Lost Exercise: Clean and Press

[Champ]

I don't hear much discussed about this exercise or read little about it being incorporated into you guys routine.

How many of you perform the clean and press in your regiment? :wave:

I wanted to substitute this exercise in place of the deadlift. To those who do clean and press, which days do you perform the exercise?

 

[CDB]

I don't hear much discussed about this exercise or read little about it being incorporated into you guys routine.

How many of you perform the clean and press in your regiment? :wave:

I wanted to substitute this exercise in place of the deadlift. To those who do clean and press, which days do you perform the exercise?

I do a partial clean and press as part of my shoulder day in one of the routines I follow. I usually use that when I'm doing HST. Greatest compound movement for the shoulders. Clean the bar from a little below hip height, just low enough to allow your legs to give the weight a tiny boost, then press, drop it back down and repeat.

 

[Beowulf]

I believe I do the clean'n'press. I start with the barbell on the ground, raise it up like a deadlift, explode it to shoulder level, then press above my head. If I recall correctly, that is the c'n'p. It definitely is not a deadlift substitute as you can't handle nearly enough weight. I do it, especially when cutting, as it is about as compound as you can get, so you burn a ton of calories.

 

[Champ]

So you don't start from the floor? I reading about the variations of dumbells as well as the bar.
Right now I'm doing IA's 3 day split..I'm changing my exercises every 4 weeks to keep my body from adapting.

 

[Champ]

I remember when I first started and doing them consistently. That was the only point in which I noticed any upper frame development.

 

[exnihilo]

The clean and jerk is a good exercise, most guys who don't have an oly lifting background just do power cleans though... Too easy to **** the form up and hurt yourself. Good overall power development exercise.

 

[BigVrunga]

Ive always loved the clean and press!! I used to do them from the floor, but recently Ive been doing the 'hang clean & press', which is what's described above, starting with the bar in your hands, hanging in front of the quads.

I had some shoulder problems that took a long time to recover from, so I wasnt able to do them, for fear of re-injuring myself. But then I saw this huge dude at my gym doing sets with 275 for 8, and I was inspired! So I took it up again, and now they're my main movement every shoulder day.

A variation of this movement, but very effective as a form of high intensty cardio, is doing high-rep hang cleans. Load some weight on the bar and bang it out for 15,15,12,10,8,6,4 if your heart isnt pounding through your chest when you're done then you are, in fact, superman

BV

 

[ryansm]

Hang cleans are great for expolsive power. I use them on back day alternated with deadlifts sometimes. If you have good form, I suggest the full powerclean from the floor. It's a more compound movement. The clean and jerk is not something to just jump into, form is key on that lft, and the snatch. Both are great on an HST type style of training.

 

[Champ]

I plan on starting out with a weight that allows me to use proper form. Weight is relative anyhow. In selecting the proper weight, I would like to stay in the range of 7 to 10 repetitions that would be good for creating a solid frame on my upper body.

I was thinking of setting the exercise up to something similar to like the 20 rep squat and doing it for one set. Another alternative would be for two sets maximum 7 to 10 repetitions.

 

[Iron Warrior]

I swear one set of that feels like 100 yard sprint. We used to them in football all the time and they definitely make you explosive but the injury risk is very real, you need excellent form

 

[CDB]

So you don't start from the floor? I reading about the variations of dumbells as well as the bar.
Right now I'm doing IA's 3 day split..I'm changing my exercises every 4 weeks to keep my body from adapting.

A true clean and press starts from the floor, I don't do that. I just do partial C&P to avoid cheating in the clean motion so my shoulders do as much of the work as possible. It's really the best shoulder exercise I ever use.

 

[Champ]

A true clean and press starts from the floor, I don't do that. I just do partial C&P to avoid cheating in the clean motion so my shoulders do as much of the work as possible. It's really the best shoulder exercise I ever use.

Nice! I've been doing behind the neck shoulder presses for the past 4 weeks. Time to switch up.

 

[BigVrunga]

Careful with those behind the neck presses bro they're hell on your shoulder joint.

 

[jjjd]

i do the clean and press, clean and jerk, power clean and press, hang power clean and press, muscle clean and press, hang muscle clean and press, muscle clean and jerk, hang muscle clean and jerk, power clean and push press, hang clean and push press, etc. i am sure i am leaving something out.

a great exercise, btw, is the behind the neck push press.

you walk out from the rack with the bar on your traps like a hibar squat. do a dip and upward drive (a la the jerk) but don't go into a split, like the jerk, just press the bar upwards to extension

i am working on 315 * 3.

it's a great exercise for all over functional strength (the torso acting as conduit between the leg drive and the arm drive), isometric ab and lower back work, explosiveness (great for your vertical), and it is way more dynamic than many other exercises.

it also has a gee-whiz factor. lots of guys can and do bench press 3 wheels per side. you will see VERY few in a conventional gym push pressing 3 wheels per side.

