Muscle Clean
The Muscle Clean is a dynamic strength exercise where you explosively pull a barbell from the floor to your shoulders without re-bending your knees to catch it. It targets the posterior chain and upper body pulling muscles while teaching the mechanics of triple extension.
Since the Muscle Clean places high demand on your central nervous system, our AI analyzes your HRV and sleep quality to determine if you are recovered enough for explosive power work. If your set performance metrics—specifically speed and RPE—deteriorate, the app will auto-regulate your load to prevent technique breakdown and ensure you are training power rather than just grinding through fatigue.
Form Cues
- Start with the bar touching your shins and a flat back
- Explosively extend your hips and knees to drive the bar up
- Keep the bar path close to your body throughout the lift
- Shrug your shoulders forcefully at the top of the pull
- Rotate your elbows quickly around the bar to catch it on your shoulders
- Don't bend your knees to catch the bar under the weight
- Don't pull with your arms before your hips have fully extended
- Don't let the bar swing away from your body in an arc
- Don't catch the bar with your elbows pointing down
- Don't round your lower back during the setup
Common Mistakes
- Re-bending knees during the catch
- Pulling early with the arms
- Letting the bar loop forward
- Slow elbow turnover
- Hyperextending the lower back
Muscles Worked
The Muscle Clean primarily targets the posterior chain, including the glutes, hamstrings, and erector spinae, to generate the initial explosive power. Secondary emphasis is placed on the upper back, traps, and deltoids to complete the vertical pull and rack the weight safely.
Primary
Secondary
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