Warming up properly is important for injury prevention and for performance. This is true in strength training just like any other mode of exercise. This post is going to cover suggestions on how to warm up for a strength training workout beginning with the clean and its variations.
After a general warm-up consisting of a few minutes of light cardio, mobility work, and/or calisthenics, it’s appropriate to transition to the barbell (or dumbbell or kettlebell) as the next phase of the warm-up. For the clean, the following are exercises that can be used to warm-up for the clean:
• Clean grip shoulder shrugs
• Clean grip upright row
• Clean pull
• Muscle clean
• Muscle clean + front squat
Clean Grip Shoulder Shrugs:
Stand up with the barbell in your hands. Take a clean-width grip on the bar. Feet should be hip-width apart. Stand up tall, chest out/shoulders back, and keep the arms straight. Shrug the shoulders up as high as possible, lower and repeat.
Clean Grip Upright Row:
Stand up with the barbell in your hands. Take a clean-width grip on the bar. Feet should be hip-width apart. Stand up tall, chest out/shoulders back, and keep the arms straight. Shrug the shoulders up as high as possible. As you shrug, lift the bar up using your arms attempting to raise the bar to chest height. Lower and repeat.
Clean Pull:
Stand up with the barbell in your hands. Take a clean-width grip on the bar. Feet should be hip-width apart. Stand up tall, chest out/shoulders back, and keep the arms straight. Unlock the knees and push your hips back. As you push your hips back, allow the bar to slide down your thigh. Stop when the bar reaches mid-thigh level. In this position your shoulders should be in front of the bar. From here, explosively extend your hips and shrug your shoulders up. Lower and repeat.
Muscle Clean:
Stand up with the barbell in your hands. Take a clean-width grip on the bar. Feet should be hip-width apart. Stand up tall, chest out/shoulders back, and keep the arms straight. Unlock the knees and push your hips back. As you push your hips back, allow the bar to slide down your thigh. Stop when the bar reaches mid-thigh level. In this position your shoulders should be in front of the bar. From here, extend our hips and shrug your shoulders up. As you shrug your shoulders up, pull the bar up to chest height. Rotate your elbows under the bar and squat down into a quarter squat. Receive the bar on the front of your shoulders with your elbows high. Stand up. Lower the bar and repeat.
Muscle Clean Plus Front Squat:
Stand up with the barbell in your hands. Take a clean-width grip on the bar. Feet should be hip-width apart. Stand up tall, chest out/shoulders back, and keep the arms straight. Unlock the knees and push your hips back. As you push your hips back, allow the bar to slide down your thigh. Stop when the bar reaches mid-thigh level. In this position your shoulders should be in front of the bar. From here, extend our hips and shrug your shoulders up. As you shrug your shoulders up, pull the bar up to chest height. Rotate your elbows under the bar and squat down into a quarter squat. Receive the bar on the front of your shoulders with your elbows high. From this position, perform a front squat. Lower the bar and repeat.
In addition to using them as part of the warm-up, these exercises can all be used to teach the clean or to reinforce problem areas with the lift. The volume of these exercises will depend upon the specific needs of an athlete. It is appropriate to perform each for three to six repetitions. These can even be done circuit-style. It is also appropriate to perform sets with increasing weights on these exercises. After completing these exercises, begin with the first set of the clean.
Revised October 19, 2024