 

[BigVrunga]

Bro you must be quite large

 

[Champ]

Careful with those behind the neck presses bro they're hell on your shoulder joint.

Oh yeah...I've been very careful with the weight I select. I find that if I'm loosing form by slouching in the seat or shaking to hell under the load, I usually strip 5lbs and complete my repetitions.

 

[Champ]

i do the clean and press, clean and jerk, power clean and press, hang power clean and press, muscle clean and press, hang muscle clean and press, muscle clean and jerk, hang muscle clean and jerk, power clean and push press, hang clean and push press, etc. i am sure i am leaving something out.

a great exercise, btw, is the behind the neck push press.

you walk out from the rack with the bar on your traps like a hibar squat. do a dip and upward drive (a la the jerk) but don't go into a split, like the jerk, just press the bar upwards to extension

i am working on 315 * 3.

it's a great exercise for all over functional strength (the torso acting as conduit between the leg drive and the arm drive), isometric ab and lower back work, explosiveness (great for your vertical), and it is way more dynamic than many other exercises.

it also has a gee-whiz factor. lots of guys can and do bench press 3 wheels per side. you will see VERY few in a conventional gym push pressing 3 wheels per side.

Did you find that with these exercises you added more in terms of size to your frame?

Since I'm doing chest and tris on this day, I'm thinking of limiting my (clean and press) sets to 1 warm up and 1 all out set after incline bench and close grip bench press. By then my shoulders would be coming close to being fried.

 

[jjjd]

i don't do olympic lifts and their variations for size, although they may help to some extent

i'm not saying they can't add to size, but i rarely do any of this stuff for more than 3's and they have little to no eccentric component, etc.

it's also hard, generally speaking, to fit them in a bodypart paradigm (a la bodybuilding) wherein you have a back day, a leg day, a chest, day, etc. i generally lift with more of a "lift paradigm" vs. a bodypart paradigm, so i don't really worry about frying bodyparts or fitting them into a day for a certain bpart.

i do think the press can be great for shoulder hypertrophy, though. sets of 5-15 primarily. if you are doing clean and press, you are working your posterior chain pretty heavily on the clean, and your shoulder girdle on the press.

although once you get reasonably strong on the clean, your clean should far outstrip your press, so the clean portion won't tax you much

 

[DaveB951]

I use both the hang clean and press and the clean and press from the floor. I start off with a couple sets of hang cleans/press, then I add some weight and do cleans/press off the floor for a couple of sets and then add a lot more weight I go into a few sets of dead lifts. I finish off with a few sets of chins or rows and then a couple of biceps moves. Technically this is my back/shoulder day but I also consider it to be a full body movement day also.

I mean, anyone who has put maximum effort with maximum poundages into cleans and presses for 8 - 12 reps, be it hang cleans or off the floor is fully aware of the impact it has on your entire structure not to mention the added benefit you get from the stimulating effect it has on your hormones.

Aside from all the benefits mentioned, additionally, my forearms are screaming and torched after a set of cleans, either hang or off the floor. It is a no nonsense, double compound movement.

Think about it. No other movement utilizes as many joints as the clean and press/jerk and no other movement comes close to moving the weight the distance as the clean and press/jerk. We are talking about 6 joints flexing (ankles, knees, hips, wrists, elbows, shoulder joints) and moving the weight from the floor up over your head which on average would be about moving the bar 6 - 8 feet and then back down for another 6 - 8 feet. That is moving the weight/bar a total of about 12 - 16 feet for just one rep.

It is most definitely a hardcore movement. You don`t see many peeps doing cleans in your local gym because it is a real mutha phuker of an exercise and it takes the wind out of your sails real quick.....


Peace

 

[suncloud]

i do clean and press on my total body day. it goes great with the overhead squat.

 

[Hank Vangut]

i like hang clean & presses 1 to 2 times per month.
i do them until i feel queasy and almost puke.

 

[John Smeton]

Ive done them and hurt myself on them.... like someone said if your bodybuilding its overtraining lifting them from the ground when you did back the day before.

There something Id like to do maybe one of these days Ill do them on a powerlifting program when I dont have bodybuilding to do. There a great exercise.

 

[dpfisher]

Ive done them and hurt myself on them.... like someone said if your bodybuilding its overtraining lifting them from the ground when you did back the day before.

I kind of disagree with this since a shoulder press is going to be like half as heavy as a deadlift... unless I'm just messed up?

 

[John Smeton]

I kind of disagree with this since a shoulder press is going to be like half as heavy as a deadlift... unless I'm just messed up?

Best way to do is try and see if it works.

 

[AllMaxBrian]

I love the clean and press. Sometimes I'll do the clean and press and then drop down into a squat - you can really feel the burn on that one.

 

[Steveoph]

Gah I'm in C&P withdrawal. Over 5 weeks since my broken finger, and I don't think I'll be ready to do these for 3-4 weeks min judging by how I feel. I really did like them, they hit the entire posterior chain and did some decent delt work. My favourite was the rep-pause-rep method.

