Dumbbell Clean

Description

How to Do Dumbbell Clean

1. 1
   Setup

   Stand with feet hip-width apart, a dumbbell on the floor outside each foot, and your chest lifted with a neutral spine.

2. 2
   Setup

   Hinge at your hips and bend your knees slightly to grasp the dumbbells with an overhand grip, palms facing your body, ensuring your back remains straight.

3. 3

   Initiate the pull by explosively driving through your heels, extending your hips and knees while shrugging your shoulders forcefully upward.

4. 4

   As the dumbbells rise, quickly pull them upward, rotating your wrists underneath to "catch" them in a racked position at your shoulders, elbows pointing forward.

5. 5

   Absorb the weight by slightly bending your knees into a partial squat, then stand tall to complete the movement before carefully lowering the dumbbells back to the floor with control.

Tips

• Generate power from your hips and legs, not your arms; think of the arms as hooks guiding the dumbbells, not actively pulling them up.
• Keep the dumbbells as close to your body as possible throughout the entire lift to maintain control and an efficient bar path.
• Practice the 'catch' with very light weights to master the wrist rotation and absorption into a slight squat before adding heavier loads.
• Coordinate your breath: take a deep breath before initiating the pull, hold briefly during the explosive phase, and exhale as you rack the dumbbells.

Common Mistakes

• ×Pulling with the arms too early: Focus on driving through your legs and extending your hips explosively before your arms engage in the pull.
• ×Rounding the back: Maintain a neutral spine by keeping your chest up and engaging your core throughout the lift, especially when lifting from the floor.
• ×Not fully extending the hips: Ensure a complete, powerful hip extension at the top of the pull to generate maximum momentum for the clean.