The Best Beginner Clean Progression
Some “coaches” say the olympic lifts are too hard for athletes to learn.
I say that anyone can learn to clean in under an hour.
Sure, learning the clean can seem challenging as it is a complex lift.
But if you break it down into smaller, easy-to-digest phases, you can learn the clean in under an hour.
This article will outline the entire Clean progression I use with beginners, but if you want something more comprehensive with pictures and plenty of demo videos, then make sure to grab my FREE Beginner Guide + 6-Week Program here!
Stage 1: Front Squat
The Front Squat is the foundation of the clean, and without it there is no way to have a strong and efficient clean.
How To Perform The Front Squat
The main goal when starting here is to find the best squat stance that allows you to achieve maximal depth without sacrificing core tension. This will show us what your mobility looks like and where we might have trouble later in the progression. To find your squat stance, place your feet about hip-width apart with the toes turned out slightly and try a squat. If you feel restricted in the front of your hips and/or your heels come up off the floor, then take a slightly wider stance. Play around with your stance until you find one that feels the most comfortable on your hips and ideally allows you to keep your feet flat, though this is not a main issue if you have access to a pair of weightlifting shoes. Check out this article for more info on weightlifting shoes.
Once you’ve established your squat stance, grab the bar outside of shoulder width, and place the bar on your shoulders, making sure to push the shoulders forward and arms parallel to the floor. This should create a shelf for the bar to rest, making it so that you do not need to support the bar with your arms. If you struggle with the mobility requirements of this position, then download this free mobility guide and skip to the front rack mobility section.
Descend into the deepest squat possible while maintaining midfoot balance, relatively high elbows, and relatively upright torso, then stand back up. Once you can achieve a relatively parallel or below-parallel squat, you can move on to the next progression.
P.S. If you want to get a big clean, it helps to have a big front squat. Check out this 12-week squat program to blow up your squats!
Stage 2: Power Position Clean
The Power Position Clean is a simpler variation of the Clean with two goals:
Learning how to create vertical leg drive to move the bar upward fast
Learning how to use your arms correctly to keep the bar close and move your body under the bar fast
How to Perform The Power Position Clean
Start with your hands in your clean/front squat grip, with your feet hip-width or slightly narrower than your squat stance, and the bar hanging at your hips. Rotate your elbows so they point up, not back, and bend your knees enough to feel like you could jump fairly high, but not so much that the bar slides down to your knees.
Don’t feel the need to squeeze your shoulders back excessively, but don’t slouch. Puff out your chest like Popeye and you should be good to go.
When viewed from the side, your shoulders should be directly in line with the bar, not in front of, and not behind. This is called your power position. This is where (you guessed it) all of your power comes from. As we move through the progression and begin pulling from the floor, the goal is always to return to this position during the pull to ensure you have the highest chance of getting the bar high enough quickly for you to get under the bar.
From your power position, jump up forcefully to begin elevating the bar. As the bar is launched upwards, use your arms to continue keeping the bar close AND to pull yourself under the bar into the lowest possible front squat as dictated by your front squat assessment in phase one.
Some of the most common mistakes here are:
Hip thrusting the bar away from you rather than driving the bar up with the legs.
Keeping your arms straight and swinging the bar away from you, even if technically you created good vertical leg drive.
Using the arms to pull the bar too early, causing you to limit how much leg drive you can get on the bar, and limiting how fast you will likely be able to move under the bar.
Stage 3: Double Pause Clean
The Double Pause Clean builds on the previous exercise, and introduces one new element of complexity, pulling from the floor. To pull from the floor correctly we need to find the correct:
Start position which allows you to create maximal power from the floor
Knee position which allows you to clear a path for the bar and continue to accelerate the bar
How to Perform The Double Pause Clean
This is best performed with a lighter technique bar with full-size plates, however, if you do not have access to these, then you will be just fine pretending.
Pick up the bar and hold it at mid-shin, or where it would be if it had full-size plates on. Place your feet in the stance you used for the power position clean and drop your hips down so they are level or slightly higher than your knees. Arch your back so it is flat or slightly curved downwards, and adjust your balance so that your shoulders are slightly in front of or in line with the bar, and your balance is mid-foot. (Midfoot balance is the priority here). If your back or hamstrings lack flexibility, this position may be very hard to achieve, but as your squat strength improves, this problem will likely go away.
