Barbell Clean And Press
Also known as: clean and press, barbell clean press
Two lifts stitched together: the clean is a jump you happen to be holding a bar for, and the press is what fails first when that jump is lazy.
How to do Barbell Clean And Press
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the barbell on the floor in front of you.
- Bend your knees and hinge at the hips to lower down and grip the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Drive through your heels and extend your hips and knees to lift the barbell off the floor, keeping it close to your body.
- As the barbell reaches your thighs, explosively extend your hips, shrug your shoulders, and pull the barbell up towards your chest.
- As the barbell reaches chest height, quickly drop under it and catch it at shoulder level, with your elbows pointing forward and your palms facing up.
- From the catch position, press the barbell overhead by extending your arms and pushing the barbell straight up.
Barbell Clean And Press Sets and Reps by Goal
Strength
5 sets of 2-3 reps at a weight you can move fast, 3 minutes rest. Bar speed off the floor matters more than grinding out a heavy single.
Hypertrophy
4 sets of 5 reps with 2 minutes rest, resetting the bar on the floor between reps so every clean starts from a dead stop.
Endurance
4-6 rounds of 6-8 reps at roughly 40 percent of your best press, 60-90 seconds rest, ending the round when the catch gets sloppy.
Common Barbell Clean And Press Mistakes
Pulling with the arms early, which kills the hip drive and leaves the bar too low to catch.
Keep the arms straight until the bar passes the thighs. The elbows only bend after the hips have fully snapped open.
Catching the bar on the wrists with the elbows pointing down, which crushes the wrists under the load.
Whip the elbows high and forward so the bar rests on the front delts, and let the fingers open if wrist mobility is limited.
Learning the full lift with a loaded bar before the technique is grooved.
Spend several sessions on an empty bar, cleaning to the shoulders and pressing as separate drills before joining them into one lift.
Easier and Harder Than Barbell Clean And Press
Swap Barbell Clean And Press For
Barbell Clean And Press — Frequently Asked Questions
How do you do the Barbell Clean And Press?
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the barbell on the floor in front of you. Bend your knees and hinge at the hips to lower down and grip the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Drive through your heels and extend your hips and knees to lift the barbell off the floor, keeping it close to your body. Use a barbell and keep the movement controlled through the full range. The animated GIF above shows the complete rep at normal speed.
What muscles does the Barbell Clean And Press work?
The Barbell Clean And Press primarily targets the quads. It is classified as a legs exercise and is performed with a barbell.
How many sets and reps of the Barbell Clean And Press should I do?
For muscle growth: 4 sets of 5 reps with 2 minutes rest, resetting the bar on the floor between reps so every clean starts from a dead stop. Adjust the load rather than the rep target if form breaks down before the final rep.
Is the Barbell Clean And Press good for beginners?
Yes. The Barbell Clean And Press is a beginner-level movement, so it is a reasonable place to start. Keep the load light enough that you can control every rep and stop 2-3 reps short of failure while you learn the pattern.
What can I do instead of the Barbell Clean And Press?
Try the Suspended Split Squat, Squat On Bosu Ball or the Dumbbell Supported Squat. Each trains the quads with a similar movement pattern, so you can swap based on the equipment you have available.
Is the Barbell Clean And Press the same as the clean and press?
Yes. The Barbell Clean And Press is also commonly called the clean and press or the barbell clean press. Different gyms and training programs label it differently, but "clean and press" and "barbell clean press" refer to this same movement.
