The Explosive Full-Body Exercise for Strength and Fitness
The clean and press is an exercise that places a great demand on a range of muscles throughout the body and as a result, the exercise can effectively develop full-body strength and fitness.
There are few fitness components that are not challenged during the dumbbell clean and press which makes it an excellent exercise for those looking to improve their strength, balance, power, cardiovascular fitness, coordination, and stability.
While the exercise is more technical than other dumbbell exercises, it is certainly an exercise that is worth learning, specifically for those who aspire to increase their power and strength.
This article will review the dumbbell clean and press, highlight key muscles worked, detail clean and press technique and look at a number of benefits associated with the exerciseDumbbell Clean and Press Muscles Worked
The movements required for the clean and press place substantial demand on practically every muscle group of the body.
This section will break down the movement into two phases and highlight which muscles are specifically involved in each phase.
Dumbbell Clean:
– Quadriceps, Glutes, Hamstrings, Calves
– Spinal Erectors, Lats, Traps
– Abdominals, Lower Back
– Biceps, Triceps, Forearms (grip)
In the clean, the muscles of the lower extremities – the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves – must all powerfully contract to drive the dumbbells from the floor and propel them vertically.
The glutes are particularly responsible for hip extension, the quads and hamstrings control the movement around the knees while the calves control the motion of the ankles.
The spinal erectors, lats, and traps along with the abdominals and lower back all must contract in order to protect the spine and prevent spinal flexion.
If excessive spinal flexion occurs (specifically to the lumbar spine), the risk of a serious injury occurring is significantly increased (1).
Finally, the biceps, triceps, and forearms all play a role in the high pull which is where the dumbbells are aggressively pulled upwards by the arms.
Dumbbell Press:
– Deltoids, Upper Traps, Triceps
– Spinal Erectors, Lats, Traps
– Abdominals, Lower Back
The deltoids and triceps are primarily responsible for the pressing motion. The delts cause shoulder flexion whereas the triceps cause elbow extension – the two movements that are responsible for the press.
As in the clean, the spinal erectors, lats, traps, abs and lower back all play a supporting role in keeping the body upright and spine protected.
How to Perform the Dumbbell Clean and Press
As mentioned, the clean and press is a technical exercise and therefore, care should be taken when performing it.
Pay close attention to each of the following coach points to ensure that you perform each part of the movement safely and effectively.
The dumbbell clean and press can be performed either bilaterally (two-handed) or unilaterally (one-handed) with both versions having similar benefits.
The below steps detail the technique for a bilateral dumbbell clean and press:
1) Start by placing two dumbbells on the floor by your feet. Assume a stance that is slightly wider than hip-width keeping the toes turned out.
Ideally, this starting position of the clean should be the same as a deadlift, therefore, push your hips back and slightly bend the knees so that you can grab the dumbbells from the floor.
2) Before initiating the clean, drive the chest up as high as possible, squeeze between the shoulder blades and brace the core.
3) From this position, drive the heels hard into the floor and rapidly extend through the knees and hips to accelerate the dumbbells upward.
When the dumbbells reach approximately mid-thigh, perform a high pull by explosively driving the elbows high and begin to drop into a quarter squat.
4) As you dip into a quarter squat and with the dumbbells rising up towards the shoulders, shoot the elbows through to allow you to “catch” the dumbbells on the shoulders and then stand.
5) From the standing position, once again, lift the chest and contract the core muscles. Focus on contracting the shoulders and arm muscles to drive the dumbbells vertically upward.
Bring the dumbbells back down to the floor by reversing the entire movement and then repeat for the prescribed number of reps.
Dumbbell Clean and Press Benefits
This section will detail four benefits associated with regularly performing the dumbbell clean and press.
1) Unilateral Training
The dumbbell clean and press will bring about a number of unilateral benefits such as improved unilateral strength, enhanced proprioception and balancing out asymmetries.
While this exercise can effectively be performed using a barbell, asymmetries in strength and movement can be masked as the stronger side can compensate for the weaker side.
Using dumbbells however forces the arms to work independently of each other and therefore, imbalances can be identified and rectified.
Furthermore, the dumbbell variation of the clean and press allow you to work one-handed which is something that the barbell cannot offer.
Performing a unilateral clean and press will add a further challenge to the core (2) as it must contract to prevent rotation caused by the asymmetric loading.
