6 Best Hang Clean Alternatives for Strength Training

Hang cleans are excellent – they develop explosive power and strength, but there comes a time where you just have to mix it up to keep things interesting, and let’s face it – to prevent yourself from giving up because you’re bored to death. 

Enter hang clean alternatives! They’ll target similar muscle groups and help you get comparable strength and power benefits. 

So, ready to expand your training toolkit? Keep reading and we’ll tell you how to do it! 

Hang Clean – Overview

The hang clean is a really powerful exercise where you lift the barbell from the hang position, which is just below or just above the knees, and explosively pull it up, drop to full squat and catch the bar at your shoulders in one quick motion. It’s excellent for building strength and power, especially in the legs, back, and shoulders. It will also improve coordination and overall athletic performance. 

Since its nature is so dynamic, you’ll often see athletes have it as part of their training routines to improve explosive movements. But keep in mind that, although it seems relatively simple to do – it’s not. You’ll need to learn and practice proper form to get the hang of it (yes, that pun is intentional because we’re cool like that). 

Benefits of Hang Clean and Alternatives

The hang clean itself is just crazy good – it builds explosive power, improves muscle coordination, and enhances overall athletic performance. So, what’s not to like and why bother with alternatives? Well, it can get boring if that’s all you do, plus the repetitions can cause injuries if you overdo it.

The alternatives give you similar benefits but add variety. They’ll prevent overuse injuries because they’ll vary the movement patterns and reduce the repetitive strain on the same muscles. Mileage is quite often responsible for injuries.

Both the hang clean and its alternatives are excellent, but it’s not a bad idea to switch it up from time to time, not just to break the monotony, but also to let some muscles rest while other muscle groups remain active.

Tips From the Champ

If your goal is just to go away from hang clean drills use high pulls and muscle cleans – they challenge coordination and power in a way that keeps training fresh and effective. Sometimes a little variety is all you need to push past sticking points.

Oleksiy Torokhtiy

Olympic Weightlifting Champion

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6 Hang Clean Alternatives

If you’re looking for a way to work around boredom, plateau or injury, look no further than alternatives. We’ve compiled a list of the best, most effective ones so keep reading. 

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For Who and When?

These alternatives are great for people who want to prevent overuse injuries (which should be everybody) by varying their workouts. Each of the alternatives we’ll talk about targets similar muscle groups and helps develop explosive power, coordination, and overall strength. 

When you include different exercises into your routine, there’s less risk of repetitive strain and your training stays balanced. 

1. Kettlebell Clean

Kettlebells are excellent for building strength and power, and the kettlebell clean is a dynamic exercise that builds explosive power and strength, much like the hang clean. It’s easier on your wrists and shoulders, so if you have issues with your joints, this is a good exercise to try. 

It engages multiple muscle groups, promotes overall strength, and it’s easy to progress with it – just increase the number of reps or sets, or the weight of the kettlebell. 

This is how to do the kettlebell clean: 

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with a kettlebell between your feet
• Bend your knees and hips to grab the kettlebell with one hand
• Swing the kettlebell back between your legs
• Drive through your hips to bring the kettlebell up to shoulder height
• Catch the kettlebell in the rack position and keep the elbow close to your body. Let the KB rest on your elbow.

2. Clean High Pull

This alternative to hang clean focuses on the explosive pull phase of the clean. It will build strength and power in your lower and upper body (traps, shoulders, and back). It’s a great way to improve your pulling power without the turnover and catch phases, which makes it easier on your wrists and shoulders. 

To progress, you can for example increase the weight you’re lifting, but that shouldn’t happen before you perfect the form – it’s what keeps you safe and it’s what makes the exercise effective. 

Here’s how to do the clean high pull:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a barbell at your feet
• Bend at the hips and knees to grab the barbell with an overhand grip
• Pull the barbell up to your hips and then (without pause) explosively pull it up to chest height
• Keep your elbows high and out and make sure the bar stays close to your body
• Lower the barbell back down

3. Single Arm Dumbbell Clean

This hang clean substitute is really versatile and not only will it help you build unilateral strength, it will also improve strength and coordination, plus it can help you address muscle imbalances.

