If you want to check out different sources explaining the Power Clean Technique, check out

Power Clean standards: How much should I Power Clean?

A very common question athletes have, is ‘How much should I be able to Power Clean?’ and my answer is pretty much always the same ‘As much as possible as you can with proper technical execution.’

In my opinion technical mastery always comes first!

Technical mastery is important for a couple of reasons

Safety, the Power Clean is a safe lift, if you know how to do a Power Clean.

If you don’t know how to Power Clean, it’s potentially dangerous, as much as it is dangerous to drive a car, if you don’t know how to drive (once you know how to drive it’s in most cases fairly safe)

If you don’t know how to Power Clean, it’s potentially dangerous, as much as it is dangerous to drive a car, if you don’t know how to drive (once you know how to drive it’s in most cases fairly safe) Progression and advancement in the Power Clean are in most cases limited by technical flaws, rather than strength (remember I am talking about athletes that use the Olympic Lifts to enhance their sports performance, not about Olympic Weightlifters).

Therefore technical mastery is imperative.

Therefore technical mastery is imperative. Muscle activation and kinetic chain, as we are using the Power Clean to improve sport performance, our main goal is to train certain movement patterns (such as the triple extension), in order to have the highest carry-over to the sport performance technical mastery is required to replicate that recruitment or muscle activation order with the Power Clean as it occurs in the sport.

Let me explain, generally speaking, muscle activation and recruitment order occurs from proximal to distal, the inside to the outside of the body (e.g the hip extends before the knees and the knees extend before the ankle in the lower body, we can see the same pattern in the upper body, hip before trunk, trunk before shoulders and arms). You can see the exact same recruitment or muscle activation order in the Power Clean (if executed technically correctly).

I know you are waiting for some quantifiable numbers, so here we go

Women Men Achievable 0.7 – 0.8 times bodyweight bodyweight Good 0.8 – 1 time bodyweight 1.2 – 1.5 times bodyweight Very good 1 – 1.2 times bodyweight 1.5 – 1.8 times bodyweight Excellent More than 1.2 times bodyweight More than 1.8 times bodyweight

Please treat these numbers with care, they are not written in stone and depend on various factors, such as training age, training status, individual differences (yes, some people just can’t make the same improvements in strength as others).

Check out some more Power Clean standards

from ExRx.net

from Strengthlevel.com

from Lonkilgore.com

a calculator from Strengthstandards.com

Let me give you one advice: Focus on technical mastery and the weight you can lift will follow automatically!

Do you remember the Clean from Twan van Gendt earlier in this article? You can see it here again



Check out Twan van Gendt 6 years earlier

6 years younger, 95 kilos weaker and pretty crappy Power Clean technique, isn’t it?

I believe it has been partly my coaching, which has led to improvements, but even more Twan’s commitment and dedication to anything he does for his sport are unparalleled.

Takeaway: Treat Power Clean standards with care, focus on mastery of the Power Clean technique and the results will follow.

Power Clean muscles worked: What muscles do Power Clean work?

No discussion about Power Cleans is complete, without discussing what muscles does the Power Clean work?

The Power Clean requires a synchronized effort of different muscle groups in order to be executed successfully.

Important in the discussions about the muscular activation during the Power Clean, is to understand, that the different muscle groups can work as a prime mover, as well as a stabilizer.

What does that mean?

Very simple, just because there is no movement in a certain muscle or muscle group, does not mean they are not activated.

An example could be the muscles of the neck (mainly the trapezius, the upper part of the trapezius to be very precise). Even though the trapezius comes into play at the end of the second pull with a powerful shrug and at the beginning of the catch phase to assist the active pull under the bar, the trapezius is activated from the moment the Power Clean movement is initiated as a stabilizer.

If the trapezius wouldn’t be activated heavily, the upper body and shoulder girdle would collapse and would not allow transferring the forces from the body effectively onto the barbell.

The main Power Clean muscle groups are (listed from the bottom up, not by importance)

Calves

The Calf muscles consist of two main muscle groups, the Soleus and Gastrocnemius. The Soleus and Gastrocnemius are responsible to extend the ankle, hence lifting the heels of the ground.

The Calves are stabilizing the lower leg during the First Pull, Transition, Catch and Recovery and actively extend the ankle during the second pull, as the final link in the triple extension.

Hamstrings

The Hamstring has three main muscles, the semimembranosus, the semitendinosus and biceps femoris.