From this position, push with your legs like you would in a squat to lift the bar from the ground to 1” above your kneecaps and pause. As you do this motion, make sure to move your knees back out of the way while keeping the bar close to your shins. At the knee position, your hamstrings should feel stretched, your shoulders should be in front of the bar, and you should have mid-foot balance. From this position, continue pushing with your legs to lift the bar higher up your thigh and move your knees forward under the bar slightly, WITHOUT shifting your balance forward onto the ball of your foot. You should now be in the exact power position you practiced earlier! From here, pause for a second, then perform the power position clean exactly as practiced earlier!
Some of the most common mistakes are:
Pulling too fast off the ground and accidentally passing the positions you need to practice.
Moving the bar forward around the knee instead of straight up and back while getting your knees out of the way.
Moving your knees too far backward, causing you to shift your balance to the heel and away from the midfoot. This will cause a compensation forward later in the lift and likely lead to a forward jump.
Moving the knees under the bar too quickly, causing you to lose your midfoot balance and throw your shoulders behind the bar creating an inefficient power position.
Not moving your knees under enough and being too straight-legged at the power position leading to a forward hip thrust of the bar.
Stage 4: Tempo Clean
Just like the previous exercise, the tempo clean builds in complexity from the double pause clean, though this one may feel easier and more fluid than the previous exercise. The primary goal of the tempo clean is to practice moving fluidly from the start position, past the knee position, and into the power position we have drilled with each of the previous exercises. This is the last exercise before we add the speed necessary in a regular clean.
How to Perform the Tempo Clean
To perform, set up in your start position with your feet in your pulling/power position stance, Clean grip, and hips and back set appropriately. A reminder that from the side, it should look like your hips are higher than or level with your knees, your shoulders are higher than your hips, and in line with or slightly in front of the barbell, but most importantly, that you have midfoot balance.
Then, begin pushing with your legs to elevate the bar like we practiced in the double pause clean, however instead of pausing, I want you to move slowly, and with intention for 4 seconds from the ground until you reach the power position, before finishing the rest of the clean as fast as possible.
By moving slowly, we can take the time to practice each of the major elements of the pull; getting the knees out of the way of the bar without going too far back, getting the knees back under without doing so too soon or too excessively, and keeping the shoulders in front of the bar for as long as possible. Along with this, many beginners tend to rush the pull for the lift because it’s supposed to be fast, right? But in reality, the lift should only be as fast as you can move WITHOUT sacrificing proper start, knee, and power positions, and without sacrificing HOW you move between them. If you cannot do it correctly slowly, you likely will not be able to do it correctly fast.
Some of the most common mistakes are:
Underestimating how slow four seconds is. If you are unsure, set a clock, or have an enemy or really close friend count, they’re sure to count slow enough.
Not moving the knees back enough forcing you to move the bar forward around them OR moving the knees back too much causing you to lose midfoot balance and shift to the heels.
Not moving the knees back under the bar once it passes enough OR moving the knees under the bar too much or too soon, causing you to lose midfoot balance.
Pausing slightly in the power position rather than smoothly transitioning to the part where you need to add speed. Don’t stop in the hips, but as you get closer, be prepared mentally to go fast!
Stage 5: The Clean
The Clean differs from the tempo clean ONLY in how quickly the bar moves. In the tempo clean, we are aiming to maintain the same speed from the ground to the power position. In the full-speed clean, we should still start intentionally controlled, but as the bar moves closer to the power position, it should constantly be accelerating. A good way to visualize this is:
First pull (from the ground to the knee): Slow
Second pull (from knee to power position): Faster
Third pull (extension to the bottom of the front squat): Fastest
So as you start practicing more regular cleans, try to keep this new tempo in mind and if you find yourself slowing down later in the lift, you might need to start slower in the first pull. I also recommend taking videos of your lifts from a front side angle, and if you notice that the positions you are in do not mimic the correct positions you practiced in the double pause clean, then slow things down again and focus on the positions as these are the ONLY reason you’ll be able to move any sort of weight.
Some of the most common mistakes are:
Moving one speed (typically too fast) rather than starting slow and getting faster throughout the pull.
Moving too quickly or with too much weight causing you to lose your positions during the lift.
Making any of the foundational mistakes discussed in each of the previous exercises.
