Barbell Clean Deadlift

A step-by-step form guide from the Ægir Iron exercise library: how to do the lift, what to watch for, and the muscles it trains.

HOW TO PERFORM

Set up as you would to clean: feet hip width, bar over mid-foot, hook grip just outside the shins, hips low, chest up and the shoulders slightly over the bar.
Push the floor away with the legs, holding the back angle constant while the knees move back out of the way and the bar stays close to the shins.
As the bar passes the knees, keep the shoulders over it and slide it up the thighs while the hips come through.
Stand fully tall with the bar against the thighs, arms straight. Do not jump, shrug or bend the elbows.
Lower the bar along the same path and reset on the floor before the next rep.

The hips start lower and the chest stays over the bar for longer than in a powerlifting deadlift, because the aim is to rehearse the position a clean is pulled from.
It stops at the point where a clean pull would start its explosive extension, so it loads well above a full clean.

Log it in Ægir Iron to track your PRs and estimated 1RM, and to see the sets each muscle gets every week. Free for individual lifters.