Whilst the semimembranosus, the semitendinosus only cross one joint, the biceps femoris crosses two joints. The main function of the Hamstrings is to flex the knee, as well as extending the hip.

The Hamstring is mainly active during the First Pull, Second Pull and Transition and assists during the Catch and Recovery phase.

Quadriceps

The Quadriceps are made out of four muscles, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, the vastus lateralis, and the rectus femoris. Similar to the Hamstring, the three vastus muscles cross only one joint, the knee joint, whilst the rectus femoris crosses the knee joint and the hip joint and is therefore responsible for the knee extension, as well as hip flexion.

The Quadriceps are active during all phases of the Power Clean, the First Pull, Transition, Second Pull, Catch and Recovery.

As most Power Clean muscles involved mainly work concentrically or isometrically, the Quadriceps is one of the few muscles, that has to work hard eccentrically during the catch phase to absorb and break the downward forces.

Glutes

The gluteus maximus is the main muscles of the group of gluteal muscles and is responsible to extend the hip.

The glutes are mainly active during the Second Pull, Catch and Recovery phase and work as a stabilizer during the First Pull ad Transition phase.

The glutes also work eccentrically during the Catch phase.

Lower Back

The lower back and trunk is composed of many different muscles, the main muscle of the lower back is the Erector Spinae. The main function of the Erector Spinae is to extend the spine.

The lower back plays a crucial role during the Power Clean, as it has to work very hard isometrically throughout the entire movement to stabilize the trunk and allow and effective and efficient transfer of forces from the lower body to the upper body.

Back

The back is composed of so many muscles, that it would go beyond the scope of this article to outline all muscles including their functions.

One of the main Power Clean muscles of the back is the Latissimus Dorsi, which is activated isometrically to make sure the barbell stay close to the body during the First Pull, Transition and Second Pull.

Shoulders

The main muscle group of the shoulders is the Deltoids. The Deltoids have three different parts, the anterior deltoid, the lateral deltoid and the posterior deltoid.

One of the main functions of the deltoids is to elevate the arms.

The deltoids are mainly active at the end of the Second Pull and beginning of the Catch phase.

Neck

As outlined in the initial example, the main muscle of the neck is the trapezius.

One of the functions of the trapezius is to shrug the shoulders.

The powerful shoulder shrug is required at the end of the Second Pull and during the initiation of an active pulling under the bar during the beginning of the Catch phase.

During the First Pull, Transition and Recovery, the trapezius works as a stabilizer.

This outline is simplified, as there are many more muscles groups involved during the Power Clean.

First pull Transition Second pull Catch Recovery Calves Stabilizer Stabilizer Prime Mover Stabilizer Stabilizer Hamstring Prime Mover Prime Mover Stabilizer Stabilizer Stabilizer Quadriceps Prime Mover Prime Mover Prime Mover Stabilizer Prime Mover Glutes Stabilizer Stabilizer Prime Mover Stabilizer Prime Mover Lower Back Stabilizer Stabilizer Stabilizer Stabilizer Stabilizer Back Stabilizer Stabilizer Stabilizer Stabilizer Stabilizer Shoulders Stabilizer Stabilizer Prime Mover Prime Mover Stabilizer Neck Stabilizer Stabilizer Prime Mover Prime Mover Stabilizer

This outline is a bit simplistic, however, it helps to make the muscular activation and muscles worked during the Power Clean a bit more visible.

Takeaway: The Power Clean is an explosive whole body movement, that activates almost every muscle in your body. The main muscles activated are the muscles of the Calves, Hamstrings, Quadriceps, Glutes, Lower Back, Back Shoulder and Neck. Depending on the phase of the lift, these muscles either act as a stabilizer or a s a prime mover.

Power Clean workout: How to do a Power Clean workout

When designing a strength training program, there are different options to include the Power Clean into a strength training program.

The most common options are to include the Power Clean as one strength exercise, next to other strength exercises or to design one strength training workout around the Power Clean.

In this article, I want to focus on different Power Clean workouts with different training goals, such as strength, power and explosiveness, muscle building and technique development.

Power Clean workout for strength

A Power Clean workout plan to increase strength is characterized by high intensities, above 85% of the Power Clean 1RM and low repetitions, between 1 and 3 repetitions.

Such a Power Clean workout routine is also characterized by long rest periods between the sets, more than 3 minutes.

