The most common mistake beginners make in the clean is not using the legs correctly. 

This can be caused by several reasons such as overextending, not making contact, or simply not having learned the clean correctly the first time. 

One of the first things you learn as a beginner is the power position clean. This is the foundation of the clean and the key to unlocking all of your power from your legs, as well as how to use your arms correctly. 

It’s the first step in my beginner clean progression from my free WL101: Guide and 6-Week Program, and is likely the first step in any good coaches toolbox. 

That’s why I love returning back to this exercise every now and then, and one of my favorite ways to implement it is in a complex followed by a full clean. 

How To Perform The Hip Clean + Clean Complex

To perform the Hip Clean + Clean Complex, start with your clean grip, pulling stance, and bar hanging at the waist. Dip to your power position, ensuring you have enough knee bend while keeping the bar in your upper thigh, and that your shoulders are directly in line with the bar. 

Extend up, launching the bar vertically with your legs, then at the peak of the bars height, begin using your arms to aggressively pull yourself under the bar into the bottom of the front squat, ride the bounce of the squat, and stand back up as quickly as possible. 

Immediately after the hip clean/power position clean, lower the bar to the ground, set up in your clean start position with your feet back in your pulling stance, bar close to the shins, and midfoot pressure. Perform a clean, as normal, but aim to return to the power position you practiced in the first rep so that you can launch the bar vertically with your legs and pull yourself under with your arms. 

Check out the demo video here!

What is The Hip Clean + Clean Complex?

This complex is a type of complex called a variation complex in which the first lift is designed to correct a technique error with the hopes that you can carry this improved technique into the following lift.

By performing the first rep from the hip/power position, you can drill the correct use of bar-body contact, vertical leg drive, and timing of the transition from leg effort to arm effort. Then, with the feeling of this technique ingrained, you can apply this to a clean from the floor, which increases your chances that the clean from the floor will have better technique than you would normally have otherwise. 

If you haven’t yet, you can read more about variation complexes, why they’re so valuable, and my top nine variation complexes in this article. 

How To Implement The Hip Clean + Clean Complex

This complex can be used as a stand-alone portion of training, a lighter drill, or as a movement primer before normal cleans. 

As a movement primer, simply perform the complex for 3-5 during your warm-up sets to whatever your top sets are for the day. This should help you feel better about your technique before your normal, heavier cleans. 

As a light drill, shoot for 3-5 sets between 55-65% if you are spending a lot of time correcting technique each set. 

For more experienced lifters, you can push this as a main variation in your training program. 3-5 sets of the complex between 70-85% of your best clean is a good range, with most between 70-80%, and few who could do 80-85% for this complex. I recommend sticking with it for at least four weeks and aiming to increase weight each week, assuming your technique looks good!

Hopefully, this clarified some things for you and maybe even gave you a lightbulb moment with your technique. If you ever need a free form check on your videos, you’re always welcome to join my free discord here and drop your video in the #form-checks channel. 

By the way, I’ve got a free beginner weightlifting guide and a 6-week program! If you’re new to the olympic lifts, then check it out here!

And if you’re looking for a weightlifting program designed to help you set PRs, improve your technique, and get strong af, then check out a FREE WEEK TRIAL of my 3 & 5-Day OlyStrong Team at the link below!