Clean Pull Progression
In WL101: Beginner Guide & 6-Week Program one of the most useful elements is the implementation of pulls from the floor at the start of the program as accessory work.
Most beginner progressions start from the top down, and so does mine in a way, however, because the lift is performed from the ground up, I believe that you should practice pulling correctly from the ground as quickly as possible.
I use a simple progression that mirrors the progression of the cleans, so while you are practicing the power position clean, you’ll perform the first clean pull progression afterward. As you move on to the double pause clean, you’ll move on to the second clean pull progression, and so on.
Exercise #1: The Triple Pause Clean Pull
This exercise introduces you to pulling from the floor and has a few main goals:
Find your proper start position
Practice pushing with the legs to move the bar
Practice the proper knee position
Practice returning to the power position
Practice finishing your extension aggressively and vertically
Click here to watch the demo video!
This is best performed with full-size 10lb plates so use a lighter technique bar, or if you are strong enough, a normal barbell with 10lb bumper plates. However, if you do not have access to these, then you will be just fine pretending.
How to Perform The Triple Pause Clean Pull
Pick up the bar and hold it at mid-shin, or where it would be if it had full-size plates on. Place your feet in the stance you used for the power position clean and drop your hips down so they are level or slightly higher than your knees. Arch your back so it is flat or slightly curved downwards, and adjust your balance so that your shoulders are slightly in front of or in line with the bar, and your balance is mid-foot. (Midfoot balance is the priority here). If your back or hamstrings lack flexibility, this position may be very hard to achieve, but as your squat strength improves, this problem will likely go away.
From this position, push with your legs like you would in a squat to lift the bar from the ground to 1” off the ground. Pause here for 1 second to ensure you are in the right spot and did not move forward or backward excessively. Then move to 1” above your kneecaps and pause here. As you do this motion, make sure to move your knees back out of the way while keeping the bar close to your shins.
At the knee position, your hamstrings should feel stretched, your shoulders should be in front of the bar, and you should still have mid-foot balance. From this position, continue pushing with your legs to lift the bar higher up your thigh and move your knees forward under the bar slightly, WITHOUT shifting your balance forward onto the ball of your foot. You should now be in the exact power position you practiced earlier! Pause here, then aggressively push with your legs to elevate the bar as you did in the power position clean, but instead of moving under the bar, keep pulling with your arms to keep the bar close. This will help drill keeping the bar close, the proper transition of leg-to-arm effort, and has a nice byproduct of strengthening your traps and upper back.
Some of the most common mistakes are:
Not correcting incorrect positions while pausing in them (this just reinforces inefficient technique).
Pulling too fast off the ground and accidentally passing the positions you need to practice.
Not moving the knees back enough forcing you to move the bar forward around them OR moving the knees back too much causing you to lose midfoot balance and shift to the heels.
Not moving the knees back under the bar once it passes enough OR moving the knees under the bar too much or too soon, causing you to lose midfoot balance.
Pulling with the arms too early, causing you to lose all of your leg drive, and practice the incorrect movement when we need this to carry over to the clean.
Exercise #2: The Double Pause Clean Pull
The Double Pause Clean Pull is simply an easier version of the previous phase. As most technique issues happen in the first pull, it is important to really hone that in. In this progression, we’ll still pause in the knee position and power position, but we are eliminating the pause 1” above the ground.
How to Perform The Double Pause Clean Pull
To perform, set up in your start position with your feet in your pulling/power position stance, clean grip, and hips and back set appropriately. A reminder that from the side, it should look like your hips are higher than or level with your knees, your shoulders are higher than your hips, and in line with or slightly in front of the barbell, but most importantly, that you have midfoot balance.
Then, begin pushing with your legs to elevate the bar as we practiced in the double pause clean and pause 1” above the knees. Ensure that you still have midfoot balance and your shoulders are still in front of the bar, and if all seems good, move to the power position. Make sure not to slide your knees under too soon or too excessively causing you to lose midfoot balance or throw your shoulders back behind the bar. Then finish the extension just like you practiced in the triple pause pulls, aggressively, vertically, and finish the pull with your arms after the legs have extended.
Some of the most common mistakes are all the same ones from the triple pause clean pull:
Not correcting incorrect positions while pausing in them (this just reinforces inefficient technique).
Pulling too fast off the ground and accidentally passing the positions you need to practice.
