So the other day I walked into my local YMCA to find, to my dismay, that a piece of cable equipment had been placed in the area previously designated for dead-lifts and power cleans. I shouldn't be too surprised, there were only a few of us who did this seemingly unpopular lift, and the cable machine was getting a lot more use. I guess I'm not really writing this article to teach the power clean, but to sell it. There are plenty of decent articles out there about the "how-to's" of the power clean, but this article focuses on the why.

When I played football in high-school, the three lifts Coach wanted to see us do were bench, squat, and clean. We all did the first two, but neglected the power clean. It was not until years later when I entered the world of mixed martial arts (an experience detailed a little more here) when I discovered that the power clean was one of those exercises that bridges the gap between being a weightlifter and being an athlete.

A little more research and experimentation with the power clean led me to a greater appreciation of the Olympic snatch (called the most athletic motion in the Olympics) and the clean & jerk. These lifts helped me develop a new take-down power and fluidity of motion in wrestling than I knew I was capable of.

Training the Power Clean

Since I typically train alone, I never use a spotter for power cleans. Those that do use a spotter generally have someone behind them to grab the bar and push forward if the lifter goes backward out of control. At the risk of offending the reader that does perform the clean with a spotter, this looks absurdly dangerous to me, except in the case of a dad teaching a child how to do the lift. I usually achieve some safety by having either a solid wall or a squat cage to back into, but the best safety measure is to make sure you are lifting realistic weights. I use a belt when I go heavy and forgo it when doing high reps and low weights.

If you've never done the power clean before, there are lots of narratives and videos available, but I would advise asking someone at your gym that you trust, or even buying a short appointment with a personal trainer, to show you how it's done and then watch you perform the lift.

If you need to start with very low weights (I started with a 25# plate on each side of the bar), see if your gym has something that you can stack under the plates to bring the bar up to where it would be if you had 45# plates on the bar. I used old aerobic steps. If you're new to the power clean, the raised bar will help you maintain the excellent form essential to the lift and it will be a little easier on the knees.

The Payoff

The power clean is a graceful and technical lift that requires discipline and pays off in a new kind of mind-muscle connection that must be experienced to be understood. It links together all the work you put into squats and bench/military presses, builds your balance, and translates weightlifting power into athletic performance.