How many reps of the dumbbell gorilla clean should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Start with 3 sets of 6 to 8 total reps, about 3 to 4 per side, resting 60 seconds between sets and using dumbbells lighter than you would for a standard clean. Add reps toward continuous 30-second rounds before increasing the weight.

What can you use instead of dumbbells for the gorilla clean?

Two kettlebells work well for the same alternating hinge-and-clean pattern. With one dumbbell, alternate hands each rep instead of alternating between two separate weights on the floor.

What does the gorilla clean train, and who should pick a different pull?

Staying hinged throughout loads the glutes and hamstrings continuously while building grip and explosive hip power, a fun conditioning and posterior-chain option. Pick a standard single dumbbell or barbell clean instead if your lower back cannot yet hold a flat position through a full hinge, since the alternating rhythm adds fatigue on top of that demand.

Intermediate

Dumbbell Gorilla Clean

The gorilla clean keeps you in a low, wide hinge while you rip the dumbbells off the floor and rack them one at a time, hammering the hips and upper back with a strong grip demand. Staying hinged loads the glutes and hamstrings continuously and turns the movement into a powerful conditioning and posterior-chain builder. It is a fun, athletic way to train explosive pulling.

Equipment: Dumbbell
Body part: Glutes, Traps
Type: Functional, Strength
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, Trapezius Upper
Browse by movement: Hinge

How to do it

1
Set two dumbbells on the floor just inside a wide, toes-out stance.
2
Push your hips back into a deep hinge and grip both dumbbells with a flat back.
3
Explosively drive one hip and shrug to clean one dumbbell up to your shoulder.
4
Lower that dumbbell back toward the floor as you clean the other one up.
5
Keep alternating in a steady rhythm while staying in the hinge.
6
Brace the core and keep the chest proud throughout.

Tips

Stay low in the hinge; do not stand fully upright between reps.
Pull with the hips and traps, letting the arms stay relaxed until the shrug.
Keep the back flat and neutral to protect the spine under the alternating load.

Variations

Common mistakes

Once the rhythm speeds up, the hips start creeping upright between reps instead of staying low in the hinge the whole set.
The back rounds under the alternating load, especially on the side about to pull, since one dumbbell is always adding asymmetric tension to the spine.
Pulling with the arm before the hip drives sends the dumbbell up on bicep strength instead of hip power, and it shows up as a slower, muscled clean.
One dumbbell gets dropped further than the other on its way back down, throwing off the steady rhythm the alternating pattern depends on.
Standing with a narrow, toes-forward stance instead of wide and turned out cramps the space the dumbbell needs to travel up the body.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the dumbbell gorilla clean should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Start with 3 sets of 6 to 8 total reps, about 3 to 4 per side, resting 60 seconds between sets and using dumbbells lighter than you would for a standard clean. Add reps toward continuous 30-second rounds before increasing the weight.
What can you use instead of dumbbells for the gorilla clean?: Two kettlebells work well for the same alternating hinge-and-clean pattern. With one dumbbell, alternate hands each rep instead of alternating between two separate weights on the floor.
What does the gorilla clean train, and who should pick a different pull?: Staying hinged throughout loads the glutes and hamstrings continuously while building grip and explosive hip power, a fun conditioning and posterior-chain option. Pick a standard single dumbbell or barbell clean instead if your lower back cannot yet hold a flat position through a full hinge, since the alternating rhythm adds fatigue on top of that demand.

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