Training guide
A power clean takes a barbell from the floor to the front of your shoulders in one fast movement: push the floor away, let your knees come forward as the bar passes them, jump with your arms straight, then pull yourself under and catch the bar in a quarter squat. The hang power clean starts from just above your knees and is the usual way in. Learn it with a coach and light weights, from the top down.
The research is mostly small trials in young men. For jumping it points one way: weightlifting training raised jump height by about 5% more than ordinary strength training, and about as much as jump training. For sprinting it's less certain, and two trials found no benefit at all. You don't even have to catch the bar: in two small trials, versions without the catch improved power as much.
This guide covers each step on the 3D figure, where to start the lift from, the progression from the hang to the floor, sets and reps, the common mistakes, who should change the lift, and the warning signs to act on.
A power clean catches the bar on the front of your shoulders in a quarter squat, with your thighs above parallel; a plain clean is caught in a full front squat. The hang power clean starts standing: you lower the bar to mid-thigh or just above your knees, as in a Romanian deadlift, and leave out the pull from the floor.
British Weight Lifting: "We advise that no-one attempts an Olympic lift without prior training and supervision." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) teaches the end of the lift first: the front squat, which is the catch, then the jump from mid-thigh, then from the knee, then from the floor. Your technique, not a percentage of your body weight, decides when you move on.
Start with the bar over your mid-foot, your hips below your shoulders and your arms straight. Push the floor away until the bar passes your knees, let your knees come forward under it as it slides to mid-thigh, then jump and shrug with your arms straight. Only then pull yourself under, whip your elbows round and catch the bar on your shoulders, elbows high and feet flat.
3 to 5 sets of 2 or 3 power cleans, or 2 to 4 hang power cleans, resting 2 to 3 minutes, early in your session (our move pages' doses). NSCA coaches keep sets under 3 reps when maximum power is the aim. End the set when the bar slows or a rep looks different.
In trials of mostly young men, weightlifting training raised jump height by about 5% more than ordinary strength training, and about as much as jump training. The pooled edge for sprinting wasn't statistically significant, and two trials found no benefit at all, so the lifts work best beside squats and jumps, not instead of them.
In two small trials, of 34 athletes over 8 weeks and 27 men over 10 weeks, pull variations without the catch improved power as much as the full lift. That makes pulls a fair choice while you learn or when your wrists are sore. The catch matters if you want to compete.
These steps describe the power clean from the floor. For the hang power clean, stand tall with the bar, lower it to mid-thigh or just above your knees as in step 6, then do steps 7 to 10, resetting at the top between reps.
Use bumper plates and collars on a platform or rubber floor, with nobody close by, as our move page asks. If light plates leave the bar too low, raise them on blocks so the bar starts at the height a full-size plate gives (our suggestion).
Stand with your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart and your toes turned out a little, with the bar over your mid-foot, about 2.5 cm (an inch) in front of your shins.
Take an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders, with your hands outside your knees. Chalk helps. The hook grip, with your fingers wrapped over your thumb, is allowed in competition, and it let 11 trained men who already used it power clean more. It hurts your thumbs at first, so build up to it.
Bend down to the bar with your hips below your shoulders and above your knees, your shoulders over or slightly in front of the bar, your back flat, chest up, arms straight and eyes ahead. Our deadlift demo starts the same way.
Breathe in and brace. Push the floor away so that your hips and shoulders rise together and your back keeps the same angle until the bar passes your knees. Keep the bar close to your shins.
As the bar passes your knees, your hips move forward and your knees come forward under the bar, so it slides up your thighs to mid-thigh with your shoulders still over it and your arms long. Coaches call this the transition, or the double knee bend. It's the bottom half of a Romanian deadlift in reverse.
Extend your hips, knees and ankles fast, as if jumping, with your heels down as long as you can and your arms straight, and finish tall with a shrug. The NSCA's cue: "Push through the ground and get as tall as possible." This is where the power comes from.
