Exercise Library
Flat-Footed Clean Pull To Hold
The flat-footed clean pull to hold is a clean pull without allowing the heels to rise at the top and a pause in the extended position.
Set the clean starting position tightly and push with the legs through the whole foot against the floor similarly to a squat. Maintain even balance over the whole foot and actively keep the bar as close to the legs as possible, and maintain approximately the same back angle until the bar is past the knees. Once at lower to mid-thigh, open the hips explosively while driving vertically with the legs even harder to accelerate. Keep the feet flat against the floor through the top of the pull.
Extend the entire body approximately vertically—don’t try to mimic the hyperextension of the hips we would have in an actual clean. As the legs and hips finish extending, shrug up and back and actively keep the bar against the body through the extended position—at no point should it move away.
Hold the extended position with shoulders shrugged for a couple seconds, then relax and return the bar to the floor.
Purpose
The flat-footed clean pull to hold is useful for helping lifters learn to better control their positions and balance throughout the pull, to stay flat footed longer rather than lifting the heels early or shifting forward in their pull and lifts, and to execute and feel complete extension and vertical leg drive. It’s also an easier version of the pull to hold for lifters struggling to balance with the heels elevated that can be used temporarily to transition eventually to pulls to hold.
Programming
The flat-footed clean pull to hold can be used in place of standard clean pulls at certain times, and be done for 2-5 reps per set anywhere from 80%-110% of the lifter’s best clean. Newer lifters whose cleans are significantly limited by technique will likely need to pull heavier percentages to adequately train strength in the pull. It’s often good to combine into a complex that finishes with at least one regular pull. Usually flat-footed pulls to hold can be loaded a little heavier than pulls to hold because of the ease of balancing at the top.
As a strength exercise, it should be placed toward the end of a workout, but because it also involves some speed and technique, it’s generally best placed before more basic strength work like squats.
Variations
The flat-footed clean pull to hold can be performed on a riser, with slow eccentrics (3-6 seconds typically), with one or more pauses on the way up, from various hang or block heights, with slow concentrics in the lower range to emphasize control over posture and balance, with a static or dynamic start, with or without straps, and many other possibilities.
Set the clean starting position tightly and push with the legs through the whole foot against the floor similarly to a squat. Maintain even balance over the whole foot and actively keep the bar as close to the legs as possible, and maintain approximately the same back angle until the bar is past the knees. Once at lower to mid-thigh, open the hips explosively while driving vertically with the legs even harder to accelerate. Keep the feet flat against the floor through the top of the pull.
Extend the entire body approximately vertically—don’t try to mimic the hyperextension of the hips we would have in an actual clean. As the legs and hips finish extending, shrug up and back and actively keep the bar against the body through the extended position—at no point should it move away.
Hold the extended position with shoulders shrugged for a couple seconds, then relax and return the bar to the floor.
Purpose
The flat-footed clean pull to hold is useful for helping lifters learn to better control their positions and balance throughout the pull, to stay flat footed longer rather than lifting the heels early or shifting forward in their pull and lifts, and to execute and feel complete extension and vertical leg drive. It’s also an easier version of the pull to hold for lifters struggling to balance with the heels elevated that can be used temporarily to transition eventually to pulls to hold.
Programming
The flat-footed clean pull to hold can be used in place of standard clean pulls at certain times, and be done for 2-5 reps per set anywhere from 80%-110% of the lifter’s best clean. Newer lifters whose cleans are significantly limited by technique will likely need to pull heavier percentages to adequately train strength in the pull. It’s often good to combine into a complex that finishes with at least one regular pull. Usually flat-footed pulls to hold can be loaded a little heavier than pulls to hold because of the ease of balancing at the top.
As a strength exercise, it should be placed toward the end of a workout, but because it also involves some speed and technique, it’s generally best placed before more basic strength work like squats.
Variations
The flat-footed clean pull to hold can be performed on a riser, with slow eccentrics (3-6 seconds typically), with one or more pauses on the way up, from various hang or block heights, with slow concentrics in the lower range to emphasize control over posture and balance, with a static or dynamic start, with or without straps, and many other possibilities.