If you want to progress with it (and why wouldn’t you?), increase the weight of the dumbbell slowly. This will allow for gradual progression, which is the key to success. You can also add more dynamic movements, like a press or snatch.

Here’s how to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and holding a dumbbell in one hand
• Bend at the hips and knees to lower the dumbbell to just above your knees or fully down to kiss the floor
• Explosively extend your hips and knees and pull the dumbbell up to shoulder height
• Catch the dumbbell in the front rack position at one of your shoulders

4. Hang Snatch

The hang snatch is not too beginner-friendly because it needs good coordination, balance, and technique. Still, it’s a fantastic hang clean alternative that will improve explosive power and shoulder stability. 

Increase the load gradually; keep it challenging, but not so much that it messes up your form. 

Do the following: 

• Star with the bar at your thighs, feet shoulder-width apart
• Bend your knees and hips a little to lower the bar to just below, or just above the knees 
• Explosively extend your hips and knees and pull the bar and add momentum needed for proper turnover
• Catch the bar overhead in a deep squat with arms completely extended and stable. Stabilize the bar and … Get up

5. Kettlebell Swing

This alternative focuses on hip power but also can be done to challenge your conditioning. It’s good for building explosive strength or other performance abilities depending how you will decide to perform that exercise. The swing works the glutes, hamstrings, and core, so it’s also really versatile. 

It’s simple to do, but we’ll explain it nonetheless:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a kettlebell with both hands
• Bend at the hips and knees to swing the kettlebell up to shoulder height
• Let the kettlebell swing back down and repeat. Maintain straight back and braced core.

6. Power Clean

This classic builds full-body strength and power.  Unlike the hang clean, which starts from a hang position, the power clean starts from the floor. It will develop your explosive strength and improve performance. 

You’ll increase the weight to progress, but it’s good to have a coach nearby so you know your form is correct. 

Here’s how to do a power clean:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a bar on the floor
• Bend at the hips and knees to grab the bar with a hook grip
• Lift the bar to your hips, then explosively pull it up
• Catch the bar in a half squat with elbows forward
• Stand up to complete the lift

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Conclusion

Switching up your workout with these alternatives can really boost your strength, power, and performance in general. That is, if you’re smart about it.

This means, you learn the form first, you don’t overestimate your capabilities and lift weights that are too heavy, and you’re not too hard on yourself – your muscles need a day or two every week to relax and recover, so allow yourself some time to just chill and do nothing. 

Have you tried any of the alternatives we’ve suggested? Which one(s) do you like the most? Any tips on how to make them easier for beginners?

Jump into the comments and share your thoughts, we’d love to hear your tips and experiences!

References:

1. Becks Shepherd “Why are rest days important?” LiveScience, https://www.livescience.com/why-are-rest-days-important (accessed July 12th, 2024)
2. Daniel Plotkin, Max Coleman, Derrick Van Every, Jaime Maldonado, Douglas Oberlin, Michael Israetel, Jared Feather, Andrew Alto, Andrew D. Vigotsky, Brad J. Schoenfeld, “Progressive Overload Without Progressing Load? The Effects of Load or Repetition Progression on Muscular Adaptations,” PeerJ 10 (2022): e14142.
3. Health Promotion Board (HPB) “Prevent Injuries with Proper Form During Workouts,” Singapore University Health Center, https://www.nus.edu.sg/uhc/articles/details/prevent-injuries-with-proper-form-during-workouts (accessed July 12th 2024)
4. Mayo Clinic Staff, “Weight training: Do’s and don’ts of proper technique,” Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/weight-training/art-20045842 (accessed July 12th, 2024)
5. Pratik R. Jaiswal, Swapnil U. Ramteke, Saylee Shedge, “Enhancing Athletic Performance: A Comprehensive Review on Kettlebell Training,” Cureus 16, no. 2 (2024): e53497.
6. Photos by Torokhtiy Media Team.