Barbell Clean and Press

The barbell clean and press is an overhead weightlifting exercise where you explode out of a squat position to press weight over your head using a barbell. It is a dynamic compound move that works several muscles including your legs, back, shoulders, and arms. Barbell clean and presses are a good way to improve your functional strength and athleticism. This move gets your heart rate up for a cardiovascular workout. It can be beneficial to add to your routine to strengthen your body while burning calories. This exercise can help you build strength and muscle mass too.

How-to

  1. Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell near your shins. Push your hips back and grab the barbell with palms facing your body.

  2. Tense your core and drive through your heels to pull the bar quickly up to your chest then shrug your shoulders up and point your elbows forward.

  3. When the bar reaches your chest, drive through your heels again and press the bar directly overhead, straightening your arms and legs.

  4. Return to the starting position.

Muscle Worked

Primary Muscle Groups

Abs

"Abs" refers to your abdominal muscles, which sit at the front of your trunk between your ribcage and pelvis

Calves

The calves are the muscles at the back of the lower part of your legs

Chest

Your chest helps you move your arms across your body and up and down while stabilizing the shoulders

Lats

Your latissimus dorsi, also called the "lats," help you to move your arms and keep your shoulders stable.

Lower Back

The low back helps stabilize your spinal column and connects your upper body to your pelvis.

Middle Back

The middle back helps you rotate your torso

Obliques

The obliques help you twist your trunk and support your core and spine.

Quads

"Quads" refers to your quadriceps femoris muscles which flex your leg from the hip joint and extend your leg from the knee joint.

Shoulders

Your shoulders are ball-and-socket joints which connect your arms to your torso

Traps

Lie on the floor and place a foam roller below your traps and above your shoulder blades.

Triceps

The triceps are the muscles on the backs of your upper arms

Upper Back

Lie on the floor and place a foam roller below your traps and above your shoulder blades.

Pro Tips

  • Use solid technique. This move has a few more components than a simple lift, since it’s explosive. Make sure you use clean and controlled form for best results.
  • Make sure you can grip your bar easily. It’s a good idea to practice your wrist flexibility and grip strength to keep your barbell secure throughout the exercise.

Benefits

  • The clean and press is a full-body exercise, making it beneficial for strengthening several muscle groups at the same time.
  • Barbell clean and presses can help to train the explosive power you need to perform in sports at a higher level.

Warm Up & Cool Down

Warm Up

One you can use to warm up before the barbell clean and press is dowel shoulder openers.

  1. Hold a dowel or resistance band, sending your hips far apart for a wide grip. Raise your arms up slowly overhead then twist your shoulders to send your arms carrying your dowel behind your body. Come back to your starting position and repeat for around 10 reps or as needed.

Cool Down

You can use a child’s pose stretch to cool down post-clean and press. This will stretch out your back, shoulder and hip muscles.

  1. Start on all fours, then sit back onto your heels with your arms extended in front of you. Rest your forehead resting on the floor. You can use a yoga mat if this feels more comfortable. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds or as long as you need.

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