2) Full-Body Strength
Compound exercises should be prioritized when it comes to building strength as they place the greatest amount of demand on multiple muscle groups of the body (3).
Furthermore, compound lifts tend to allow you to lift a great amount of load due to the number of muscle groups that are involved in the movement.
The greater the amount of weight that can be lifted, the greater the consequent adaptation is likely to be.
With the dumbbell clean and press, a significant amount of weight can be lifted which can lead to a substantial increase in full-body strength.
In addition, heavy cleans and press (and variations of the press), are two fundamental movements that will be of great benefit to strength, power and fitness athletes.
3) Metabolic Conditioning
As highlighted, there are many components of fitness that are challenged through the clean and press – strength, power, coordination, stability, and balance, to name a few.
Considering the muscles worked and the vast number of challenges associated with the clean and press, the exercise expends a great amount of energy.
Compare the dumbbell clean and press to a number of other dumbbell-based exercises and you will quickly find that it is one of the best exercises for energy expenditure.
For those who are looking to improve their level of conditioning, consider adding the clean and press into your conditioning workouts.
The clean and press can be performed with either light or heavy weights depending on the conditioning workout you are partaking in.
4) Training Around Injuries
Finally, the dumbbell clean and press can serve as a useful alternative to the barbell clean and press when an injury occurs to a specific limb or joint.
While the demands and application of the dumbbell clean and press are slightly different from the barbell version, they do allow you to replicate movements and timings while also placing a demand on the same muscle groups.
It can also be an effective substitute for a range of other dynamic full-body compound exercises such as the snatch and thruster.
For those who participate in strongman and function fitness, the unilateral clean and press allows you to continue to train the full body even if an injury has occurred to one arm.
Dumbbell Clean and Press Programming
The number one consideration to be made when incorporating the dumbbell clean and press into your training is your current fitness goals as these goals will dictate the number of sets and reps that you should perform.
This section will cover a number of common goals and provide a recommendation in terms of overall volume to allow you to make the most optimal progress.
If your goal is to improve your power and strength, look to complete 3-5 sets of no more than 5 reps. In addition, use heavy loads as research has indicated that heavy loads and low reps are most effective for strength and power gains (4).
For those who wish to increase the size of their muscles, the recommendation is to use moderate loads and reps. The typical volume for hypertrophy would be 3-5 sets of 6-12 reps.
While this volume is conventionally used for muscle growth, research does indicate that muscle growth does occur throughout a range of reps (low, moderate and high reps).
Finally, if you are looking to improve endurance or increase metabolic fitness, as touched on earlier, use lighter loads or incorporate the exercise into a conditioning circuit or workout.
A useful guideline for endurance is to complete 3-5 sets of 12-20 reps. With all endurance work, fatigue may quickly become a factor and therefore, it is often necessary to use lighter loads than normal.
Final Word
As demonstrated, the dumbbell clean and press is a superb full-body developing exercise that can be of benefit for attaining a variety of goals. While this is the case, technique should always be the number one priority due to the technical nature of the exercise.
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*Images courtesy of Envato
References
1 – Alexander, M. J. (1985-03). “Biomechanical aspects of lumbar spine injuries in athletes: a review”. Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Sciences. Journal Canadien Des Sciences Appliquees Au Sport. 10 (1): 1–20. ISSN 0700-3978. PMID 4006039.
2 – Saeterbakken, Atle Hole; Fimland, Marius Steiro (2012-05). “Muscle activity of the core during bilateral, unilateral, seated and standing resistance exercise”. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 112(5): 1671–1678. doi:10.1007/s00421-011-2141-7. ISSN 1439-6327. PMID 21877146.
3 – Paoli, Antonio; Gentil, Paulo; Moro, Tatiana; Marcolin, Giuseppe; Bianco, Antonino (December 22, 2017). “Resistance Training with Single vs. Multi-joint Exercises at Equal Total Load Volume: Effects on Body Composition, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Muscle Strength”. Frontiers in Physiology. 8. doi:10.3389/fphys.2017.01105. ISSN 1664-042X. PMC 5744434. PMID 29312007.
4 – Schoenfeld, Brad J.; Contreras, Bret; Vigotsky, Andrew D.; Peterson, Mark (December 1, 2016). “Differential Effects of Heavy Versus Moderate Loads on Measures of Strength and Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men”. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine. 15 (4): 715–722. ISSN 1303-2968. PMC 5131226. PMID 27928218.