Power Clean workout for Power and Explosiveness

A Power Clean workout for Power and Explosiveness is characterized by slightly lower intensities than a Power Clean workout for strength.

The intensities of such a Power Clean workout plan are between 60 – 85% Power Clean 1 RM, with low repetitions, between 1 – 4 repetitions.

The speed of execution is the main focus of this training.

The rest periods of such a Power Clean workout routine are between 3 – 5 minutes, enough time for the ATP-CP system to replenish.

Important to note, the lower the intensity (60 – 75% 1 RM) you need to include variations, such as the Hang Power Clean or Power Clean from blocks. Otherwise, the weight will either fly up to the roof or athletes just use the minimal effort necessary to move the weight. This would defeat the whole purpose of focusing on the speed of execution.

By the way, very advanced competitive Olympic Weightlifters have the ability to modulate their force output, so that they can work with a maximum effort against submaximal loads. Consequently, these guys are the exception to the rule.

Power Clean workout for Muscle Building

If your goal is to build as much muscle mass as possible, the Power Clean isn’t the best exercise choice for you.

However, if you are in a sport that requires explosive efforts and you want to add some muscle mass to your body, there are ways to do that in your Power Clean workout routine.

Such a Power Clean workout for gaining muscle mass is characterized by intensities of 70 – 85% of the Power Clean 1 RM with a repetition range of 4 to 8 repetitions.

Since it is difficult to maintain proper Power Clean technique for more than 3 repetitions, you need to break these repetitions down into Cluster Sets, which means you could do 2 repetitions followed by 20 seconds rest, followed by 2 repetitions followed by 20 seconds rest, followed by 2 repetitions. This way, you have completed 6 repetitions.

The rest periods between the sets are shorter, between 90 seconds and 2 minutes.

Such a Power Clean workout routine leads mainly to a so-called selective hypertrophy, which means that it mainly targets the fast twitch fibers and results in hypertrophy of the fast-twitch fibers.

Important to note, you need a high technical proficiency in order to maintain good Power Clean form throughout the set.

Power Clean workout for a better Power Clean technique

A Power Clean workout plan to improve the Power Clean technique is characterized by lower intensities, around 50 – 70 % Power Clean 1 RM and low repetitions, between 2 and 4 repetitions.

The intra-serial rest (the rest between the repetitions) is higher, but not as high as during Cluster Sets, between 4 – 7 seconds.

The focus is to improve the Power Clean technique and that mostly goes along with a Power Clean variation, that is targeted towards improving a technical flaw.

For example, if an athlete has difficulties to actively get under the bar transitioning from the Second Pull to the Catch, the athlete could focus on Hang Power Cleans form mid-thigh or Pull-Unders in order to address to train the active pulling under the bar.

These Power Clean workouts are characterized by longer rest periods, between 2 – 3 minutes to keep fatigue levels low.

Takeaway: The Power Clean can be best used for building strength and power. If you chose to use the Power Clean to build muscle mass, you need to adjust and modify the set and rep structure.

Power Clean sets and reps: What are the best sets and reps for Power Clean

I have outlined the different Power Clean workout variations in the previous paragraph, and now you know the different Power Clean workout intensity zones, the Power Clean rep range for the desired training goal, as well as rest periods between sets.

The next logical question is what are the best sets and reps for Power Clean workouts?

Before I dive into the different Power Clean sets and reps scheme, it’s important to understand, that repetitions and sets are highly connected to the training intensity.

I have dedicated an entire article to this topic, as it is not often discussed and people mainly discuss reps and sets, without considering the training intensity.

Check out the article

In a nutshell, the total repetitions (repetitions multiplied by the number of sets) are connected to the training intensity, or better the higher the training intensity, the less total repetitions you are able to do.

I have borrowed the table from the article mention above to demonstrate this connection

Intensity Repetitions per set Total repetitions per session 95% 1RM or above 1 – 2 15 – 20 90% – 95% 1RM 2 – 3 20 – 30 85 – 90% 1RM 3 – 5 30 – 50

And the example I have given in the article, how this number unfolds in a strength training workout with training intensities of 95% 1RM

Exercise Intensity Sets Reps Total reps Power Clean 95% 1RM 5 1 5 Back Squat 95% 1RM 4 2 8 RDL 95% 1 RM 3 2 6

The total repetitions in this maximum strength training session are 19 (5 + 8 + 6 = 19) and consequently within the prescribed range of 15 – 20 total repetitions.

