Clean Training Program

The Olympic weightlifting move clean is a component of clean and jerk. It is a very useful auxiliary drill in functional fitness as well. Clean is applied to enhance the clean-and-jerk outcome. It is common in nearly all strength-based sports and competitions where competitors must also possess speed strength.

Overall, whether you're a man or a woman, you should definitely incorporate barbell clean in your training regimen if you need to develop C&J.

Muscles Work in Clean 

Clean is a challenging total-body drill that works the core, back, shoulders, arms, calves, glutes, and posterior thigh muscles.

Performing a clean lift involves multiple steps:

- starting position;

- pull;

- power position;

- turnover;

- recovery.

Phases, Techniques And Clean Progression 

Starting Position

The starting position is extremely important in the clean because, unlike certain slower exercises like the squat, it is a problem to adjust or correct the clean angles once you begin to lift.

The standard in Soviet schools is that the stance must be shoulder width. However, the Chinese advise picking a feet location convenient for jump up. 

The bar must be over midfoot.

To provide for some space for the trunk between the hips, the knees and feet and must be 6-10 degrees out.

The balance ought to be in the middle of the foot; some trainers even advocate shifting it a little bit toward the heel.

Which grip should you use for the clean?

Your hand should be about as wide as your shoulders in your grip. This stance of the clean grip has some benefits, including the ability to keep the arms straight while holding the barbell directing the knees out, the ability to catch the weight to the shoulders position without discomfort, and the ability to hold the barbell close to the hips during the pull to increase power during the power position and full extension.

The right body position as you are ready for the clean.

Athletes should arch their backs, open their chests, and raise their heads by 45 degrees. Bend your lower limbs joints so you can position the bar on the platform. Arms must be downright and loose, and shoulders must align with knees.

Don't worry about emulating someone else because the body angle relies on the length of the arm, trunk, and legs.

Pull

Approaching it as pushing the floor rather than pulling the barbell is the great tip to performing the perfect pull. It's crucial to extend up your shoulders and hips in unison. 

An athlete should keep the closest possible distance to the shin, thigh, and trunk throughout the entire action. Maintaining your shoulders above your knees, controlling your center of balance on your midfoot, remaining full foot up until the power position, and pressing the barbell closer to body by using your lats can help you achieve this.

Power Position

An athlete begins the power position: explosive knee, hip, and ankle extension when the barbell is at mid-thigh or a bit higher. The vertical explosion is now transmitted from the legs to the barbell. Athletes typically jump up from the full foot at this moment since it`s a perfect way to build up the greatest vertical force.

Turnover

The athlete attempts to catch the weight in a complete squat position during the this phase. As a result, they should lower their bodies while lifting elbows forward/up and rotating around the barbell. Athletes who struggle with upper body mobility may require specialized mobility/flexibility workouts.

Catch Position & Recovery

Once the bar is fixed at the bottom, immediately stabilize your stance by standing up straight and extending your hip and knee joints. Maintain a firm core, high elbows, and a midfoot gravity point. 

There is some Olympic clean variations, such as: power clean, hang clean, squat clean

The power clean is a compound weightlifting exercise. The power clean is an exercise that builds a ton of total body strength. It is designed to increase power, strength, and speed. The power clean program is a great way to add additional muscle mass and functional strength to your frame while also honing vital movement skills. The main difference between Olympic clean and power clean is the height of catch position. In power clean it must be as high as possible. And this is one one main focuses in power clean workout routine.

The starting posture and purpose of the lift are the two main distinctions between a clean and a hang clean program . Driving the barbell off the ground will be the first movement in a clean. The weight will begin a hang clean at the hips, as the name suggests. In order to generate the explosive force needed to move the weight from the hips into the front rack position during hang cleans, more hip drive is needed. Throughout the lift, the clean gains greater momentum and force. Both will result in an increase in muscle, strength, and power.

