improves wrist and shoulder
flexibility.
Practice the rack position with a
moderate load on a squat rack.
Reach out for the bar, pushing the
shoulders and chest up and out, and
then step under the bar and rest it
in the channel formed by the chest
and shoulders. The grip is loose,
with several fingers possibly coming
off the bar; that’s O.K. The hands
are only babysitting the bar.
With the bar racked on the by demonstrating that you can bail out from both the
shoulders, stand up to lift it from the squat rack several bottom and at the top.
inches, exposing the shoulders, chest, and wrists to the
posture. From the bottom, spread the knees and push the bar
forward letting it fall to the floor. Keep your hands close
With regular practice anyone can learn to “rack” the to the bar to control its decent.
bar and even arrive at acceptable levels of comfort
with the position. Without this technique your clean’s From the top just drop the elbows and bow slightly.
development will be unnecessarily and dramatically Again you’ll want to keep your hands lightly on the bar
limited. as it descends to nudge a wild hop away from you.

Dumping
When a lift goes bad, and it happens regularly, you
need to be able to dump the bar. Convince yourself

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The Clean (continued...)
Technique – The Liftoff Try to keep the plane of the chest as upright as possible
and your shoulders pinned back.
The liftoff begins essentially as a deadlift. The bar sits
directly above the foot. The shoulders are slightly in As the bar rises, the general direction of the bar is up
front of the bar. and slightly back. By the time the bar reaches the knees,
the shins have come to vertical, and the athlete’s weight
There’s nothing relaxed about the starting position.
has shifted from mid foot to the heels.
The chest is up and inflated; the lats and triceps are dug
tightly into one another. The arms are not pulling at all. Think of them as straps.
The arms are locked with the inside of the elbows facing The torso’s angle of inclination remains constant until
one another. The hands, in the hook grip, may be turned the bar crosses the knee.
a bit inward, just slightly flexing the wrists.

Technique – The Explosion Point Second, the explosion point determines the grip’s width
so that the bar hits the explosion point where you’ve
About two-thirds up the thigh, from the knee, is the
maximum capacity for hip and leg extension.
explosion point. There are two important features of
the explosion point. First, the explosion point is where The explosion point is brought to the bar and then the
the bar brushes the thigh on its upward path. hip and legs extend suddenly, driving the bar up.

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The Clean (continued...)
Technique – The Max Extension Point of the work.
As the bar brushes the thighs, the chest is thrown The shrug and torso’s hyperextension pull the bar up
upward, the shoulders shrug violently, and the athlete and back while the bang of the thigh at the explosion
makes a short, flat-footed jump. This is the point of tends to drive the bar out and up. The net force sends
maximum extension. The arms have still not done any the bar up powerfully and slightly back.

Technique – The Pull Under

At the exact instant of reaching the maximum extension
point, the hip violently retreats downward into a squat.
Simultaneously, the arms pull the athlete down under
the bar. This is the first time the arms contribute to the
movement.

Technique – The Front Squat

As the elbows whip forward, the bar is caught on the
chest and shoulders. Compared to the starting stance
the squat is about four inches back and slightly wider to
accommodate a deep squat.
Immediately on receiving the bar the athlete completes
the movement by squatting to full extension.

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The Clean (continued...)
Medicine Ball Clean
The clean is without a doubt an
advanced movement. A technically
correct front squat and deadlift would
seem to be obvious prerequisites to
the clean, but we often introduce
the medicine ball clean well before
the deadlift and front squat are
firmly established.
This reinforces the deadlift and squat
and introduces the exciting dynamics,
functionality, and metabolic potential
of the clean.
The medicine ball is somewhat less
intimidating than a bar, weighs less
(we start with an 8-pound Dynamax
and progress to the 20-pound ball),
and seems to be more suggestive
of the practical functionality of the
clean than is the clean with the bar.
The medicine ball clean efficiently
demonstrates to the developing
athlete the critical sequence of
the hip accelerating the object
to maximum extension, the hip
retreating towards the squat, and
finally, the hip squatting the object
to full extension.
Notice in the pictures the same
fundamental features as the barbell
clean – liftoff, explosion point,
maximum extension point, pull
under, and front squat.
High-rep medicine ball cleans are
a wonderful sneak peak at one of
CrossFit’s more advanced training
protocols – the high rep clean and
jerk.

High-rep barbell clean and jerks

and third, to encourage additional research, discussion,
We have only scratched the surface of the clean. There exploration and coaching of the “world’s most powerful
are components like the “scoop” between the liftoff lift.”
and explosion point that we are glossing over. Our hope
here is threefold: first, to express the importance and We’ve not discussed lifting platforms, shoes, or the
potency of the clean, second, to offer fundamentals snatch. We leave it to you to learn as much about the
sufficient to help you effectively explore the movement, clean and Olympic lifting as you can.

