From a technique standpoint, the Clean and Press is often the most challenging movement in a group exercise strength training class. From a cardiovascular training standpoint, it’s often the most intense. From a multi-muscle engagement standpoint, it uses many of the muscles in our hamstrings, backs, and glutes, called the posterior chain.
So, how do we do it correctly?
Here’s the move we are talking about. To me, the key points to watch are these:
- The weighted bar goes straight up and straight down, staying close to the body
- The move combines a weighted squat with an overhead press
- The timing of the elbow movement is critical in performing the move. This helps keep the bar close to our body, which is important to protect against back injury.
A common error is treating the upright move or the downward move as a reverse bicep curl, which moves the weight away from the body. Why is this? Many people don’t use enough weight on the bar!
Here’s a simple test that you can do to check your weight selection.
Here’s a great quote from the Les Mills (creators of Body Pump) website
“If you have enough weight on the bar you won’t be able to “muscle” it up with your upper body, which means you’ll need to recruit the bigger leg muscles to drive the bar up so you can catch it high on the chest. The upward motion of the bar is initiated when you bend your knees to preload the legs and quickly drive the hips forward. It may also be easier to lift the heels off the floor to generate more momentum. The bar will start to move vertically, close to the body. Once the bar hits its apex, you can jump underneath it to catch it in a mini-squat.
When done correctly, the clean uses very little upper body activation. Your elbows simply lift above the bar and the arms merely guide the bar up. The upper body joins the party when you add the press. Using the momentum of the legs as you stand up out of the mini-squat, the arms press the bar up and slightly in front of the head. The bar hits the top for the moment and then you allow it to drop back down to catch it again high on the chest while you drop into the mini-squat.
After you’ve established your correct minimum weight, the aim is to use that weight for all your clean and presses. You may find you need to work on your conditioning to be able to maintain that weight. The great thing about BODYPUMP is you can put the bar down and take a break if you need it. Or you can reduce the weight and slowly add more weight every workout.
When you have your weight – and your technique – bang on, your clean and presses will become so much more effective. Your heart rate will jump up, you’ll start to breathe heavy, and you’ll start to feel the changes in your body.”