Last Updated on January 3, 2023 by Andrew Pirie
Hang Cleans with dumbells.
What is ‘hang cleaning’ in weight lifting?
It is a clean exercise where the lifter begins in a stationary position with their hips and legs flexed just enough to drop the bar to a position between mid-thigh and knee height. From there, they extend and rack the barbell.
In other words, the lift begins and ends with the barbell in the “hang” position, which is the midpoint where the bar is at or above the knee (or even below it).
The hang cleans with dumbells, and the press is power and strength-building exercise that works pretty much every major muscle group and involves most of the joints in your body.
Can you power clean with dumbbells?
Hang Cleans with Dumbells Muscles Worked
- Hamstrings.
- Glutes.
- Calves.
- Spinal Erectors.
- Quads.
- Biceps.
How to Do Hang Cleans with Dumbells
For Hang cleans with dumbells, begin using a weight you can control for 2–3 sets of 6–10 repetitions. Then, choose a weight that allows you to maintain good technique throughout all sets and repetitions.
- Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them by your sides. Your palms should be facing your legs. Your posture should be tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees. Your shoulders should be directly over your hips with a neutral head and neck position. Your chin should remain tucked throughout the movement as if you were holding an egg under your chin.
- Evenly distribute your weight and grip the floor with your feet to create a stable position. Your arms should remain long by your sides with a slight bend in your elbows. Pre-tension your shoulders and hips with a good inhale and exhale, and engage your core. All repetitions should begin from this starting position.
- While keeping the dumbbells close to your body, maintain a neutral spine as you begin to bend your hips, knees, and ankles. Lower until your upper legs are parallel or slightly below parallel with the floor. You should only lower as far as you can maintain a level pelvis. And should evenly distribute the weight on your feet.
Part 2
- To begin the upward movement, explosively push your legs into the ground as if you were jumping. As your shoulders reach their highest point, quickly pull your body under the dumbbells while rotating your elbows forward.
- Quickly punch your elbows forward and catch the dumbbells on your shoulders and lower into a squat. Your upper legs should finish parallel or slightly lower than parallel with the floor. Only lower as far as you can maintain a level pelvis and a strong squatting position.
- Stand tall as if you were finishing a squat repetition. Then, lower the dumbbells under control back to your sides and lower into a squat position to begin the next repetition.
3 Benefits of the Dumbbell Hang Cleans
Regularly practising dumbbells can have several benefits.
- Power Cleans with dumbells is a full-body workout. The dumbbell clean is a full-body exercise that targets many of the major muscle groups throughout your body. Dumbbells can help you build muscle mass across your upper body and lower body.
- Dumbbell Hang cleans encourage muscle symmetry. Like other dumbbell exercises, the dumbbell clean can highlight muscle asymmetries you may have developed by favouring one side of your body over the other when performing barbell cleans or other exercises using a single piece of equipment.
- Dumbbell cleans activate your stabilizer muscles. As you lift the pair of dumbbells through a full range of motion, you stabilize yourself by using the muscles in your arms, shoulders, lower back, and core.
Which Muscles Does Hang clean with Dumbells Activate?
Dumbbell cleans work muscle groups throughout your entire body, including your glutes, hamstrings, calves, biceps, quadriceps, triceps, deltoids, spinal erectors, and lower back muscles.
4 Dumbbell Clean Variations
Once you’ve mastered the standard dumbbell clean, try one of these variations.
- Dumbbell clean and press: Perform this variation by adding a push press at the top of the exercise, lifting the dumbbells overhead from shoulder height.
- Kettlebell clean: If you want to try the dumbbell clean exercise with a different kind of free weight, practice the kettlebell clean variation.
- Dumbbell hangs power clean: Practice the dumbbell hang power clean by explosively lifting a pair of dumbbells from waist level to shoulder level.
- Single-arm dumbbell clean: If you want to focus on unilateral lifting form, practice this variation by lifting a single dumbbell through a clean movement pattern one arm at a time.
References:
“Double Dumbbell Cleans.” Skimble, www.skimble.com/exercises/58040-double-dumbbell-cleans-how-to-do-exercise. Accessed 3 Sept. 2022.
Master Class (2021), “Dumbbell Clean Guide: How to Master Dumbbell Cleans”, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/dumbbell-clean-exercise-guide
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Andrew was elected Vice President of the Association of Track and Field Statisticians in 2020 after being a member for 7 years.
He has worked as a PSC Consultant and Research Assistant from 2013-2015, Consultant, and Sprint Coach at Zamboanga Sports Academy from 2015-2017. And Currently is Consultant Coach with VMUF 2021-
Current editor and chief of Pinoyathletics.info, and has recently done consultancy work for Ayala Corp evaluating the Track and Field Program.
Coaches Sprints, Middle and Jump events he is Level 3 Athletics Australia Coaching Certification in Sprints and Hurdles.
Currently working towards a Masters Degree in Education.
He can be contacted on [email protected]
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