Only now bend your elbows, pulling yourself down under the bar as it keeps rising, with your elbows high and out to the sides.
Whip your elbows round and forward so your upper arms are about level with the floor. The bar lands across the front of your shoulders and collarbones, your fingers loose around it, as you land in a quarter squat on flat feet with your trunk nearly upright.
Stand up tall. Lower the bar to your thighs, bending your hips and knees to take it, then to the floor. On bumper plates you can let it drop in front of you once it's below your shoulders, which is what competition rules ask.
If the bar runs out in front or your elbows won't come through, don't fight it: push the bar away, let it drop in front of you and step back, as our move page advises. Practise this with an empty bar on bumper plates before you need it.
"Push, scoop, jump, catch" (our summary of the steps); "push through the ground and get as tall as possible" and "tall belly button" (from the NSCA); "the hips move the bar, not the arms"; and "fast elbows". These are coaching cues, not tested in trials.
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In 6 studies of 232 trained young people, about 20 years old, weightlifting training raised vertical jump by 7.7% more than in groups that didn't do it, and by 5.1% more than ordinary strength training, both moderate effects, and it matched jump training. Another review found the countermovement jump (a jump with a quick dip first) rose by 7.5% with weightlifting against 2.1% with ordinary strength training, and by 8.8% against 8.1% with jump training.
Across 16 studies of 427 people, weightlifting beat ordinary strength training for jump height by a large amount, though the studies varied a lot. In 8 trials of 233 recreationally trained adults, it added about 2 to 2.5 cm more than control, jump or ordinary strength training.
Against ordinary strength training, the pooled effect on sprinting was large but not statistically significant: the likely range ran from about no difference to a very large advantage. Against jump training it was close to zero. Single trials point different ways: 10 m sprints improved after 8 weeks of Olympic lifts in 32 young men, and handball players sprinted faster after 7 weeks of hang power cleans, though that trial had no group that skipped the lift. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) found too little data to judge Olympic lifting for running and agility.
Sprinting itself, with strength and jump training, stays the core of getting faster, as our sprint guide says.
Against ordinary strength training, weightlifting training raised the weightlifting lifts themselves most, a large effect. It built more squat strength than kettlebell training over 6 weeks in 30 men. But jump training raised half-squat strength a little more than Olympic lifts in another trial (47.8% against 43.7%), and in a third, cleans and snatches on their own didn't grow the thigh muscles, while squat training did.
In 39 young athletes, 8 weeks of cleans and snatches with no other lifting gave trivial gains, less than squat-based strength and power training with free weights or machines. In 45 trained men who first spent 4 weeks learning the lifts, 8 more weeks of a technique-focused programme improved neither jumps nor sprints, while jump training improved both. The NSCA's answer to the first is that it left out the simpler versions and squats, and the athletes were new to the lifts.
Our reading: the lifts help most as part of a programme that also squats and jumps, once technique no longer limits the effort.
The ACSM's 2026 position stand found power improved most with moderate loads (30 to 70% of your one-rep maximum, the most you can lift once), low to moderate volume (24 or fewer reps in total, sets times reps) and lifting fast, including Olympic-style lifts. Its conclusion on the Olympic lifts rests on one review, the 16-study analysis above.
Most trials were small, lasted 6 to 10 weeks and studied young men: 12 of the 16 studies in the main review were in men only, and 221 of 233 people in the newest. The results varied a lot between studies, assessors were blinded in only 2 of 16, and dropping the weaker studies removed the strength and squat-jump advantages over ordinary lifting. No study has measured whether teaching the lift from the top down prevents injuries.
From the hang, you stand with the bar and lower it with a Romanian deadlift to the top of your thighs, mid-thigh or just above your knees. From blocks, the bar rests on blocks at those heights. From the floor, you do the whole lift. The NSCA notes there's little research comparing hang and block starts, and the authors of one NSCA coaching article teach starts below the knee only from blocks, to lifters who can't yet hold that position from the hang.
