The clean pull under is a weightlifting drill performed with a lightbarbellfrom the high hang, using a short pull to drive the body down into the front rack and train a fast turnover. Unlike a full clean, there is almost no upward drive on the bar: the legs extend just enough to unweight it, then the arms pull the lifter down and around the bar rather than the bar up. It isolates the third pull, the part of the clean most lifters rush. Weightlifters place it after the warm-up, before cleans, as a technique primer.
What Muscles Does the Clean Pull Under Work?
- Primary: Upper trapezius, gluteus maximus, hamstrings
- Secondary: Deltoids, quadriceps, biceps brachii, latissimus dorsi
- Tertiary: Erector spinae, rectus abdominis, forearm flexors (grip), calves
How Do You Set Up for the Clean Pull Under?
Load a barbell light, an empty bar or a fraction of your clean, and deadlift it to standing. Set the feet at hip width, toes turned out slightly, with a clean-width hook grip outside the thighs. Stand tall with the bar at the crease of the hips, then bend the knees a few inches and push them forward so the torso is upright and the shoulders sit directly over the bar, arms straight and relaxed.
How Do You Perform the Clean Pull Under?
- Set the power position with the bar at the upper thigh, knees bent, torso vertical and the weight over the whole foot.
- Extend the legs briefly so the bar floats off the thighs, without shrugging the bar higher than the hips.
- Pull yourself down, elbows driving up and out, feet sliding out to squat width as the bar travels up the torso.
- Whip the elbows around the bar and receive it on the front of the shoulders in a quarter squat, torso upright.
- Hold the rack for a count with the bar settled and the weight balanced over the midfoot.
- Stand up, lower the bar to the thighs, walk the feet back to hip width and rebend into the power position.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Pull the body down, not the bar up: the bar barely rises; you meet it by dropping under, so think of yanking yourself toward the floor.
- Elbows up, then around: they travel high and outside first, then snap forward under the bar to finish the rack.
- Keep the bar brushing the shirt as you drop, so it does not loop out in front of the shoulders.
- Land flat-footed with the knees out, feet already in your squat stance before the bar touches the shoulders.
- Keep the shoulders over the bar until the pull under starts.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Loading the bar heavy enough to need a real second pull: the drill becomes a hang clean and hides the turnover, so keep it light enough to rack from a standstill.
- Jumping the bar up with the hips: a big hip snap makes the bar float while the body waits for it, so extend only enough to unweight it.
- Reversing the elbows early: curling the bar with the biceps lands it in front of the shoulders and jams the wrists, so keep the elbows high until the bar passes the chest.
- Landing on the toes: the rack tips forward and the knees cave inward, so slide the feet out and set the heels down.
- Catching with a rounded upper back: the bar rolls off the shoulders and loads the wrists, so lift the elbows and chest together.
What Are the Best Clean Pull Under Variations?
- Tall clean: performed from a fully upright stand with no knee bend, the regression for pure elbow speed.
- Hang clean: from the same start with a full second pull, the progression the drill prepares.
- Clean pull under from blocks: the bar starts on blocks at the thigh, shifting emphasis to the first inch of the rack.
- Single Arm Dumbbell Power Clean: one dumbbell racked to one shoulder, the unilateral turnover drill.
- Kettlebell clean: the same pull under with a kettlebell flipping into the rack, for lifters without a platform.
How Do You Progress the Clean Pull Under?
- Add 5 to 10 pounds once every rep lands in a flat-footed rack with the elbows up and no bar loop.
- Keep sets at 3 to 5 reps; more reps teach fatigue, not speed.
- Add a set, up to 5, before adding load again.
- Deepen the receiving position from a quarter squat toward a full squat once the light bar racks cleanly every time.
How Should You Program the Clean Pull Under?
Program the clean pull under first in a weightlifting session, after the warm-up and before cleans or clean and jerks, one or two times a week. Run 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps with 90 to 120 seconds between sets, working on speed rather than load. It pairs with clean pulls or high pulls, which train the drive the pull under leaves out. Reset the power position before every rep.