Every Wednesday, STACK features an Exercise of the Week to help you improve your overall sports performance—including strength, speed, size and flexibility. This week we highlight the DB Clean and Press, a full-body exercise that develops explosive strength in the lower and upper body.
Who’s Doing It
Andre Johnson
Muscular Benefits
Increases lower-body explosive power
Improves upper-body and shoulder strength
Develops core strength and shoulder stabilizer muscles
Sports Performance Benefits
The Clean invokes a triple extension of the hips, knees and ankles to improve your ability to powerfully drive off the ground
Forces you to control weight with both arms to develop equal strength on both sides of the body
Adding the Shoulder Press increases the anaerobic challenge of the exercise while simultaneously developing shoulder muscle strength
DB Clean and Press Description
Assume athletic stance holding dumbbells just above knees with back flat, chest out and shoulders directly over dumbbells
Explosively extend hips, knees and ankles while simultaneously shrugging with straight arms
Pull dumbbells up, keeping them close to the body
Drop under dumbbells and catch them at shoulders in a quarter squat; drive up to athletic stance
Press dumbbells overhead, keeping chest up and shoulders back
Lower dumbbells with control to shoulders; lower dumbbells to thighs to return to starting position
Repeat for specified reps
Sets/Reps: 3x8
Coaching Points
Start with dumbbells on sides of legs just below knees
Jump straight up and fully extend body during Shrug
Keep dumbbells close to body during Clean
Catch dumbbells at shoulders and perform quarter squat to initiate Press movement