In 16 elite rugby league players lifting 60% of their best power clean, peak power was about 3,570 watts in the mid-thigh power clean and 3,690 in the mid-thigh pull, against 3,180 in the hang power clean and 2,590 from the floor; force and the rate of force development followed the same pattern in 11 players. In 16 inexperienced female athletes, the floor, hang and mid-thigh versions didn't differ.
In professional female handball players who already knew the lift, 7 weeks of hang power cleans at 90% or 50% of their best made both groups stronger in the lift and faster over 5 to 30 m, though neither group jumped higher and there was no comparison group. Many athletes only ever train from the hang; you need the floor start if you want to compete (our view).
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An NSCA coaching article says teaching the power clean from the floor in the first phase "is acceptable", while smaller pieces from blocks or the hang "may demonstrate improved motor learning", and that "there is no clear consensus on the best approach". Some coaches teach the floor start like a deadlift from the first session. Both work with light weights and a coach; we follow the NSCA position statement's top-down order.
In two small trials, pull variations without the catch improved power as much as the full lift. Over two 4-week blocks in season, 34 athletes doing power clean exercises with the catch (16) or without it (18) both improved: jump height by 10.8% and 5.2%, and the power clean maximum by 9.5% and 8.4%, and the differences between the groups weren't significant. Over 10 weeks in 27 trained men, pulls loaded heavier for force or lighter for speed improved sprints, mid-thigh pull strength and, on one side, change of direction more than catching or pulling exercises at the same relative loads.
Pulls leave out the catch, so they're quicker to learn and can be loaded heavier: the NSCA suggests 100 to 140% of your best clean, staying under 120% for pulls from the floor. The catch adds a loaded landing, much like landing from a jump, and makes you pull with intent to get the bar high enough, so the NSCA wants pulls to add to catches rather than replace them.
A jump shrug is a jump from mid-thigh with a shrug and straight arms. In 17 men it produced more power, force and speed than the hang clean and the high pull; in 15 lacrosse players it did more work at the hip and knee than the hang power clean. The NSCA puts its best loads at about 30 to 45% of your best hang power clean. We don't have a 3D demo of it yet: the clean shrug, a fast shrug from mid-thigh without leaving the floor, is the nearest.
Pulls make sense while you learn, when your wrists or elbows complain in the catch, and for heavy strength work. Learn the catch if you want to compete in weightlifting or CrossFit, where a lift only counts when you catch it. Most programmes use both (our view).
NSCA coaches check a deep front squat with the bar in the clean position and a Romanian deadlift with a flat back before teaching the power clean, and the NSCA's position statement wants jumping and landing skills in place too. If one is missing, start there.
Hip hinge practice, 2 or 3 sets of 8 (our deadlift guide's dose), then the Romanian deadlift with a clean grip, 3 sets of 6 to 8 (our weightlifting strength workout). Move on when you can slide the bar to just above your knees with a flat back and the bar touching your thighs: that's your hang position.
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The goblet squat, then the front squat, then the front squat with a clean grip: our front squat guide has the steps. Move on when you can squat deep with your elbows up and the bar staying on your shoulders. The front squat is the catch, and the first step of the NSCA's clean progression.
Jump squats and box jumps, stepping down from the box: 3 sets of 5 (our jump guide's first stage). Move on when your landings are quiet and balanced.
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The clean deadlift for the start and the first pull, 3 sets of 5, light (our suggestion); the clean shrug for the jump, 3 sets of 3 to 5, fast, with your arms long (our move page's suggestion); and the rack delivery for the turnover, 2 sets of 5 to 10 with the empty bar. Move on when each looks the same every rep.
A published football strength programme uses dumbbell cleans before power cleans, and the NSCA's technique manual teaches the dumbbell hang power clean from mid-thigh. The kettlebell clean, 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 a side with a light bell (its move page's dose), teaches a smooth catch too.
