Dumbbell Clean
Trains the Hamstrings.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Stand with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, feet about hip-width apart.
- Hinge at the hips and bend the knees so the dumbbells hang around mid-shin, back flat and chest up.
- Drive the hips forward and stand up hard, shrugging the shoulders as the legs finish.
- As the dumbbells rise, pull the elbows high and then whip them under so the dumbbells land on the front of the shoulders.
- Catch in a quarter squat with the elbows pointing forward and the dumbbells resting at the shoulders.
- Stand fully, then lower the dumbbells back to the sides and hinge down for the next repetition.
Common mistakes
- Curling the dumbbells up. The arms stay straight until the hips have finished; if the elbows bend early, the biceps are doing what the legs and hips should.
- Catching with the dumbbells out in front. They land on the shoulders, not in front of the face; the catch is a whip of the elbows under, not a lift of the weights up.
- Rounding the back at the start. The chest is up and the back is flat before the pull begins, and stays that way through the drive.
- Standing straight-legged for the catch. A small bend in the knees absorbs the weight; catching stiff sends the impact into the lower back.