The Kettlebell Clean

What are they good for?

Kettlebell cleans are great for:

• Building grip endurance
• Getting many of the benefits of the one arm swing, such as developing power endurance in the posterior chain, with the added bonus of being able to regulate pace and resting the grip when need be (usually the limiting factor in swings)
• Combinations and complexes (eg clean and press, clean and jerk)
• Getting the kettlebell into rack position to perform a variety of other exercises
• Developing skill and coordination – the clean is particularly good for developing skills that transfer to the snatch such as releasing the grip at the correct time and landing the handle in the correct position on the hand.

Where to begin?

Before you start cleaning you need to have two kettlebell lifting essentials down pat: the one arm swing and the rack position.

I like to think about having two targets for the clean (the end of the backswing and the rack position), and then moving as directly as possible between the two.  Once you have your two targets established it becomes much simpler and you can reduce the movement to the bare essentials, which in turn results in greater efficiency and less room for error.

The one arm swing

The kettlebell sport or GS swing transfers best to the clean.  You can find plenty of info on one arm swing technique here.  There are some really important aspects of the one arm swing mentioned in the linked post that will help immensely with the clean, including:

• Holding the kettlebell on the inside corner of the handle – this makes it easier to land the kettlebell in the correct position on your palm when catching it in rack.
• The finger lock will help preserve your grip so you can clean heavier/longer and prevent shredding your hands.
• Rotating the kettlebell handle back on a 45 degree angle on the backswing – this creates a pre-stretch in the external rotators of the shoulder, which allows you to store elastic energy that helps to power the rotation of the kettlebell around your wrist into rack (stretch-shortening cycle).
• Rotating the handle back on a 45 degree angle on the backswing also translates most directly to the correct landing position in rack.
• Rotating the handle back on a 45 degree angle also helps preserve your grip.
• The upward trajectory of the kettlebell in the GS swing, keeping the kettlebell relatively close to the body, is most desirable for the clean (as opposed to a path where the bell swings outwards away from the body) and will help make the landing softer.

The rack position part 1: handle position

It is vital that you establish a stable and safe rack position with the kettlebell before attempting to clean.

The kettlebell cannot be racked like a barbell simply because it’s a completely different shape.  The principles of the rack, however are the same: it needs to be stable and there should be a connection to the body for both stability and transfer of power from the lower body.

The correct position of the handle on the hand is paramount for a safe and stable rack position.  I cannot emphasise enough how important this is and how many people (including scores of self-proclaimed kettlebell gurus) don’t get this right and don’t get how important it is for safety.

The handle should sit diagonally across your palm so that the pressure of the handle is on the heel of your hand and the handle is locked in on the forearm (there should be no gap between the handle and forearm).

You can’t hold the kettlebell in the same way you’d hold a dumbbell or barbell because it has what is called a displaced centre of mass (the centre of mass sits away from the handle rather than being in the middle of it as it is with a dumbbell).

If the handle sits too high, so that the pressure is above the heel of the hand, the body of the kettlebell will pull the wrist into a hyperextended position that is completely unsafe and unstable.  Even if you fight this hyperextended position by pushing against the kettlebell handle to keep your wrist in a neutral position, as you fatigue (and your forearm flexors will fatigue very quickly in this position) or if you lose concentration you increase your risk of having you hand yanked back and damaging your wrist.  Safety and reducing the risk of injury should always be your first priority with any training, so getting the correct hand position really is paramount.

This video illustrates the correct, safe hand position and contrasts it with the incorrect and unsafe position that is often seen in kettlebell lifting (sorry for the wind noise, it does die down fairly quickly).

The false grip

The false grip is a more advanced way of sitting the kettlebell on your hand to allow your wrist to relax completely (but safely).  The false grip still requires you to have the pressure of the kettlebell on the heel of your hand and to have the handle locked in on your forearm, the only difference is that you relax or "open" your wrist (as opposed to trying to keep it neutral, which requires activation of the forearm flexors).  Once your wrist is relaxed you can curl your middle, ring and pinkie fingers behind the handle to stabilise it and then wrap thumb and forefinger around the handle, also to stabilise.

The rack position part 2 – creating the “V”

The kettlebell should rest in the “V” created by your biceps and forearm.  When this “V” is set up properly it should be very stable and reasonably comfortable.    A good test is to apply downward pressure to the kettlebell – if it feels stable without you actively resisting the downward pressure you’ve likely got a solid position.

Aim to have your elbow in contact with your body – this is connection to your body in rack, with a barbell the equivalent is having the barbell resting on the front of your shoulders.  Some people will find this difficult at the beginning, but there are some adjustments that can help such as rotating the hand away from the body, which I’ll talk more about in a moment.

Your hand should be somewhere around the midline of your body, with the elbow positioned laterally to the hand so that you create the “V” shape with your arm.  Be careful to not let the hand come out too far to the side or position the hand laterally to the elbow as this will place a lot of stress on the shoulder and create an unstable rack.

The size of the body of the kettlebell will determine how close to the midline of your body your hand sits in rack.  With pro grade bells and larger classic bells (usually 32kg or above) the hand will be somewhere around the sternum.  With smaller classic bells the hand may be off to the side of the midline.  The downward pressure test will give you an indication of whether your “V” is correct with any sized bell.

The weight of the body of the kettlebell should be fairly evenly dispersed between bicep and forearm.

You can then adjust the distance between your hand and body for comfort and stability.  This can also help establish a better elbow-body connection.

This video should help you find a safe and comfortable “V” for your body type to sit the kettlebell in rack:

The rack part 3 - lower body

Once you have the upper body sorted you can start considering what’s happening with your lower body in rack.

