How to Perform a Dumbbell Clean
This is an excerpt from Women’s Muscle & Strength by Betina Gozo Shimonek.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your shoulders back, holding a dumbbell in each hand with a pronated (overhand) grip in front of your thighs.
- Bend your knees slightly, and hinge only a few inches, moving your hips back and sliding your dumbbells down your thighs (a).
- With momentum and power, straighten your knees and push your hips forward so that you are standing tall, while simultaneously lifting your heels off the ground, keeping your elbows high, and bringing your dumbbells straight up toward your chin (b).
- Quickly bring your elbows to your side so that your dumbbells rotate (c) and end up at your shoulders in a rack position, then bring your heels back down to the ground, keeping your knees soft (d).
- Lower your dumbbells down to the starting position with control, and complete the desired number of reps.
Things to Keep in Mind
You can start with a lighter weight to practice the motion, but the movement should be done with a little momentum, so a heavier weight is usually needed.
More Excerpts From Women’s Muscle & StrengthSHOP

Get the latest insights with regular newsletters, plus periodic product information and special insider offers.
JOIN NOW
Latest Posts
- What are the legal duties of athletic administrators?
- The importance of guidelines and boundaries for coaches’ use of social media
- What are the benefits of education-based athletic participation for student-athletes?
- Exercise for maintaining weight loss
- School-based childhood obesity interventions
- How does eating out and fast food consumption affect obesity in the United States?