Hang Clean
The Hang Clean is an explosive weightlifting exercise where you pull a barbell from just above the knees to a racked position on the front of your shoulders. It primarily targets the posterior chain and traps while developing full-body power, speed, and coordination.
Because the Hang Clean is a highly technical power movement, fatigue significantly degrades form and safety; the AI analyzes your velocity and RPE trends to auto-regulate load, preventing the "grinding" reps that lead to injury. By monitoring your HRV and recovery status, the app can adjust volume or intensity on days when your central nervous system isn't primed for explosive work. Over time, it learns your specific strength-to-power ratio to prescribe optimal weights that maximize force production without compromising technique.
Form Cues
- Start with the bar hanging just above your knees
- Keep your chest up and back flat
- Drive your hips forward explosively
- Shrug your shoulders forcefully at the peak
- Catch the bar on your shoulders with elbows high
- Don't round your lower back
- Don't pull with your arms before hips extend
- Don't let the bar swing away from your body
- Don't catch the bar with elbows pointing down
Common Mistakes
- Pulling with the arms too early
- Rounding the back
- Looping the bar path forward
- Landing with stiff legs
- Incomplete hip extension
Muscles Worked
This exercise functions as a powerhouse for the posterior chain, engaging the glutes, hamstrings, and erector spinae to generate massive upward momentum. The quadriceps assist in the initial drive, while the upper back, traps, and shoulders work dynamically to pull and stabilize the catch in the front rack position.
Primary
Secondary
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