Hang power cleans from mid-thigh, or power cleans from blocks set at mid-thigh: 3 to 5 sets of 2 to 4, light, resting 2 minutes (the move page's dose). Move on when every rep is fast, with your elbows high and your feet flat.
The same lifts from just above your knees: 3 to 5 sets of 2 or 3. Move on when the knee start looks like the mid-thigh one.
Clean pulls first, 3 sets of 3 at about your best power clean (our suggestion, inside the NSCA's 80 to 120% for the clean pull), then the power clean itself: 3 to 5 sets of 2 or 3, resting 2 to 3 minutes (the move page's dose). You're there when your floor rep looks like your hang rep.
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The squat clean, caught in a full front squat, with a coach; hang cleans from below the knee and cleans from blocks; the push press and then the split jerk, towards the clean and jerk; and heavier pulls. Our weightlifting workouts take it from there.
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NSCA coaches plan 2 to 4 weeks or 2 to 4 months of progressions, depending on the person and the coaching: that's expert opinion, not a trial result. A coach speeds it up: in one trial, college football players given feedback on their power snatch improved their power and bar path in 4 weeks, and those without feedback didn't.
The training effect takes a while too. In 16 men doing weightlifting-style training for 10 weeks, the stronger, more experienced lifters improved within 5 weeks; the weaker ones improved as well, but later, between weeks 5 and 10.
Two sessions a week with a day between, as our weightlifting technique workout suggests. Example NSCA coaching programmes run the lifts 2 or 3 days a week.
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3 to 5 sets of 2 or 3 power cleans, or 2 to 4 hang power cleans (our move pages' doses). An NSCA coaching article: "maximum power development will be less than three repetitions". Keep the total to about 24 reps or fewer (sets times reps), the low to moderate volume that improved power most in the ACSM's 2026 review.
Rest 2 to 3 minutes between sets (our move pages); NSCA coaches use 2 to 5. If you want more reps, split them with short rests of about 30 to 40 seconds (cluster sets): in a study the NSCA cites, the bar drifted forward by the last of 6 straight power cleans at 80% of the lifters' best.
Start with an empty bar or a light technique bar, and add weight in small steps only when every rep looks the same. The NSCA advises cautious loading while you learn, and not setting beginners' weights as a percentage of body weight. Once you're fluent, much of the work sits at about 70 to 85% of your best power clean (our middle of the NSCA's 70 to 95% range), with pulls at about 80 to 110% of your best clean and jump shrugs at about 30 to 45% of your best hang power clean.
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Reps in reserve (how many more reps you could have done) is the wrong gauge for a speed lift. End the set when the bar slows, lands further forward or a rep looks different, and never go to failure.
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First, while you're fresh. In the ACSM's review, strength gains were larger when lifts came at the start of a session. Keep hard runs and intervals at least 3 hours away, as our plans advise.
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3 to 5 minutes of easy rowing or cycling, then wrist circles, ankle rocks and upper-back rotations. Take the empty bar through the positions, then do 2 or 3 lighter sets, as in our weightlifting technique workout and our warm-up guide.
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For your jump, a phone app that times your flight was within about 1 cm of a force plate; test the same way each time. For sprints, use timing gates or a phone app filming at high speed, never a stopwatch: gates vary by about 2.8% over 5 m from one test to the next, so small changes are noise. For the lift, film a set from the side every week or two and look for a closer bar path and a higher, faster catch. Bar-speed apps are fine for watching speed within a set, but they couldn't reliably estimate a power clean maximum.
If the bar drifts forward off the floor, you have to jump forward to catch it. Keep it close to your shins and thighs, with your shoulders over it until the jump, and push the floor away rather than heaving with your back.
Your back tips forward and the bar swings out. Raise your hips and shoulders together until the bar passes your knees; take weight off and drill it with the clean deadlift.
Pulling with your arms before your hips, knees and ankles finish extending is a named fault, and it slows the bar. Keep your arms long until the jump is done; the clean shrug drills it.
