Hang Muscle Clean Above Knee

The hang muscle clean above knee is commonly abbreviated as “H. Mu. Cl. Ab. Kn.” or simply “H. Mu. Cl. Sn.”

The hang muscle clean above knee is a partial lift which has the potential to teach the athlete multiple aspects of the classic clean. The hang muscle clean is used to learn how and when to appropriately use the upper body, mainly the arms, during any variation of a clean when performed at full speed. Unlike the muscle clean, the hang muscle clean begins from the “hang” position, where athlete’s barbell is resting in the hip/upper third of the thigh.

To properly execution of the hang muscle clean above knee, the athlete should set up as with the barbell against the hip/upper third of thigh, typically where the athlete would make contact when executing a classic clean. The athlete will then lower the barbell to the bottom of their thighs, above the knee while the maintaining the same torso angle as a clean pull to hip. When the barbell is above the knees, the athlete must aggressively and violently extend their legs then hips to propel the barbell vertically. As the barbell reaches and makes contact with the hip, keeping the barbell as close as they can, the athlete will use their traps and arms respectively, while keeping their elbows out towards the sides, to continue the vertical momentum to their shoulders. The athlete should focus on keeping the barbell close to the body and becoming flat-footed at the same time as the barbell is received by the shoulders.

Note: As the athlete reaches full extension in their legs and hips, the athlete must not re-bend either their knees or hips to receive the barbell.

The muscle clean, although used mainly as a technique primer, can be used in heavier repetitions to strengthen and reinforce the athlete’s arms and turnover.

We recommend performing the hang muscle clean above knee as 3-6 sets of 2-4 repetitions.