Clean Warm Up: Technique, Benefits & Common Mistakes

Are you getting ready for a heavy clean? Well, the one thing you shouldn’t skip is the clean warm-up. It gets your body primed for the explosive movements and if you do the right exercises, you’ll improve your performance and avoid injuries. 

If you’re one of those people that just dread warming up because they feel like it’s a waste of time, you’ve come to the right place because we’ll change your mind in a jiffy. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated or too time-consuming, but those few targeted exercises can make a huge difference in how you feel during your workout.

Plus, it sets you up for success because a good warm up can improve your performance, regardless of the exercises you’re doing next. 

Ready to warm-up? Your body and PRs will love you for it!

Importance of Warming Up

Warming up before diving into cleans is more important than you think. First off, it prepares your body for the intense physical activity that’s ahead, your muscles become more pliable, and your joints more flexible. This will improve your performance, but it will also significantly reduce the risk of injuries. 

A good warm-up increases your heart rate, blood flow, and delivers more oxygen to your muscles, which is absolutely essential for those heavy lifts. 

What should be in your warm-up, you ask? You want dynamic stretches and mobility exercises that target the specific muscles and joints you’ll be using during your cleans. This could be hip openers, shoulder rotations, and core activation exercises.

Avoid static stretching because those can reduce muscle strength and performance if you do them before lifting. Instead, save those static stretches for the cool-down, which is also an important factor of your routine. 

When you’re done warming up, your body will be prepared and your mind will be in the right place, so you’ll have set a good base for a focused, effective workout.

Warm-Up for Clean – Full Guide

If you want to be safe and you want your performance to be at its best, you’ll warm-up before attempting cleans. Here’s a full guide on how to get ready for those heavy lifts.

1. General Warm-Up: Break a Sweat with Cardio

Good ol’ cardio is a great way to warm up, or in this case, start to. Dedicate 4-5 minutes to cardio to raise your body temperature and get your whole body moving. This could be  a light jog, cycling, or even jumping jacks. The goal here is to break a sweat, which indicates that your muscles are warming up and your heart rate is increasing. 

This will be sort of like a foundation for more specific warm-up exercises.

2. Dynamic Stretching and Mobility Work

Once your body is warm, if there is a need for that – it’s time to focus on dynamic stretching and mobility work. Do movements like leg swings, arm circles, and torso rotations to get your joints moving through their full range of motion. Add in some jumps or skipping to increase mobility even more. 

Pay special attention to joint mobilizations targeting the hips and front rack position because these are crucial for a successful clean. Exercises like hip openers and front rack stretches can make a big difference in your flexibility and readiness. 

3. Specific Warm-Up with Light Weight

Now that you’re loose, it’s time to move on to specific exercises using a light weight. Start with bar complexes. You can include exercises like the deadlift to engage the posterior chain, muscle clean, power clean, even front squats to activate multiple muscles at the same time.

Specific complexes with empty bar can be a good way to improve technique while you prepare yourself for heavier lifts. For example: Clean High Pull + Hang Clean + Front squat.

These exercises help you activate the muscles you’ll be using and refine your technique. Start with just an empty bar and gradually add a bit of weight as you start to feel more comfortable. 

4. Adaptive Sets for Clean

Almost done! The last thing to do is to incorporate adaptive sets to transition into your working weight. Start with a few sets of light cleans and increase the weight with each set. Focus on maintaining good form and technique as you add more weight. 

These sets help your body adapt to the increasing load and prepare your muscles and nervous system for the heavier lifts to come. By the time you reach your working weight, your body will be fully primed and ready for action. 

The whole warmup should not take more than 20 min of your work. 

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Clean Warm-Up Example

Now that you have the general idea of what  a good warm-up looks like, it’s time to get more specific. Here’s a warm-up plan you can follow that you can be sure will get your body prepered for cleans. 

• General Warm-Up
  • Light cardio (jogging, cycling, jumping rope): 4-5 minutes
• Dynamic Stretching and Mobility Work
  • Leg swings (forward and sideways): 1 sets of 20 swings per leg
  • Arm circles (small to large): 1 sets of 20 circles per direction
  • Torso rotations: 1 sets of 10 rotations per side
  • Hip openers: 1 sets of 15 per side
  • Front rack mobility stretch with band: 1 sets of 30-60 seconds hold per side
• Specific Warm-Up with Light Weight
  • Bar complex: Clean high pull, hang clean, front squat – 2 sets of 3+1+3
  • Muscle clean: 2 sets of 5 reps with light weight
  • Power clean: 2 sets of 3 reps with light weight
• Adaptive Sets for Clean
  • Light clean: 3 sets of 3 reps. progressively adding weight each set (for example, 50%, 60%, 70% of working weight)

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Conclusion

All warmed up yet? If you’re not, that’s okay, now you know the perfect way to prep your body for cleans. If you take the time to do it properly, it will make a huge difference in your workouts. 

Mix in some cardio, dynamic stretches, mobility drills, and specific warm-up lists to set yourself up for a safer, more effective workout. A good warm-up gets your body and mind ready so the next time you’re preparing for a clean, remember to spend an extra few minutes warming up. Your body will thank you, and your lifts will improve. 

What exercises do you do before cleans? Have you noticed a boost in your performance after adding a thorough warm-up to your routine? What’s your favorite way to get ready for a heavy lifting session?

We’d love to know how you warm up so leave a comment and let us know! 

Also Read:

• Power Clean
• CLEAN & JERK
• Clean Pull
• Clean + Front Squat

References:

1. Clifton J. Holmes  “Understanding the deadlift and its variations,” ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal 24, no. 3 (January 2019).
2. David Bautista, Dustin Durke, Joshua A. Cotter, Kurt A. Escobar, Evan E. Schick “A Comparison of Muscle Activation Among the Front Squat, Overhead Squat, Back Extension and Plank,” International Journal of Exercise Science 13, no. 1 (2020): 714-722.
3. Hyoung-Kil Park, Min-Kyung Jung, Eunkyung Park, Chang-Young Lee, Yong-Seok Jee, Denny Eun, Jun-Youl Cha, and Jaehyun Yoo. “The effect of warm-ups with stretching on the isokinetic moments of collegiate men.” Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation 14, no. 1 (2018): 78–82.
4. Manan Vora, Manit Arora, “An Analysis of the Evidence Base Relating to the Role of Warm-Up and Stretching in Reduction of Injury Risk in Athletes,” Orthopedics and Sports Medicine: Open Access Journal 2, no. 4 (2019): Published February 08, 2019.
5. Stacey Carter “Why it’s important to cool down after exercise, according to the science,” LiveScience, https://www.livescience.com/why-its-important-to-cool-down-after-exercise-according-to-the-science (accessed July 23rd, 2024)
6. “Warm Up, Cool Down,” American Heart Association, https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/warm-up-cool-down (accessed July 23rd, 2024) 
7. Photos by Torokhtiy Media Team.