Usually the bar was away from your body. Film from the side and keep the bar close; a line on the floor between your feet shows whether you're jumping forward (our suggestion).
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The bar crashes onto your wrists and pulls you forward. Whip your elbows round fast so your upper arms are about level with the floor, loosen your grip and let the bar sit on your shoulders. The rack delivery drills it.
Land on flat feet in a quarter squat. If your heels come up, the bar was probably in front of you (our view).
Heavy weights while you're learning ingrain errors. Add weight only when every rep looks the same, and take some off when it doesn't.
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Let it go: push the bar away, let it drop in front of you on bumper plates and step back, as our move page advises.
The catch asks a lot of your wrists and shoulders: in 20 CrossFit athletes, a good clean catch went with about 92 degrees of wrist extension and plenty of outward shoulder rotation and forearm turning. Loosen your grip so the bar sits on your shoulders, try a slightly wider grip, and while it settles do pulls and shrugs, which trained jumping and strength as well as catches in an 8-week trial. Hand and finger injuries are about 15% of weightlifting injuries.
Lift from the hang or from blocks above the knee, lighter, and reset every rep. Back injuries in elite US weightlifters were mostly strains. Check the warning signs below and our back pain guide. A teenager who lifts and has back pain that lasts more than a couple of weeks, or is worse arching back, should get it checked: our spondylolisthesis guide explains why.
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Most knee injuries in elite weightlifters were tendon pain. If pain just below your kneecap builds with training, follow our jumper's knee guide, and cut back the jumps and catches while it settles.
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A brief held breath is unavoidable above about 80% of your maximum, and it drives blood pressure very high for a moment: an average of 320/250 mmHg in 5 bodybuilders leg-pressing to failure. Breathing out slowly through a maximal leg press lowered it from 311/284 to 198/175 in 10 men. Measured just after a near-maximal clean and jerk, blood pressure was moderately raised, about 147/87, and back to normal within 15 minutes in 18 experienced lifters; peaks during the lift weren't measured.
With high blood pressure, heart disease, glaucoma or diabetic eye disease, breathe out through each rep, keep the weights moderate, and leave maximal lifts until your blood pressure is controlled and you've had advice, as our high blood pressure guide says. The American Heart Association calls strength training safe and effective for adults with and without heart disease.
Coached weightlifting is safe and beneficial for young people, the NSCA and British Weight Lifting say, with technique first, no adult programmes and no more than 10 young lifters per coach. Youth training statements support supervised strength training, and a review found injuries in young weightlifters uncommon, and severe ones rare, when training is supervised. In 63 children aged 10 to 12, 12 weeks of Olympic lifting improved jumping and sprinting more than jump training did, by the study's estimate. Most young people's weight-room injuries are accidents with dropped weights, which supervision prevents. Our children's exercise guide has more.
In a survey of 976 masters weightlifters aged 35 to 88, injuries that limited training were common, more so in men, and arthritis or chronic inflammation went with more injuries. Lift from the hang or from blocks if the floor start is too much, and keep loads where any pain settles by the next morning, as our weightlifting guide suggests.
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The NHS says strength training at a gym is fine "if you do this already", but to avoid activities with a risk of falling or bumping your tummy. A bar travelling close to your body is one of those as pregnancy progresses (our view). Talk to your midwife, and see our pregnancy guide.
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Leaking urine was reported by half of women and 9% of men in weightlifting and powerlifting. It's common and treatable, and a reason to see our pelvic floor guide and a pelvic health physiotherapist, not to stop lifting.
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Dumbbell and kettlebell cleans teach the jump and the catch with a lighter load, and jump training on its own builds jumping about as well as the lifts do.
Work up in order, moving on when every rep looks the same; the doses are in the progression above. The clean shrug stands in for the jump shrug, which we don't have a demo of yet.