How does this unfold to answer the question ‘What are the best sets and reps for Power Clean workouts?’

Reverse-engineering Power Clean sets and reps

If you are looking for the best sets and reps for Power Clean, you need to reverse engineer.

What does that mean?

I have outlined the intensity based on the training goal (strength, hypertrophy or power) and I have outlined repetition guidelines for different intensity zones.

The following table is an example how such a Power Clean workout could look if you are choosing to exclusively train the Power Clean within this workout and focus on maximum strength development.

Training Goal Training Intensity Total Reps Power Clean sets and reps Variations Maximum Strength 95 – 100% 1 RM 15 – 20 8 sets of 2 reps @ 95% 1RM

5 sets of 3 reps (cluster set, 30 seconds rest between repetitions) @ 95% 1RM 90 – 95% 1 RM 20 – 30 7 sets of 3 reps @ 90% 1RM

5 sets of 4 reps @ 90% 1RM (cluster set, 20 seconds rest after 2 reps) 85 – 90% 1 RM 30 – 50 10 sets of 3 reps @ 85% 1RM

5 sets of 6 reps @ 85% 1RM (cluster set, 20 seconds rest after 2 reps)

Is this a cooking recipe?!?

I am aware, that this table is very schematic and doesn’t take the context of the athlete into consideration (such as training age, training experience, at which point in the season is the athlete, etc).

And I myself are a strong believer, that training is as much an art, as a science, if not more an art, than a science.

My intention with this table is to show, how to modulate sets and reps depending on the training intensity.

Please also keep in mind, that this outline is meant, if you are exclusively doing Power Cleans within the strength training workout and therefore the total reps for one exercise becomes quite high.

Most often, you will do more exercises within one Strength training workout and the total number of repetitions per exercise would be lower.

I refer to the strength training workout I have outlined above, including Power Cleans, Back Squats and RDL’s.

Important is to understand the relation between the intensity, repetitions performed and exertion level.

What?

As an example, if you do 8 sets of 3 reps @ 85% 1 RM it sounds like it’s a lot of sets and reps.

However, at 85% 1 RM you are able to do 5 to 6 repetitions if you are maximally exerting, consequently, if you do 3 repetitions, you still have 2 – 3 repetitions left in the tank and are not maximally exerted and can tolerate a higher volume of sets. To read up more on the load and exertion levels, as well as the practical application of it, check out the article

Takeaway: When discussing the Power Clean sets and reps it is important to consider, that the total repetitions you can do are inversely related to the training intensity. You can do less total repetitions ata higher training intensity and more total repetitions at a lower training intensity.

Power Clean training frequency: How often should I Power Clean

Now that you know the Power Clean standards, the Power Clean workout intensities based on different training goals, as well as Power Clean sets and reps for the different training goals, the last question that stands out is ‘How often should I Power Cleans?’ or better what is the best Power Clean workout frequency?

The following guidelines will apply for Non-Olympic Weightlifters.

As mentioned earlier, very seldom you do only Power Cleans in your strength training workouts, you probably also add a squat variation and other strength training exercises to the mix.

However, the following discussion is based how often to include Power Cleans into the weekly strength training routine.

How often should I Power Clean for Strength?

In order to increase strength, you need to work with an intensity of above 85% 1RM for 3 repetitions or less.

These workouts have a high impact on the central nervous system and need you need somewhere between 48 – 72 hours to recover from these Power Clean workouts.

Please keep in mind, that the exact number of hours needed for recovery depends on multiple factors. For once the training intensity, training volume, and level of exertion, but also what other trainings you have done, as well as individual recovery capabilities.

Just to name a few…

Consequently, you can do 2 or 3 of these Power Clean trainings, when you are training to improve your maximum strength.

I would advise varying training intensities and training volume if you do 2 or more Power Clean workouts.

If you do 3 Power Clean workouts, I would also look at varying the Power Clean variations (e.g. from the ground, Hang Power Clean and Power Cleans from the blocks).

You can choose the ‘heavy – light – medium approach’, that I have outlined in the article

How often should I Power Clean for Power and Explosiveness?

To improve your Power and Explosiveness, you need to train at intensities of 60 – 85% 1 RM for 1 – 4 repetitions.

These workouts also have a high impact on the central nervous system, similar to the Power Clean workouts targeted towards strength development, and therefore, you also need around 48 – 72 hours to recover from these Power Clean sessions.

