You may have seen the dumbbell clean in CrossFit and functional fitness-style workouts . It’s an excellent exercise for building muscle and strength , but you may need help with how to do it. The dumbbell clean is a full-body workout that engages your upper and lower body muscles. This guide will explain how to perform dumbbell cleans in a few steps and why you should consider adding them to your workout routine!

This movement engages your total body and targets all the muscles in your lower body— glutes , quads , hamstrings , and calves . And it targets your triceps , biceps , deltoids, spinal erectors, traps , and lower back in your upper body .  Folding Squat Rack

To do the dumbbell clean:

To get the most out of your dumbbell clean, ensure you’re using a full range of motion and maintaining good form.

The dumbbell clean is one of the most effective and efficient exercises for adding strength and power to your lifts. It improves your explosive power, which is useful when throwing things or running fast. The dumbbell clean also helps improve your grip strength , which can be handy when performing other exercises such as pull-ups . It has many benefits. 

The dumbbell clean (an Olympic lift variation) effectively increases your strength and power ( 1 ). The biomechanics of the movement requires explosive hip, thigh, and calve extensions, which are critical for improving your power output. 

This exercise works many muscle groups, from your head to your toes. It engages your lower body and upper body for a full-body workout. 

Since this exercise targets your upper and lower body, you’ll burn more calories , making it easier to shed body fat. 

In addition to these benefits, this exercise helps with flexibility . You are stretching out your muscles as you lift the weight overhead during each repetition of the dumbbell clean. This can help prevent injuries from occurring due to tightness in those areas of your body.

A significant portion of this lift is your ability to grip and hold dumbbells for your prescribed reps. This intensely targets the muscles in your forearms . Of course, the heavier the weight and the more reps you do, the more your forearm muscles are fired. 

The great thing about the clean is that you can turn it into either a strength/power workout or more of an endurance workout. You’ll improve your conditioning using lighter weights and performing more reps. 

Have you ever wondered why some sports players could move faster than others? One reason may be that they have more coordination skills than their peers. If you want to get better at playing sports, consider adding some dumbbell cleans into your workout routine. They’ll help improve these skills by increasing coordination between different muscle groups throughout your body.

If you’re a beginner or want to improve your performance on the dumbbell clean, there are a few movements that will help you prepare for this exercise and offer different benefits. 

This exercise isn’t recommended for beginners. However, it’s an alternative to using both arms. Only using one arm will help you focus on one side of your body. In addition, it will activate stabilizers and your abs . 

The kettlebell swing is a full-body movement that will prepare you for the glute and hip activation/extension the dumbbell clean requires. 

In addition to the kettlebell swing, the medicine ball slam is a total body movement that closely mimics the upward exploding of your lower body and hips involved in the dumbbell clean. And it’s an effective exercise for improving your power ( 2 ). 

Besides the explosive extension, squatting is a significant portion of the clean. More specifically, squatting while holding two dumbbells up with your arms parallel to the ground when you come out of the hip extension of the clean. The dumbbell front squat will target the muscles in your lower body, focus on your quads, and get you used to squat while holding weights above your shoulders. 

The dumbbell Romanian deadlift will help prepare you for the downward portion of the clean. It will strengthen the muscles in your posterior chain—back, glutes, and hamstrings—and get you used to proper form as you hinge your hips and squat down during the clean. 

Here are some common questions and concerns regarding the dumbbell clean. 

This movement is an excellent exercise for performing a total body workout to burn more calories and improve your explosive strength. 

Dumbbell cleans are generally not recommended for beginners due to the movement technique. However, the exercise is safe if you’re an advanced lifter and use the proper form. 

This exercise engages multiple muscles throughout your body, including muscles in your upper body—arms, shoulders, and back —and muscles in your lower body—quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. 

Besides the dumbbell clean, there are other beneficial movements to improve your strength and power. Check out more of our exercise guides to improve your fitness below:

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