3D demoHip-hinge practiceBeginner · No equipment
3D demoBarbell Romanian deadliftIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoBarbell front squatAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoClean-grip front squatAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoClean deadliftIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoClean shrugBeginner · A barbell
3D demoClean rack deliveryIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoHang power cleanAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoPower clean from blocksAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoClean pullIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoPower cleanAdvanced · A barbellThe squat clean, split clean and jerks belong with a coach once the power clean is solid; dumbbell and kettlebell cleans are lighter ways to learn the catch.
3D demoHang cleanAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoHang clean below the kneesAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoClean from blocksAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoCleanAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoSplit cleanAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoPush pressIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoSplit jerkAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoClean and jerkAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoDumbbell cleanIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoKettlebell cleanIntermediate · A kettlebellPractise jumping and landing before the clean; the last three loosen your wrists, upper back and ankles in the warm-up, a few slow reps each.
3D demoJump squatIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoBox jumpIntermediate · A bench or box
3D demoBox drop landingIntermediate · A step
3D demoWeighted jump squatAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoWrist & forearm flowBeginner · No equipment
3D demoThoracic rotationBeginner · No equipment
3D demoKnee-to-wall ankle rockBeginner · A wallThe power clean technique workout walks the progression from the hang to the floor; the weightlifting workouts add the snatch, the jerk and the strength work behind them, and the jump workouts train jumping without a barbell.
A 40-minute technique session for the power clean: the rack and hang positions, the jump and the turnover, light hang power cleans, then cleans from the floor.
40 minIntermediate14 movesCardio machine, A wallA 60-minute coached technique session: wrists, ankles and overhead squats, then the snatch and the clean and jerk built from the top down with light weights.
60 minBeginner15 movesCardio machine, A wallA 65-minute strength session for weightlifters: front squats, clean pulls at or above your best clean, push presses, Romanian deadlifts and trunk work.
65 minIntermediate11 movesCardio machine, A wallA 55-minute gym session for American football: hang cleans or jump squats, back squats, bench press, Romanian deadlifts, rows, Nordics, neck work and carries.
55 minIntermediate16 movesA band, A barbellA staged jump session for 8 weeks: landings and small jumps, then box and broad jumps, then depth jumps, each followed by squats, hinges and calf work.
40 minIntermediate16 movesA step, A bench or boxAn advanced jump training session: pogo hops, box jumps, split squat jumps, broad jumps and depth jumps.
30 minAdvanced8 movesA bench or box, A stepA 30-minute session from the hip hinge to your first deadlift: hinge practice, kettlebell deadlifts, slow Romanian deadlifts, a light bar and a carry.
30 minBeginner9 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellA 30-minute full-body kettlebell workout: deadlifts, swings, cleans, presses, rows, halos and carries.
30 minIntermediate9 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellFor chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness or fainting, or a racing or irregular heartbeat during exercise, as our plans advise.
If someone faints while exercising. If a headache started suddenly and is extremely painful, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. If back pain comes with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or anus, or changes in your bladder or bowels. If arm pain comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest, which can be a heart attack.
Go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E if you injure your arm and hear a snap, or it changes shape, tingles or feels numb.
In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care. For wrist pain that's severe, or if you heard a snap, grinding or popping when it happened, can't move your wrist or hold things, it has changed shape or colour, or you've lost feeling in your hand. For a knee that's very painful, can't take your weight, is badly swollen or has changed shape, or locks or gives way. For an arm that hurts when you exercise but eases when you rest. For a headache brought on or made worse by exercising, coughing, sneezing or bending down.
If wrist pain stops you doing normal activities, keeps coming back or hasn't improved after 2 weeks of treating it at home; if elbow or arm pain hasn't gone after a few weeks; if back pain hasn't improved after a few weeks, is worse at night or comes with weight loss you can't explain; or if you have fainted.
Stop, sit or lie down until it passes, and get up slowly. If it keeps happening, see your GP, as our high blood pressure guide advises.
If a joint pain is sharp, builds during a set or lingers into the next day, swap to an easier option, such as pulls instead of catches, and see a clinician if it persists.