You want to work towards getting the legs as straight as possible.  Having the legs locked will do a few things:

• Keep you stable
• Allow you to rest your quads
• Increase potential energy from the legs in lifts like push presses and jerks

Ideally, you want the weight of the kettlebell to sit over your hip and heel as this is the most stable position and allows you to use your lower body to help support the weight.

Starting the clean from the top down

One of the easiest ways to start learning the kettlebell clean, or correcting poor clean form, is to work on releasing the kettlebell from rack into the backswing.  This drill is helpful for a few reasons:

• This is the easier phase of the clean so is the best one to start working on while your build skill
• It will help you get the feeling of returning to a swing movement after letting go of the kettlebell and catching it – this is often quite difficult to begin with because the natural reaction is to hold onto the handle tightly throughout the movement or to catch it in a dead hang
• It will help you set up everything required to bring the kettlebell back up, such as the finger lock, angle of the handle on the backswing etc

To do this drill simply use both hands to get the kettlebell into the correct rack position, then let the kettlebell roll off your body into a swing.  You can do a couple of swings, then use both hands to bring the bell back up to rack and repeat.

Be careful to avoid the following:

• Having any tension in the arm or wrist when catching the kettlebell after releasing it from rack (doing this repeatedly can lead to problems like tendonitis)
• Dropping the kettlebell down and catching it in a dead hang with a crushing grip
• Pushing the kettlebell away from your body – you want to keep it as close to your body as possible for maximum efficiency

Bringing the bell back up to rack

Once you’ve mastered the top down drill and feel you’re able to release and catch the kettlebell in a one arm swing, it’s time to complete the movement by bringing the kettlebell back up to rack.

The biggest problem most people have with the clean is the kettlebell banging on their wrist when they land it in rack.  Not only is this uncomfortable, but it’s unsafe – repeated trauma to this relatively delicate and unpadded area can result in all sorts of problems, including ones as serious as stress fractures.

There are three keys to a comfortable landing with the clean:

• Bring the kettlebell up close to your body, rather than swinging it out in front of you then trying to pull it back into the rack
• You need to be able to completely release your grip in order to slide your hand through the handle, rather than having the kettlebell flip over your wrist and hit your forearm
• Bring your hand straight up the centreline of your body from the backswing into rack – the more direct this path and the less lateral movement there is the better

Wearing sweat bands or wrist wraps can help make learning the clean more comfortable, but bear in mind these are only making you more comfortable, they can’t protect against repeated impact on the forearm so are no substitute for good technique.

Breathing

As with the swing, there are basically 2 types of breathing you  can choose from: power breathing and anatomical breathing.  For the same reasons as with the swing (see this article) anatomical breathing is usually going to be the most appropriate for kettlebell cleans as you're generally going to be working with what is a relatively light weight.

The anatomical breathing pattern for the kettlebell clean is the same as for the swing, except you add an extra exhale as the kettlebell lands in rack, then you can take as many breaths as you like in rack so long as you inhale before you drop the kettlebell into the backswing (so you can exhale on the backswing).

The power breathing patter is simple breathing in on the backswing and breathing out when the bell lands in rack.

Some tips for the kettlebell clean

Here are some tips that will help you get the clean right and most importantly make sure you’re doing it safely:

• Try to keep your elbow close to your body at all times during the clean
• Releasing the grip early when bringing the kettlebell back up to rack is very important, and if you find you’re having trouble letting go you can go back to alternating swings to practice
• Try to land the clean with an open hand, particularly at the beginning, as this will help the handle land in the correct position
• Clean directly to rack position with straight legs – there is no need to dip the legs under the kettlebell as you would with a barbell
• Don’t catch the kettlebell on the forearm and then bring it back to the rack position – this may look smooth but can lead to stress fractures, let the biceps take the brunt of the clean
• Only apply as much power as you need, if you over power the movement you’re wasting energy and have less control over the kettlebell
• Don’t wear weight training gloves when performing cleans, it’s really important that you can feel what is going on in your hand so you can land the kettlebell in a safe position
• You still want to use your lower body to power the clean, the arm does very little work and you want to avoid trying to lift the kettlebell into rack or bicep curl it
• Chalking the bell handle and your hands will help preserve grip for longer or heavier sets

Double cleans

Once you’ve mastered the single clean, you can try double cleans.  Basically double cleans are the same as single cleans, however there are a few things that change now you’re introducing a second bell:

• With two bells you can change the handle position on the swing.  Some people (particularly those with short legs) prefer to have the handles 90 degrees to their body and parallel to each other.
• Double rack position is less forgiving than single rack position and requires a bit more hip flexor flexibility.  You may also want to overlap the handles in double rack position.
• You want to clean both kettlebells up close to the midline of your body and directly into rack position as you would with a single bell, which means that you need to be careful to keep your fingers out of the way so they don’t get squished between the handles – be sure you can either clean with an open hand or false grip before attempting doubles

This video of world champion kettlebell sport athlete, and absolute world record holder, Ivan Denisov gives you a really clear view of what the clean (and double clean) should look like – notice how directly he gets the bells to rack, how close his elbows stay to his body and how little extraneous movement there, the epitome of efficiency.

Getting cleans into your training

Kettlebell cleans are a great exercise and can be used in several different ways.

Cleans are a ballistic pulling exercise powered by the posterior chain, so are perfect for combining with exercises that focus more on the anterior chain and are pushing movements, particularly those that have an overhead component such as the jerk/push press – the kettlebell clean and jerk/push press are very balanced combinations that work the entire body.

The clean is great for active rest because the ballistic nature allows you to keep your heart rate up, while the rack position gives you an opportunity to regulate the intensity.

Of course, the clean is also one of the easiest and safest ways to get the kettlebell into rack (especially with two bells) to perform other exercises.

So, get cleaning!