Barbell Muscle Clean

How to do it

Stand with a loaded barbell at your shins, gripping it just outside your legs. Extend your hips and knees explosively, then shrug and pull the bar up to catch it at your shoulders in a front rack without re-bending your knees. Lower the bar under control and reset each rep.

1. 1Feel the power come from a hard hip and leg extension, not your arms
2. 2Pull with high elbows and let the bar roll into the front rack
3. 3Stay tall and braced as you turn the bar over at the top

Common mistakes

• ×Don't curl the bar up with your arms
• ×Avoid re-bending your knees to catch; the muscle clean stays tall
• ×Don't let your back round off the floor on the pull

Muscles worked

The barbell muscle clean mainly works the glutes and upper traps, with the lower back, upper abs, lower abs, quads, hamstrings, forearms, lats, calves, and front delts assisting.

• GlutesPrimary
• Upper TrapsPrimary
• Lower BackSupport
• Upper AbsSupport
• Lower AbsSupport
• QuadsSupport
• HamstringsSupport
• ForearmsSupport
• LatsSupport
• CalvesSupport
• Front DeltsSupport
• BicepsMinor
• Upper ChestMinor
• Mid TrapsMinor
• Lower TrapsMinor
• ObliquesMinor
• Side DeltsMinor