Think you're au-fait with compound barbell exercises? Chances are, you're yet to master the barbell clean and press. Working your arms, abs, back, shoulders and legs, it's one of the closest exercises to a full-body move you can do. And, when performed correctly, is ideal for building real-world strength.
But, where to start? Our guide below will walk you through a step-by-step tutorial on performing the clean and press with a barbell. Once mastered, you'll be lifting like a pro in no time. That it looks badass is just a welcome bonus.
Muscles Worked by the Clean and Press
The clean and press is a heavy hitting full body move, targeting the following muscles:
- Shoulders: The deltoid muscles work during the clean and press predominantly during the overhead pressing portion of the rep.
- Back: During the pull into the front rack position, the back works to drive the bar upwards.
- Chest: The chest muscles work during the pressing phase of the lift.
- Arms: The arms work throughout the entirety of the rep, especially during the press overhead.
- Legs: The lower body powers the bottom portion of the lift, it drives momentum to bring the bar upwards.
- Core: Your core stabilises the torso during the entirety of the lift and helps maintain a rigid trunk while pressing overhead.
Benefits of the Clean and Press
Full Body Muscle
The clean and press is undeniably the perfect addition to your full body workout plan. It is a compound move, meaning you can hit multiple muscle groups in one go, causing a cascade of benefits and an increase in the hormones necessary for building mass. Research concludes that compound moves like the clean and press are ideal for muscle building due to the increase in muscle protein synthesis.
Time Saving
If you only have 10 minutes, the clean and press is the perfect move to use in an EMOM or AMRAP to get the work done quickly.
Elevated Heart Rate
We know that moves like the clean and press result in the gains we've been chasing, however the move can deliver a punch when it comes to heart health. The high intensity nature of the move will push our fitness levels when programmed with minimal rest and higher reps.
Increased Calorie Burn
Due to the clean and press using multiple muscles, it can elevate your heart rate more than isolation exercises and help you burn more calories during your workouts.
How to Do the Clean and Press
For the sake of this tutorial, we will focus on the clean and press from the floor:
- Begin with your feet under your hips. Hinge at the hips and grip the bar in line with your shoulders with your palms facing towards you.
- Maintain a flat back and lifted chest with your core engaged.
- Pull the bar explosively off the floor so it almost touches the shins.
- Snap the hips forward and powerfully pull the bar directly upwards by shrugging the shoulders, so the bar travels close to your body into the front rack position with the elbows lifted.
- From the front rack position, slightly bend the knees and drive through the heels so the bar travels into the overhead position with the arms straight.
- Reverse the movement down to the floor.
Regress the Clean and Press
If you haven't quite built up the strength and skill to master the barbell clean and press just yet, no fear. Try the dumbbell clean and press first:
- Hinge down with soft knees and grab some moderate weight dumbbells from the floor.
- With a tight core, stand up, using the momentum to pull both bells up.
- Bend at the elbows and do one final pull to get both weights on to your shoulders.
- Bend at the knees, then stand back upright and drive the dumbbells upwards.
- Let your shoulders lock them out over your head.
- Lower and repeat.
Clean and Press Workout
Now you've nailed the move, try this barbell complex workout. Load the bar with a weight you can push press overhead for 10 reps. Complete the following as an AMRAP 12" (as many rounds as possible for 12 minutes). Try to take as little rest as possible and complete the 12 minutes without setting the bar down.
Barbell Deadlift x5 reps
Begin with your feet under your hips. Hinge at the hips to grip the bar in line with your shoulders with your palms facing towards you. Maintain a flat back and lifted chest with your core engaged. Push the floor away from you while keeping the bar close. Lock out the hips without sending the weight back and reverse the movement.
Clean and Press x5 reps
After your final deadlift, maintain a flat back and lifted chest with your core engaged. Pull the bar explosively off the floor so it almost touches your shins. Snap the hips forward and powerfully pull the bar directly upwards by shrugging the shoulders, so the bar travels close to your body into the front rack position with the elbows lifted. From the front rack position, slightly bend the knees and drive through the heels so the bar travels into the overhead position with the arms straight. Reverse the movement down to meet the knees before finishing your reps.
Front Squat x5 reps
After your final clean and press, return the bar to the front rack position and go directly into five front squats. With the elbows high and chest lifted, sink the hips back into a squat. Drive through the heels back to standing.
Bent-Over Row x5 reps
After your final front squat, hinge at the hips and send your bum behind your heels. Row the bar explosively towards your hips, keeping the elbows close to the waist. Reverse the movement ready to repeat.
Best Clean and Press Workouts
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- Back and Shoulders Workout for Massive Wings and Bigger Delts
- The Men’s Health Dumbbell Club: Week 24. The Final Week of Peripheral Heart Action Training
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Kate is a fitness writer for Men’s Health UK where she contributes regular workouts, training tips and nutrition guides. She has a post graduate diploma in Sports Performance Nutrition and before joining Men’s Health she was a nutritionist, fitness writer and personal trainer with over 5k hours coaching on the gym floor. Kate has a keen interest in volunteering for animal shelters and when she isn’t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.