The Hang Clean

For us CrossFitters were pretty used to doing various exercises such as the clean or hand stand push ups, but when it comes to whole movements such as the full clean or snatch there are versions that can be targeted. These "versions" are movements such as a drop snatch, a tall clean, and the hang versions for both. In this article we will cover the hang clean technique and why/how it can be useful to train in.

 

To begin a hang clean can be seen as taking a barbell or weight from knee height directly to the shoulder into the racked position. Sounds simple right? Well there's a actually very specific technique that we all train to be able to use the least energy as possible and move the most weight. This movement starts with the hang. The hands should be thumbs distance away from the thighs when standing. The finger technique in the hang is best used with the hook grip. Meaning clamping the thumb with the index and middle finger around the bar. From here our feet should be under the hips with a bent knee, weight in heels, flat back and in a hip hinge position. This should look like your shoulders are over the bar and the bar is at the knees with the glutes sticking back. From this position we simple will extend our hips and knees at the same rate with arms extended. Once we reach a full extension we will start to shrug and high pull the bar close to the body reaching chest height. At this point we will "pull" or "drop" ourselves under the bar into the racked position. This is where the bar is resting on our shoulders with the elbows up high in front of the bar. In this catching position we can maintain control on the bar using a couple fingers to allow the elbows to be raised. At this point in the catch we should be in either a full squat where our hips are just below 90 degrees or in a power position. This power position will mimic about the same position as the setup for the hang. We should catch with the feet in our squat position (just wider than hip width), weight in heels, knees tracking over the toes, glutes back, feet turned out slightly, and a flat back. After you have reached this catch position, simply stand up.

 

Benefits:

The hang clean can help us practice our pull under the bar and will be less than our full clean 1RM (1 Rep Max). If someone has a mobility issue getting down to the ground into the setup position, the hang can allow that athlete to train the same movement, but just at a greater height. This movement can also allow the seasoned athletes to practice the hip drive/extension to pull a greater amount of weight to the chest level.