 

[AllMaxBrian]

Ouch - broken fingers are more of a pain than people realize - I had to have a pin in mine when I broke one.

 

[BigFish80]

I love the clean and press. Sometimes I'll do the clean and press and then drop down into a squat - you can really feel the burn on that one.

These are THE BEST!!!

When I was playing Div 1A football 5 years ago they had us do a power clean from the floor. Then explode up into a shoulder press, control the weight down to the top of your chest, then drop into a parallel front squat. We use to do 4 sets of 8-10 reps depending on the day. I get a queezy feel in my stomach just thinking about those workouts back several years ago. It was nothing to see guys toss their cookies and then jump right back into another set.

I don't do these anymore, but I instead I do a modified version about 1-2 times a month on back/shoulder day. I do a hang clean, into a front squat, and explode up into a shoulder press. Last week when I did these for a set of 8 w/ 225lbs my heart rate went to 181 beats per minute. Awesome exersize! Great for building upper body mass when done PROPERLY. Inexperienced lifters trying this just seem to hurt themselves. Oh and I do strap into the bar to make sure I don't throw it at some unsuspecting lady working out next to me.

BUT THESE ARE DEFINITLY MY FAVORITE!
**not to mention everyone in the gym stairs at you like you're NUTZ!**

:bruce3:

 

[AllMaxBrian]

These are THE BEST!!!

When I was playing Div 1A football 5 years ago they had us do a power clean from the floor. Then explode up into a shoulder press, control the weight down to the top of your chest, then drop into a parallel front squat. We use to do 4 sets of 8-10 reps depending on the day. I get a queezy feel in my stomach just thinking about those workouts back several years ago. It was nothing to see guys toss their cookies and then jump right back into another set.

I don't do these anymore, but I instead I do a modified version about 1-2 times a month on back/shoulder day. I do a hang clean, into a front squat, and explode up into a shoulder press. Last week when I did these for a set of 8 w/ 225lbs my heart rate went to 181 beats per minute. Awesome exersize! Great for building upper body mass when done PROPERLY. Inexperienced lifters trying this just seem to hurt themselves. Oh and I do strap into the bar to make sure I don't throw it at some unsuspecting lady working out next to me.

BUT THESE ARE DEFINITLY MY FAVORITE!
**not to mention everyone in the gym stairs at you like you're NUTZ!**

:bruce3:

Yeah, they're brutal, and I agree, you do get some odd looks...but that's the best part :lmao:

Your modified version sounds pretty intense, I may have to try that, as long as I have ample space.

 

[310lifter]

i usually clean with deads on every other deadlift day, when I'm esp full of energy.

i hit a plateau with deads and adding cleans really made a difference.

as for c & p, i do c & p for the 1st and 2nd set but i cannot press after the 2nd set.

so i just continue to w/ just cleans for the 3rd and the 4th set.

so this is what my day looks like: 7 sets of deadlifts, 2 sets of c & p and 3 sets of cleans.

this really works my upper and lower back, more than just doing deads.

my body got used to doing just deads and when i added cleans, it really made a difference.

in order to do c & p for 5+ sets, i have to dedicate the entire day for C & P.

all about mixing it up so i may mix in C&P on my squat days or bench days.

 

[AllMaxBrian]

i usually clean with deads on every other deadlift day, when I'm esp full of energy.

i hit a plateau with deads and adding cleans really made a difference.

as for c & p, i do c & p for the 1st and 2nd set but i cannot press after the 2nd set.

so i just continue to w/ just cleans for the 3rd and the 4th set.

so this is what my day looks like: 7 sets of deadlifts, 2 sets of c & p and 3 sets of cleans.

this really works my upper and lower back, more than just doing deads.

my body got used to doing just deads and when i added cleans, it really made a difference.

in order to do c & p for 5+ sets, i have to dedicate the entire day for C & P.

all about mixing it up so i may mix in C&P on my squat days or bench days.

7 sets of deadlifts? Now that sounds intense.

 

[310lifter]

7 sets of deadlifts? Now that sounds intense.

yeah, but the last two, i go light, about half of the peak sets.

with most compounds, i've found that finishing off the last few sets w/ higher rep and lighter weight really yields a great pump.

 

[AllMaxBrian]

yeah, but the last two, i go light, about half of the peak sets.

with most compounds, i've found that finishing off the last few sets w/ higher rep and lighter weight really yields a great pump.

I am doing deads today, maybe I'll try that. I usually try to end with a slow set, 15 count on the way up, 15 on the way down.

 

[dpfisher]

Best way to do is try and see if it works.

I usually did them on separate days but sometimes back to back, so I decided to try them on the same day for a while. So far no injuries or loss of strength.

 

[Brutus977]

Thanks for the reminder. I used to do these religiously. Great puky feeling exercise. Im on it