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The Clean (continued...)
Strength and the Clean
Our favorite resources for
It has long been our observation that an athlete’s max
clean will in large part be dependent on their max exploring and developing the clean
deadlift and front squat.
• World Class Coaching, LLC’s Coach Steve
For a load to come up from the ground confidently Miller has produced what we consider the
and then accelerated dramatically it better be an easy most advanced and authoritative instructional
deadlift. Any load you attempt to clean should be an material on the clean available anywhere in the
easy load for a deadlift. videotape “The World’s Most Powerful Lift”.
To confidently dive under a load and catch it in a front • Bob White is a protégé of Coach Miller’s and is
squat it will need to be an easy front squat. Any load Texas State age group weightlifting champion.
you attempt to clean should be an easy load for a front Bob is an engineer and his careful analysis of the
squat. kinematics of the clean at the end of both World
As a rule of thumb we encourage our athletes to push Class Coaching tapes is truly revolutionary in
their combined max front squat and deadlift to four its startling conclusion.
times their max clean. This suggests that if you want • IronMind produces MILO, the best strength
a 500-pound clean you’ll want to develop a 1,000- journal anywhere, fantastic equipment,
pound deadlift and a 1,000-pound front squat. In a less videotapes, and posters related to weightlifting
otherworldly example don’t expect to clean 200 pounds and serious strength training.
when your max front squat is 200 pounds and your max
deadlift is 300. • David Webster’s “Development of the Clean
and Jerk.” David Webster is a legendary
Improving your front squat and deadlift is a surefire way weightlifting coach and his “Development of
to improve your clean. the Clean and Jerk” is a 46-page gem. Available
only from IronMind this little book is in limited
The Clean and the Clean and Jerk
supply – get it now.
We mentioned that the clean is a gateway exercise to the
• USA Weightlifting is the national governing
clean and jerk. The clean and jerk is not only one of the
body of weightlifting in the U.S
two Olympic lifts; it is also an extraordinary movement
of unparalleled capacity to advance your fitness. • Dan John’s Lifting and Throwing Page is a
veritable treasure trove of serious weightlifting
The clean will be the weak link in the clean and jerk.
information.
If you can get under the weight, you’ll likely be able to
squat the weight and then drive it overhead. • Arthur Drechsler’s “The Encyclopedia of
Weightlifting” available from IronMind. This
We want a big clean so that we can get a big clean and
500-page behemoth is dedicated to only two
jerk so that you can get a big high rep clean and jerk.
lifts – the clean and jerk and the snatch.

The clean is as complete as an exercise can be,

trains for fundamental core-to-extremity motor
recruitment patterns, and trains and conditions for
imparting large and sudden forces.

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The Clean (continued...)
Why a Big High-Rep Clean and Jerk? Conclusion
Of the ten general physical skills (cardiorespiratory The “king of all exercises” contains two classic exercises,
endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, the deadlift and the squat, and is itself a component of
coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy) the high-rep another classic, the clean and jerk.
clean and jerk is the only single exercise protocol we
This classic of strength and power demands as much
know of that can substantially increase all ten!
speed, flexibility, coordination, balance, accuracy, as
An athlete able to perform a 225-pound clean and jerk any sport and at higher reps is a better cardiovascular
for fifteen reps at a bodyweight of 200 pounds is surely stimulus than bicycling.
“CrossFit.”
The clean, both an end and a means, marks the point
That the world’s greatest developer of power and where weight training becomes sport. As hard to master
speed isn’t traditionally practiced at higher reps is a as the violin, every minute of practicing and training for
shortcoming that cannot be logically explained. this move is a minute well spent.

The Fifteen-Rep Clean and Jerk

For the fifteen-rep clean and jerk challenge, we allow
only touch and go at the ground but allow any break
wanted at rack, overhead, and hang positions. (Resting
here doesn’t buy much relief.)
Typically we perform three sets at the same weight.
One at 15 reps, another at 12 reps, and a third at 9 reps.
The 15-12-9 progression completely covers the time
domain of the all-important middle metabolic pathway,
the glycolytic.
At fifteen reps the clean and jerk combines the
cardiorespiratory demands of an 800-meter run in a
nauseating brew of function, strength, coordination,
and power.

Greg Glassman is the founder (with Lauren

Glassman) of CrossFit, Inc. and CrossFit Santa
Cruz and is the publisher of the CrossFit Journal.

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