Kettlebell Clean – How To Do The Kettlebell Clean

What is a Kettlebell Clean?

Cleans are the next exercise in our Kettlebell progression. With the clean, you get more of a skill based dynamic/ballistic movement. It also serves as a base for a number of other movements. The clean is similar to a swing but involves a tighter movement and more active recruitment of the muscles of the upper back.

Why You Should Do Kettlebell Cleans …

Because you need to develop the ability to explosively get a weight off the floor and safely get it into a “racked” position (which we’ll talk about in a future article) … in order to perform most kettlebell exercises.

Plus:

• Explosive power - cleans help you build it from the ground up
• Safer Ballistic Exercise - instead of trying to learn the power clean with a barbell with more weight (potentially more dangerous) the lighter KB allows you to get in good ballistic/explosive training without having to learn perfect Barbell technique.
• Tendon Strength – Cleans build “tendon strength” from “catching” the ballistic weight of the KB in your rack
• Posterior Chain – Cleans build pulling power & posterior strength/explosiveness/endurance & if you’re like most athletes — you need all the posterior work you can get!

How To Setup The Kettlebell Clean …

The movement begins the exact same way as a swing:

• Feet shoulder width apart
• Toes pointing out 30 degrees.

How To Begin The Kettlebell Clean

• Start with a little swing to get some momentum going. You are using a one-handed grip on a single bell for this movement.
• However, as you begin the swing upward, you are going to shrug your shoulder and “pull” with your body/back the bell up to you. (The movement itself is difficult to describe.)

How To End The Kettlebell Clean

The end position is you holding the bell in the “rack” position–the bell resting on your forearm, your forearm tucked close to your body, and your fist near your midline.

Getting it there is the trick. You want the bell to remain close to your body on the swing up. Instead of thinking “clean it to the shoulder” (which is what you are trying to do), think about this mental cue throughout the movement to keep it tight and close to you: “clean it to your stomach.”

Tips To Get Better Kettlebell Cleans …

You do NOT want to initiate the clean too late in the movement. Physically, you will really start initiating it once you begin your hip drive to shoot the bell up–your shoulder should shrug and shorten the bell’s arc, bringing it to your shoulder. If you start the movement later, your positioning and where the bell wants to go will not agree, and something is going to get 86′ed. That’s not good.

Once the bell is on its arc, you need to remain tight and control the bell on its way up to the rack position. A great drill the Pavel mentioned is doing this next to a wall: face the wall, your distance from it being around or a little more than arms reach. Now do a clean–the bell should remain close enough to your body that it doesn’t destroy your wall. It’s good incentive. It’s also not my fault if you decorate your wall with the kettlebell. Keep your elbows tucked into your body–don’t flare them out.

Now, obviously the bell has to flip over your hand at the top in order to be racked on top of your forearm. You do NOT want it to smash into your forearm–this would mean you did not control the bell correctly. Even though the bell is moving and rotating throughout the movement, you must be in control. Some people dip their legs when the bell is “catched” in the rack position, to absorb shock. This is not necessary if you control it and rack it quickly and closely to your body. The closer and faster the movement, the less shock will be generated. Remember that!

Again, the end position is the “rack” position–the bell resting on your forearm, your forearm tucked close to your body, and your fist near your midline. Your shoulder is down in its socket and TIGHT. It is acceptable and encouraged to push your hips out so the bell is more over them–this helps support the weight of the bell, instead of the stress being completely on your arm. In this position, you are TIGHT. Feet flat, bell close to you, gripped hard. This is the platform for a good press.

Video Of How To Kettlebell Clean

Key Points:

• Starting position and initial movement is the same as the swing
• As you initiate a forceful hip drive, let your shoulder shrug and guide the kettlebell up to you
• Keep the bell close to your body. On the bell’s way up to you, your elbow should be tight and close to your body–this helps control the bell
• Rack quickly and bend your knees to absorb the shock until you get used to the movement
• At the rack position, your hand should be near your midline and below your chin, with your arm tight against your body, and the belly resting on your forearm and part of your upper arm.

In the next article, we’ll go over the press, and a few key points for a good, tight rack. For now, grab a KB and using this article on the kettlebell clean as your guide — figure out how to clean it correctly!