Not moving the knees back enough forcing you to move the bar forward around them OR moving the knees back too much causing you to lose midfoot balance and shift to the heels.
Not moving the knees back under the bar once it passes enough OR moving the knees under the bar too much or too soon, causing you to lose midfoot balance.
Pulling with the arms too early, causing you to lose all of your leg drive, and practice the incorrect movement when we need this to carry over to the clean.
Exercise #3: The Tempo Clean Pull
The Tempo Clean Pull changes things up a little bit.
Rather than pausing, we will instead move slowly, with a four-second tempo from the ground to the power position before finishing the extension and pull with normal max-effort speed.
How to Perform The Tempo Clean Pull
To perform, set up in your start position with your feet in your pulling/power position stance, clean grip, and hips and back set appropriately. A reminder that from the side, it should look like your hips are higher than or level with your knees, your shoulders are higher than your hips, and in line with or slightly in front of the barbell, but most importantly, that you have midfoot balance.
Then, begin pushing with your legs to elevate the bar like we practiced in the double pause clean, however instead of pausing, I want you to move slowly, and with intention for 4 seconds from the ground until you reach the power position, before finishing the rest of the extension and pull with speed.
At this point in your clean pull progression, you should be able to use more weight than you can use for the tempo clean, which means you are doing some real-deal strength work right now. These clean pulls will not only help improve your technique but will get your legs, hamstrings, back, and traps strong enough so that when you do start attempting heavier cleans, you know you’ve got the pull strength for it.
Some of the most common mistakes are:
Underestimating how slow four seconds is. If you are unsure, set a clock, or have an enemy or really close friend count, they’re sure to count slow enough.
Not moving the knees back enough forcing you to move the bar forward around them OR moving the knees back too much causing you to lose midfoot balance and shift to the heels.
Not moving the knees back under the bar once it passes enough OR moving the knees under the bar too much or too soon, causing you to lose midfoot balance.
Pausing slightly in the power position rather than smoothly transitioning to the part where you need to add speed. Don’t stop in the hips, but as you get closer, be prepared mentally to go fast!
Exercise #4: The Clean Pull
The clean pull builds on the previous exercise in the same way that the clean builds on the tempo clean.
In the tempo clean pull, we are aiming to maintain the same speed from the ground to the power position. In the full-speed clean pull, we should still start intentionally controlled, but as the bar moves closer to the power position, it should constantly be accelerating. A good way to visualize this is:
First pull (from the ground to the knee): Slow
Second pull (from knee to power position): Faster
Third pull (extension to the top of the pull): Fastest
So as you start practicing more regular clean pulls, try to keep this new tempo in mind and if you find yourself slowing down later in the lift, you might need to start slower in the first pull. I also recommend taking videos of your lifts from a front side angle, and if you notice that the positions you are in do not mimic the correct positions you practiced in the double pause clean pull, then slow things down again and focus on the positions as these are the ONLY reason you’ll be able to move any sort of weight.
Some of the most common mistakes are:
Moving one speed (typically too fast) rather than starting slow and getting faster throughout the pull.
Moving too quickly or with too much weight causing you to lose your positions during the lift.
Making any of the foundational mistakes discussed in each of the previous exercises.
How To Implement The Beginner Clean Progression
This progression was originally written for my WL101: Beginner Guide + 6-Week Program and was designed for beginners who would likely not have face-to-face instruction.
In this instance, this progression typically takes about six weeks to complete.
However, I will often have new lifters come in and be able to complete the entire clean progression in an hour. Everyone learns at different rates, and some who have a foundation of strength and mobility will learn faster than someone who has never lifted or worked out a day in their life. In this instance, the six-week route shown below is probably the best.
You can do this clean workout twice a week as a beginner as the weight is not all that hard to recover from, and technique is the main goal anyway.
Feel free to increase weight each week, progressive overload is your friend. However, progressive overload relies on consistent technique for it to work best and applies most often to lower-skill movements. For that reason, I recommend adding weight each week to your snatch pull variations, however only add weight to the snatch progressions as long as your technique feels efficient and consistent.
Hopefully, you’ve found this article helpful! If you wouldn’t mind, please send this to someone else who wants to learn the clean and check out my FREE Beginner Guide + 6-Week Program, my Free Mobility101 Guide, and my Free Accessories101 Guide. You can also check out more of my training programs here!