Which means, also here you can do 2 – 3 Power Clean sessions on non-consecutive days.

I have outlined in the section of the Power Clean training design, that the lower the intensity (60 – 75% 1RM) you should look at variations of the Power Clean, such as Hang Power Clean or Power Clean from the blocks to shorten the range of the movement.

Why is that?

The weight will either fly through the roof or you will have to decelerate quite early in the movement, which defeats the purpose of Power Development / developing explosiveness.

The more Power Clean workouts you do ( 2 or more), I would advise, to vary the intensity and the Power Clean variation.

As an example.

Power Clean session 1 (heavy): Power Clean 4 sets of 1 reps @ 85% 1RM

Power Clean session 2 (light): Power Clean (from blocks on mid-thigh) 6 sets of 3 reps @ 60% 1RM

Power Clean session 3 (medium): Hang Power Cleans (from above knee) 5 sets of 2 reps @ 70% 1RM

Here you can see the application of the ‘heavy – light – medium principle’.

How often should I Power Cleans for Muscle Building

The Power Clean is not the best exercise for a muscle building regimen, as it is difficult to achieve the required times under tension to elicit a hypertrophic stimulus.

However, it is possible to tweak your Power Clean workouts by including Cluster Sets to increase time under tension, while maintaining proper Power Clean technique and sufficient mechanical load on the muscles to set a hypertrophic stimulus.

As a recap, time under tension and mechanical load are the main drivers for muscular hypertrophy.

The question stands out ‘How often should I Power Clean to build muscle mass?’

A typical muscle building workout leads to ‘muscle damage’, which requires more time to recover from and build the desired extra muscular tissue.

Recovery times for a muscle building workout are between 72 – 96 hours, which means you can do 1 – 2 Power Clean sessions a week.

An important consideration is, whether you chose to do a full body routine or a split routine.

If you are choosing for a full body routine, you might include the Power Clean into 2 strength training workouts, if you are choosing for a ‘bro split’, you might only do the Power Clean in 1 strength training session.

How often should I Power Clean for a better Power Clean technique?

For a better Power Clean technique, the recommended training frequency is higher, as well as the exertion from such a training session, is lower.

Higher training frequencies ensure you get enough repetitions to practice the craft of the Power Clean, lower exertion levels mean, that you won’t have to worry too much about limited recovery.

What does that mean to answer the question ‘How often should I do Power Cleans for a better Power Clean technique?’

The answer depends on your time availability and training level.

If you are a beginner and have all the time in the world, you could theoretically do 4 – 5 Power Clean technique workouts a week.

If you are a beginner athlete and you are in a structured training program, such as my athletes, and you have 3 allocated strength training sessions a week, you can work on your Power Clean technique 3 times a week or at least work on the general underlying movement patterns of the Power Clean 3 times a week.

What are these Fundamental Movement patterns?

It’s the hip hinging pattern, the squatting pattern, he pulling pattern and the stabilizing pattern.

If you are an advanced athlete, you probably don’t do allocated technique session.

In this case we use the warm-ups to address technical issues, areas for improvement or just using the warm-up as an opportunity to refine the Power Clean technique.

Important is to have an intent and area to work on in your warm-up, rather than just going mindlessly through the motions.

The art is to find the appropriate Power Clean variations to specifically work and improve the technical flaws in your Power Clean technique.

Depending on the Power Clean variation, the training intensity is between 50 -70% 1RM.

Take-away message: In order to answer the question of ‘How often should I do Power Cleans’, define your training goal first, look at the training intensities, training volumes and exertion levels required to target your specific training goal and keep the required recovery times for the different Power Clean workouts in mind to determine the training frequency.

Power Clean Conclusions

The Power Clean is a derivative from the Olympic Weightlifting exercise the Clean and offers a variety of benefits to enhance sports performance.

Those Power Clean benefits are (in short)

Enhancing power production

Teaching and training force production (during the phase of the 2 nd pull) and force absorption (during the phase of the catch)

pull) and force absorption (during the phase of the catch) Teaching and training the kinematic chain and triple extension

Improving Willensstosskraft

The Power Clean can be used to increase strength, power, and explosiveness, as well as building muscle mass (to a certain extent). To reap those benefits, you need to understand the different

training intensities (% 1RM)

training volumes (sets & reps)

exertion levels (from low to high)

training frequencies (training sessions a week)

recovery times

planning options

In order to have these benefits, technical mastery of the Power Clean is an absolute necessity.