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

Do 4 sets of 5 to 6 reps with a moderate pair of dumbbells, resting close to 2 minutes between sets so every rep keeps its speed. Because the reset is fast, this also works well as 30 to 40 second stations inside a conditioning circuit once the technique is solid.

What can I do instead of the dumbbell hang clean with no dumbbells?

A kettlebell hang clean trains the same explosive hip-snap pattern almost identically, just with a single-handed grip. With no weight available, a jump shrug from the same hang position, driving up onto the toes and shrugging hard, grooves the same extension without any load.

What is the dumbbell hang clean good for and who should hold off on it?

It teaches the explosive hip snap that powers Olympic-style lifting in a package that's more accessible than a barbell version, and it fits well into both strength and conditioning work for athletes. Hold off if you have not yet learned to hip hinge cleanly under a coach's or trusted source's eye; this lift moves fast, which makes bad hinge habits hard to catch and fix.

Intermediate

Dumbbell Hang Clean

Starting from the hang strips away the floor pull and lets you rehearse the most powerful piece of the clean, the aggressive hip snap, with far less setup. It is kinder to the low back than the floor version and makes an excellent teaching step or power exercise for athletes. Because the reset is quick, it also works beautifully inside conditioning circuits and dumbbell complexes.

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

How to do it

1
Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand at arms length, feet hip-width apart.
2
Hinge at the hips to slide the bells down to just above the knees, chest over the dumbbells.
3
Keep the back flat and arms long with your weight balanced over the mid-foot.
4
Snap the hips forward explosively, extending fully and shrugging the shoulders up.
5
Pull under the dumbbells and turn the elbows over to catch them racked on the shoulders.
6
Stand to finish, then re-hinge to the hang position to begin the next repetition.

Tips

Load the hips by pushing them back rather than bending the knees like a squat.
Delay the arm pull until the hips have fully snapped so the bells keep their upward speed.
Keep the dumbbells close to the thighs through the pull to protect the low back.

Variations

Common mistakes

The dumbbells swing out away from the thighs during the pull, widening the path instead of keeping it tight against the body to protect the low back.
Bending the knees into the hang instead of pushing the hips back turns the setup into a squat and shortens the stretch the hip snap needs.
The wrists roll over too early to catch the bells, meeting them halfway instead of letting the hip snap send them the rest of the way up.
Some lifters let one dumbbell finish higher than the other on the catch, a sign the hip snap fired unevenly between sides.
The shoulders shrug up before the hips have finished extending, cutting the explosive extension short instead of following it.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the dumbbell hang clean should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Do 4 sets of 5 to 6 reps with a moderate pair of dumbbells, resting close to 2 minutes between sets so every rep keeps its speed. Because the reset is fast, this also works well as 30 to 40 second stations inside a conditioning circuit once the technique is solid.
What can I do instead of the dumbbell hang clean with no dumbbells?: A kettlebell hang clean trains the same explosive hip-snap pattern almost identically, just with a single-handed grip. With no weight available, a jump shrug from the same hang position, driving up onto the toes and shrugging hard, grooves the same extension without any load.
What is the dumbbell hang clean good for and who should hold off on it?: It teaches the explosive hip snap that powers Olympic-style lifting in a package that's more accessible than a barbell version, and it fits well into both strength and conditioning work for athletes. Hold off if you have not yet learned to hip hinge cleanly under a coach's or trusted source's eye; this lift moves fast, which makes bad hinge habits hard to catch and fix.

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