Power Clean and Press
The Power Clean and Press is a dynamic, full-body compound lift that combines an explosive pull from the floor with an overhead press. This advanced exercise builds explosive power, coordination, and strength primarily in the posterior chain and shoulders.
Since this lift places high demands on your central nervous system, our AI analyzes your HRV and sleep data to determine if you are recovered enough for peak power output or if a lighter technical session is safer. By tracking your RPE and weight used, the app detects neuromuscular fatigue early, auto-adjusting load to prevent form breakdown during the explosive transition phases. If you report lower back tightness, the system remembers this association and can instantly recommend safer regressions like the Hang Power Clean to keep you training pain-free.
Form Cues
- Keep the bar close to your shins and thighs
- Explode your hips forward aggressively
- Drive your elbows up and forward to catch
- Brace your core tightly before pressing
- Punch the bar straight up towards the ceiling
- Don't pull with your arms before extending hips
- Don't let the bar swing out away from your body
- Don't catch the bar with elbows pointing down
- Don't hyperextend your lower back during the press
- Don't land with your feet excessively wide
Common Mistakes
- Reverse curling the weight
- Jumping feet too wide (starfishing)
- Catching with low elbows
- Pressing the bar forward
- Rounding the back during the pull
Muscles Worked
This exercise is a total-body power developer that relies on the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps to generate the initial explosive force. Once the bar is racked, the anterior deltoids and triceps take over to drive the weight overhead, while the entire core works to stabilize the spine under dynamic load.
Primary
Secondary
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