The starting posture and purpose of the lift are the two main distinctions between a clean and a hang clean program . Driving the barbell off the ground will be the first movement in a clean. The weight will begin a hang clean at the hips, as the name suggests. In order to generate the explosive force needed to move the weight from the hips into the front rack position during hang cleans, more hip drive is needed. Throughout the lift, the clean gains greater momentum and force. Both will result in an increase in muscle, strength, and power.

To make your clean perfect and strong, you must avoid this common mistakes:

Tense arms

The arm pull, or tight arms, is a common mistake in clean. But you ought to feel them like strings. You can only transmit the power from the leg muscles to the barbell in this situation. By moving elbows outside in the initial position, you can correct this error. Just at the start of the movement, concentrate on this. Usually, this error goes away after two to three weeks. 

The setup's bar far frowar from the mid-foot plane

An athlete cannot exert their maximal effort in the pull if he is too far from the bar. He will also get unbalanced. Don't rush the setup to prevent making this error. Make it a routine to check your starting position's "controlling points" before each set: balance on the middle of the feet, shoulders cover a bit the knees, back arched, and relaxed arms.

Shrugs

When a weightlifter leaps up in the power position, he is fully and vertically extended, and shoulders automatically point up. Nothing needs to be learned since it comes naturally.

Double bent knee

The knees bend again as the bar passes over them. Additionally, there is no instruction; nature is the focus.

To improve technique and develop result in clean it is mandatory to use variations of these strengths exercises, such as:

Power clean is the simplest version of Olympic clean. Technically, power clean is just a clean without a full depth squat. This exercise is used to train speed and strength in the first and second pull and power position, limiting the amount of time and distance the athlete can go under the barbell. It can also be used as a lighter variation for easy training days and in deload and tapering weeks.

The Muscle squat Clean is a variation of the clean that can help to increase pulling power, clean turnover, and overall upper body strength associated with weightlifting movements. By doing muscle squat clean, lifters can learn how to properly position and secure the bar to their chest by aggressively guiding their elbows under the bar. Some athletes and lifters lack upper body strength to pull and finish the bar aggressively after a successful first and power position. Using Muscle Clean, the athlete is forced to maintain balance with the whole foot and finish vertically due to the inability to jump forward or backward. The increased vertical offset of the bar allows the lifter to get into a more stable front stance position. Also this exercise teaches leg movement and aggression in the first and second pull to maximize power and performance.

Front squats are squats that are performed with a barbell. Unlike the back squats, the barbell is held on the chest. This gives more work to the upper body and core muscles, but it also works the glutes and thighs. Incorporating front squats into your training program has many benefits. First, it is enhanced muscle growth. Like back squats, front squats are also develop strength. Unlike traditional squats, front squats also engage the upper body. The chest muscles, upper back, shoulders, and arm muscles help support the bar when it is in on the shoulders. Another benefit of the front squat is that this movement can make other exercises easier to perform. For example, front squats develop the strength needed to perform deadlifts, clean, etc.

The back squat is a basic strength exercise in Olympic weightlifting, bodybuilding and powerlifting. One of the most effective not only in weightlifting, but also in general physical training. It is used as an auxiliary in almost all sports.The barbell back squat is a multi-joint movement that engages 250 large and small muscles.

What muscles are involved?

- quads;

- glutes;

- hamstrings;

- back extensors;

- abdominal muscles

The benefits of exercise for the athlete:

- development of power indicators;

- improving coordination and mobility by strengthening joints, ligaments and stabilizing muscles;

- prevention of dysfunctions of the pelvic organs due to increased natural blood circulation;

- the formation of a beautiful shape of the hips and buttocks.

A fundamental and significant exercise for improving posture, balance, speed, and strength is the clean pull. Weightlifters typically use larger weights in this exercise than in the clean and jerk, allowing them to gain strength to advance in the clean and jerk. As part of a clean progression, the clean pull can also be utilized as a corrective exercise to enhance technique, train balance, and develop deadlift position. There are a lot of variations of clean pull: from block and hang positions, deficit, eccentric, paused. Also clean pull can be a part of clean or C&J complexes.