Clean And Press

Muscles Worked: Front Deltoids, Middle Deltoids & overall Muscle Density. Triceps, Middle & Lower back, Traps, forearms, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves & glutes.

Spotter Required: No

Minimum Equipment required: 6ft or 7ft Standard Barbell with weights

The Best Equipment to Use: 6ft or 7ft Olympic Barbell with weights

Warming up: To warm up, perform 1 set of 15 - 20 repetitions of the exercise with minimal weight.

How often should I perform this exercise: The clean and press is a great exercise for building overall muscle mass in the shoulders whilst at the same time increasing your overall strength. If you have the energy for this exercise (because it uses a lot of it) then you can perform it on every shoulder workout.

When should I perform this exercise: Clean and press will probably be the hardest shoulder exercise you perform so if you are going to do it make sure it’s the first (or one of the first) shoulder workout you do.

How to do the exercise: With the barbell on the floor, squat down, lean forward and hold the barbell with an overhand grip about shoulder width apart, your feet should be a little wider than shoulder width apart. The barbell should be about 1-2 inches away from your ankles. Begin to lift the bar to your shoulders, driving with your legs, begin to flip the barbell up as you reach the halfway point (see images below). By the time the barbell is at your shoulders your palms should be facing away from you (or possibly up towards the ceiling).

When the barbell is at your shoulders tuck the elbows in and under to support the weight in starting position of the military press. Now using your arms and shoulders, press the barbell up over your head, bring it back down to the shoulders, then reverse the cleaning motion (flip it back down) by bending your knees and setting the barbell back to the floor.

Remember to keep your head looking forward at all times, if you need help stabilizing yourself then look in a mirror throughout the exercise.

Mentality: This exercise is hard and will use a lot of energy, so concentration is key with clean and press.

Images: