The clean—whether you love it or dread it, it’s a powerhouse movement that builds explosive strength and requires precision. But here’s the deal: even experienced lifters make mistakes in the clean, which can lead to missed lifts and poor performance. The good news? Most of these issues can be easily fixed once you know what to look for.
In this blog, we’ll break down the 3 most common mistakes lifters make in the clean and give you simple cues and drills to clean up your technique (pun intended) so you can lift bigger, better, and more efficiently.
1. Pulling with the Arms Too Early
Let’s start with one of the most common (and frustrating) mistakes: pulling with your arms too early. You might think that pulling the bar with your arms will help you get it up faster, but here’s the truth: it actually kills your power and messes up your timing.
When you bend your elbows too soon during the lift, you’re relying on your upper body to do the work that your legs and hips should be doing. This reduces the force you can generate from your hips, which is where most of your power comes from in the clean.
How to Fix It
The key here is to let your legs and hips do the work until the bar reaches your mid to upper thighs. Think about keeping your arms long and relaxed until you’ve fully extended your hips (often called “triple extension”).
Cue: "Keep your arms as ropes!"
This cue reminds you to keep your arms straight until you’ve finished the explosive part of the lift.Drill: Clean Pulls and Block Cleans
With the clean pulls, focus on driving the bar from the ground to your upper thighs without bending your arms. The goal is to feel the power come from your legs and hips, not your arms. Start with lighter weights to dial in the feeling of hip extension before adding weight.
Block cleans are a great exercise to incorporate into the program, as this creates a static start position at the point, I find most lifters will start to bend their arms as they pull the bar through the second pull into extension. As you setup in this position, think about maintaining long arms and driving hard through the feet. The gaol here is to maintain long arms until you reach maximal extension.
2. Not Fully Extending the Hips
Another biggie is failing to fully extend the hips before pulling yourself under the bar. If you cut your hip extension short, you’re missing out on a huge amount of power that could be driving the bar higher.
You’re rushing the lift and not allowing your hips to fully extend before transitioning to the pull under. This robs you of the vertical drive that would give you more height on the bar, making the clean harder than it needs to be.
How to Fix It
Focus on being patient and explosive. Let your hips snap open fully before you drop under the bar.
Cue: "Explode tall/ get all!"
Picture jumping as high as you can, reaching full extension through your ankles, knees, and hips before diving under the bar.Drill: Hip Extension Drill
Perform cleans from the high hang position (power position) and focus on fully extending the hips before transitioning under the bar.
Hang power cleans/ block power cleans can also be a great drill for this, as they force you to emphasize that explosive hip drive.
3. Catching the Bar Too High (or Too Low)
Catching the barbell either too low or too high is another common mistake, and both can be problematic. If you catch it too high, you might not be maximizing your potential to get under heavier weights. Catch it too low, and you risk unnecessary strain on your shoulders and wrists.
If you are receiving the bar Too high, You’re not pulling yourself under the bar quickly enough, so you end up muscling the bar into place. If you find yourself catching the bar Too low, You’re most likely dropping too fast or not controlling the descent, putting unnecessary pressure on your body.
How to Fix It
You need to control the catch and meet the bar at the appropriate height based on the weight.
Cue: "Pull and punch!"
This cue helps you focus on actively pulling under the bar and then "punching" your elbows through to secure the bar in the front rack position.Drill: Tall Cleans
Stand tall with the bar at hip height, and from this position, focus only on pulling yourself under the bar into a solid front rack. This drill teaches you to pull under quickly and meet the bar, rather than letting it crash on you.
Final Thoughts. Clean Up your Cleans!
Mastering the clean isn’t just about pulling as much weight as possible—it’s about perfecting your technique so you can move efficiently and powerfully. By addressing these common mistakes and incorporating the drills and cues we’ve covered, you’ll be able to refine your clean and hit those bigger lifts with confidence.
Remember, even small adjustments can make a huge difference in your performance. Focus on being patient, explosive, and precise, and watch your clean reach new heights!