Kettlebell Clean Technique & Variations

The Kettlebell Clean is a fantastic Kettlebell Exercise that has numerous benefits. It is a great posterior chain movement and is also anti-rotational in nature.

It is highly technical and this video demonstrates how to perform the movement. It is important to really focus on keeping the elbow in close contact with the torso and the wrist in a neutral position. The starting point is a dead clean where the bell follows a straight path up and down the midline. The power is generated from the hips and knees.

A highly technical but important position of the Kettlebell clean is the wrist insertion. You need to keep a loose grip on the bell so you can insert your hand all the way through. The bell handle should be angled at 45 degrees across the wrist. The more you can insert the hand the better the position of the bell.

Once you can accomplish a dead kettlebell clean then you can progress to a dynamic clean. The bell now comes through the hips and the power is generated more from the hips. The key is keeping close contact with the elbow and torso and not flipping the bell. Instead, it is a corkscrew motion where the bell rotates across the forearm.

The next variation is angled kettlebell dead cleans. We now get the body outside of the sagittal plane and get some rotation through the torso. The key is not to rotate the lower back or compromise your neutral spine. You may need to bend the knees more to preserve the back.

The last progression we showcase is an MMA inspired Kettlebell clean to guard position. This is a dead clean with a step back whilst the opposite arm shields the face.

We teach the clean in detail in our Level 1 Kettlebell course. You can find out more about the course at: http://kettlebellinstitute.com.au/course/fundamentals-of-kettlebell-training-level-1/