Hang Clean

Start: Grab the barbell with a full, overhand, shoulder-width grip. Set your feet shoulder-width apart, with your knees bent about 30 degrees, and bend forward at the hips as you hold the bar at arm's length, just below your knees.

Finish: This is a multipart sequence that you execute quickly and powerfully. First, dip your knees, as if you were about to jump. Quickly reverse the motion, as if you were jumping and trying to throw the bar over your shoulders. As you rise on the balls of your feet, shrug your shoulders. With all this upward momentum generated by your traps and lower body, pull the bar up to shoulder level as fast as you can. Finally, dip down with your knees and hips as you "catch" the bar on your shoulders. The bar will roll to the ends of your fingers, your wrists will bend back, and your upper arms should end up parallel to the floor, in front of your torso. Quickly return to the starting position-this is one exercise in which there's no benefit to pausing and slowly lowering the weight. Work on your form with light weights for several weeks before attempting this with heavier loads. You'll know you've got it right when the bar snaps into place on your shoulders on each repetition.


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