Weightlifting training beat ordinary strength training for jump height, but jump training did about as well. And for weaker people, the NSCA says, getting stronger improves rapid force about as well as specialised power work.
In two small trials, pull variations without the catch improved power as much as the full lift, and pulls can be loaded heavier. The catch matters if you want to compete.
The sprint evidence is the weakest part: a large edge over ordinary lifting that wasn't statistically significant, none over jump training, and two trials with no benefit at all.
Bending your arms before your hips, knees and ankles finish extending is a named fault. The jump moves the bar; your arms only pull you under it.
In inexperienced female athletes, the floor, hang and mid-thigh power cleans produced the same force and power; in trained rugby players, the mid-thigh versions produced the most; and hang power cleans made handball players faster.
Weightlifting has about 2.4 to 3.3 injuries per 1,000 hours of training, similar to other non-contact strength sports and lower than contact sports, and 90.5% of elite US lifters' injuries cost a day or less of training. Most of these studies were of low quality. Learn it with a coach.
Coached weightlifting is safe and beneficial for children and teenagers, with technique first, no adult programmes and no more than 10 young lifters per coach. Children's weight-room injuries are mostly accidents that supervision prevents.
Start with the bar over your mid-foot, close to your shins, and your hands just outside your knees. Push the floor away, let your knees come forward as the bar passes them, then jump, extending your hips, knees and ankles with your arms straight. Only then pull yourself under and catch the bar on the front of your shoulders in a quarter squat, elbows high.
The power clean starts on the floor. The hang power clean starts standing, with the bar lowered to just above your knees or mid-thigh, so it leaves out the pull from the floor and is easier to learn. In inexperienced female athletes the two produced the same power.
Where you catch the bar. A power clean is caught in a quarter to half squat with your thighs above parallel; a clean, or squat clean, is caught at the bottom of a full front squat, which lets you lift more but needs more mobility and skill.
In trials of mostly young athletes, weightlifting training raised jump height by about 5% more than ordinary strength training, and about as much as jump training. Not every trial agrees: two found no benefit from weightlifting-only or technique-focused programmes, so combine the lifts with squats and jumps.
Possibly, but the evidence is weaker than for jumping: a large but uncertain edge over ordinary lifting in pooled trials, none over jump training, and single trials that disagree. Sprinting itself, with strength and jump training, is still the core of getting faster.
Not for power. In two small trials, pull variations without the catch improved power as much as the full lift. Pulls are simpler and can be loaded heavier, but you need the catch if you want to compete, and coaches often use both.
Start with an empty bar or a light technique bar, and add weight only when every rep looks the same. The NSCA advises against setting beginners' weights as a percentage of body weight, so compare yourself with yourself.
3 to 5 sets of 2 or 3, resting 2 to 3 minutes, early in your session. Coaches keep sets under 3 reps when maximum power is the aim. Stop a set when the bar slows or a rep looks different, and keep the total to about 24 reps or fewer.
NSCA coaches plan anything from 2 to 4 weeks to 2 to 4 months of progressions, depending on the person and the coaching: an expert estimate rather than a trial result. A coach speeds it up, and starting from the hang makes the first sessions simpler.
A common reason is the bar landing in your hands instead of on your shoulders (our reading): loosen your grip, get your elbows round faster and higher, and let the bar sit on the front of your shoulders. The catch needs a lot of wrist and shoulder range. While it settles, do pulls and shrugs instead, and see a GP if it hasn't improved after 2 weeks.
Before. Speed lifts belong at the start of a session while you're fresh, and strength gains were larger with lifts at the start of sessions. The deadlift builds strength; the power clean trains you to use it fast.
Weightlifting has about 2.4 to 3.3 injuries per 1,000 hours of training, similar to other non-contact strength sports, and most elite injuries cost a day or less. Coached children and teenagers can learn it safely, with technique first, no adult programmes and no more than 10 young lifters per coach.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
