Cleans are a source of frustration for a lot of people. Even experienced and fit folks who are doing great swings and snatches! You’ll know these people by the fact that they rush through the clean and get on to the front squat and/or press. I’m here to help with a collection of favorite tips–some of which are not super conventional–in the following video. There’s a transcript under the video as well for your convenience.
Do you struggle with cleans? Frankly, ages ago I struggled with them for over a year! But putting in the time and practice (and good kettlebell cleans take practice) has been rewarded over and over and over. Adding cleans to your workout menu (yes, even cleans for reps!) is a great opportunity to train decelleration, shock absorption, anti-rotation, powerful ab engagement and more. Besides having a strong clean is a great way to a super strong and powerful press.
Kettlebell cleans are also unique in that they allow you to string together kettlebell moves seamlessly for serious challenges (for example 5 one arm swings, 5 cleans, 5 presses, 5 squats, 5 snatches repeat and try not to put the kettlebell down). These seamless combinations can offer intense conditioning opportunities to say the least.
OK with no further delay here’s the video (complete with nature sounds) and the transcript after it:
Transcript:
Let’s talk about cleans…
This exercise is often maligned, passed over, forgotten, or struggled with for years. But, some of us know that the real secret to a great press is a great clean and having a great clean is also really helpful when you’re trying to string exercises together. So, I am going to show you some of my top-secret tips for really great cleans. If you’re struggling, work through these drills. If you’re new to cleans, this is a great way to get started.
[00:00:40.23] First off, where does the clean travel? I will show you by using a move called the “cheat clean”. This is also a great way to get the kettlebell to the rack position without having to do the ballistic clean. Cleans ARE ballistic, which is why they are kind of hard to learn–everything’s moving fast. So, push back with your hips, reach down for the kettlebell. The hand that you want it to be in the rack position is the one that goes on first. The palm is facing out. The other hand goes on top of it, then all you need to do is basically stand or deadlift up while rolling the kettlebell ever so slightly until it’s right here in the rack position. Ladies, we’re a little more out here (think of if you stick out your thumb, you’ll hit the outer collarbone), guys can be here (if the thumb were to stick out it would be closer to the sternum). [00:01:22.09] So here’s how you get it back down. Put the hand on top and just roll. See it’s coming forward just a little bit and down. So here’s another cheat clean, but I’m rolling it a little more than I need to… that’s ok. So if you just want to get things up there for a press, sometimes if I am pressing really really heavy, I will cheat clean it up the first time just to kind of get my mind right. [00:01:47.09] I’ll show you on the other side as well. I’m going to put it in this hand, so this hand is facing outward. The other hand comes over and I stand while rolling it up and around. [00:01:59.07] This is not putting any stress on my elbow. A lot of people I see are doing some extra twists in their cleans and over time that’s going to make the elbows angry–especially those of us in our 40s. [00:02:14.08] This is the same basic path that the kettlebell will follow when doing a ballistic clean. Let me show you. Notice how it stays in close to the body, it’s following that same… I’ll cheat clean it down to show you. [00:02:31.09] Here’s a standard clean. So, like a swing, I’m hiking it behind me. Then I’m using the power of my hips to bring the kettlebell up. This is not an arm exercise. You may feel a little bit in the front delt because you’re holding and squeezing the kettlebell to make it stop. All the power is coming from the hips, the arm is just telling the kettlebell where to go. [00:03:05.02] Here’s how a cheat clean looks from the side. You will notice it follows the same path more or less. [00:03:16.11] If you’re having a hard keeping the kettlebell close to the body, adding cheat cleans in now and then can be very helpful. [00:03:23.17] What I don’t want to see is this thing called “casting” in other words, casting the kettlebell way out–you’ll see this happen–that’s really exaggerating. But you’ll see this happening a lot of times with people who are new to cleans. They have not yet dialed in the power from their hips or the timing. [00:03:40.08] Recap: To practice cheat cleans… again, the hand I want it in, goes back here, then wrap the other hand across the top and stand up. That’s your cheat clean. Bring it back down the same way, keep it close into the body. This is the same path that we travel with the regular clean. I let it get behind me, I’m not hitting myself, I’m getting out of my own way. [00:04:01.16] You’ll notice when I start the backswing of the regular clean, I will start with my shoulders level. There’s a tendency for most people, and I think it’s just human nature to lean on that other knee. But this will make the shoulders already out of alignment–I’m exaggerating so that you can see. So, if I start my clean here, my shoulders won’t be lined up and it’s going to be really hard to get them back in line. It’s going to feel gross and you won’t get the benefit of the exercise. So, instead square it up – it’s like an athletic position for a number of different sports. You will keep the non-working hand just out of the way, don’t think about it, just have it out of the way and don’t lean on it. I’m going to throw the kettlebell behind me, pop my hips, and up it comes. At the top of the clean, instead of the kettlebell banging my wrist, I’m squeezing hard on the kettlebell handle. It’s going to take some time to get the exact timing right. If I am really honest with you guys, it took me a full year before I felt good about my cleans. [00:05:02.00] You don’t want to twist – and single kettlebell cleans are kind of an anti-rotational exercise which is another benefit. We’re not doing this (twisting) at all. We don’t want to be doing that–your spine won’t like it after a while and you’re not getting the full benefit of the clean. [00:05:21.13] For those of you really struggling to keep things in line, sometimes I teach people to double clean before cleaning on one side. See how I have the handles turned inward into a “V”? That’s to get me aimed in the right way, I don’t want them to be like this or like this when they come behind me. I’m also putting them in a “v” so that there’s a little bit more space. These are pretty small kettlebells, but at my height when I get larger kettlebells and double clean them, if they’re not in a v, then I’d have to have my feet way out here. So, see how much room that takes up, versus that? So in a V-shape. And there’s no way for me to twist because I’ve got two kettlebells that are the same weight. So I throw them back, then pop them up. That was a little bit wider of a stance than I needed. [00:06:10.11] (double kettlebell cleans) [00:06:19.19] So, when you feel good about your cleans, but you might feel like you’re twisting a little bit, there’s a fun drill I like to do, you’ll clean one, clean the other, then clean both. A lot of time when someone cleans both they’ll realize, “Aha, I’ve been twisting around.” It brings a little bit of awareness to that if it’s necessary. So, clean one, then down. Clean the other, and down. Clean both. Then when everything starts feeling the same, you’ll know you’re there. [00:06:57.16] Cleans, again, take a ton of practice and they can be frustrating. If you start getting frustrated with cleans in a workout, there’s nothing wrong with doing the cheat clean. It will reinforce that path that you want to take. Hope that helps!
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