10 Best Power Clean Alternatives for Hip Drive

The Power Clean is done standing with a barbell. Ranked closest by our scoring: the Clean, the Stiff-legged Barbell Deadlift and the Clean Deadlift.

The Power Clean depends on a fast pull and a fast drop under it, and each swap keeps that speed or trades it for a slower one. The closest one is the Clean: same bar, same pull, same catch, but you ride the bar down into a front squat before standing instead of catching it high. For the pull without the catch, the Clean Deadlift pulls off the floor with the same hip and knee drive and stops at standing; the Stiff-legged Barbell Deadlift keeps only the hinge, starting standing with knees still.

Power CleanWatch the Power Clean

Each substitute is scored on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. Read how we rank alternatives

How to Do the Power Clean

The steps for the Power Clean itself, so you can judge how close each substitute below really is.

Hamstrings, with glutes, quadriceps, calves · Barbell · Advanced · Compound

  1. Start with the barbell on the ground in front of you, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Bend down and grip the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Keep your back straight and chest up as you lift the barbell off the ground, extending your hips and knees.
  4. As the barbell reaches your mid-thigh, explosively pull it upwards, shrugging your shoulders and pulling your elbows high and to the sides.
  5. As the barbell reaches its highest point, quickly drop underneath it, rotating your elbows around and catching the barbell on your shoulders in a front squat position.
  6. Stand up with the barbell, fully extending your hips and knees.
  7. Lower the barbell back down to the starting position, keeping control of the weight throughout the movement.
  8. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

The 10 Best Power Clean Alternatives

10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches the Power Clean on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. The higher the score, the less you change. Cards with a "How to perform it" link open to show the steps; every card title links to that exercise's own alternatives page.

Each link re-ranks the list below for the kit it names. Pick one to hide the substitutes you cannot set up.

  1. Clean

    1. Clean

    91% match

    Hamstrings · Advanced · Compound

    It uses the same equipment and still works the hamstrings.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. With a barbell on the floor close to the shins, take an overhand (or hook) grip just outside the legs. Lower your hips with the weight focused on the heels, back straight, head facing forward, chest up, with your shoulders just in front of the bar. This will be your starting position.
    2. Begin the first pull by driving through the heels, extending your knees. Your back angle should stay the same, and your arms should remain straight. Move the weight with control as you continue to above the knees.
    3. Next comes the second pull, the main source of acceleration for the clean. As the bar approaches the mid-thigh position, begin extending through the hips. In a jumping motion, accelerate by extending the hips, knees, and ankles, using speed to move the bar upward. There should be no need to actively pull through the arms to accelerate the weight; at the end of the second pull, the body should be fully extended, leaning slightly back, with the arms still extended.
    4. As full extension is achieved, transition into the third pull by aggressively shrugging and flexing the arms with the elbows up and out. At peak extension, aggressively pull yourself down, rotating your elbows under the bar as you do so. Receive the bar in a front squat position, the depth of which is dependent upon the height of the bar at the end of the third pull. The bar should be racked onto the protracted shoulders, lightly touching the throat with the hands relaxed. Continue to descend to the bottom squat position, which will help in the recovery.
    5. Immediately recover by driving through the heels, keeping the torso upright and elbows up. Continue until you have risen to a standing position.

    Sets and reps: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Power Clean
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Power Clean
  2. Stiff-legged Barbell Deadlift

    2. Stiff-legged Barbell Deadlift

    89% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    Pick this when you want an easier version that still works the hamstrings.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. Grasp a bar using an overhand grip (palms facing down). You may need some wrist wraps if using a significant amount of weight.
    2. Stand with your torso straight and your legs spaced using a shoulder width or narrower stance. The knees should be slightly bent. This is your starting position.
    3. Keeping the knees stationary, lower the barbell to over the top of your feet by bending at the hips while keeping your back straight. Keep moving forward as if you were going to pick something from the floor until you feel a stretch on the hamstrings. Inhale as you perform this movement.
    4. Start bringing your torso up straight again by extending your hips until you are back at the starting position. Exhale as you perform this movement.
    5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Power Clean
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Power Clean
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Power Clean
  4. Kettlebell Dead Clean

    4. Kettlebell Dead Clean

    87% match

    Hamstrings · Advanced · Compound

    Pick this when you want an easier version that works the hamstrings one side at a time.

    • Kettlebell
    How to perform it
    1. Place kettlebell between your feet. To get in the starting position, push your butt back and look straight ahead.
    2. Clean the kettlebell to your shoulder. Clean the kettlebell to your shoulders by extending through the legs and hips as you raise the kettlebell towards your shoulder. The wrist should rotate as you do so.
    3. Lower the kettlebell, keeping the hamstrings loaded by keeping your back straight and your butt out.

    Sets and reps: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps on each side.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Power Clean
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Power Clean
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Power Clean

Why You Might Need a Power Clean Alternative

The Power Clean asks you to pull a barbell off the floor, extend your hips and knees hard, then drop under the bar and catch it on your shoulders, and that catch is the step most lifters have never practiced. A busy platform, no bumper plates, or simply wanting to skip the catch today are common reasons to swap it out. Every alternative here keeps a barbell or a kettlebell and the same drive through the hips, but changes how much speed and skill the finish demands. The Clean keeps the explosive pull and the catch, and takes it one step further by squatting all the way down under the bar before standing. The Stiff-legged Barbell Deadlift and the Sumo Deadlift drop the catch and the speed, so you load the same hamstrings and glutes through a slower pull instead.

How to Choose the Right Power Clean Substitute

If you already have the technique, the Clean is the nearest swap: same barbell, pull and catch, except you keep descending into a full front squat and stand up out of the bottom instead of catching the bar high and standing straight up. If you want the hip drive without learning a catch, the Stiff-legged Barbell Deadlift loads the same hamstrings and glutes through a slower, controlled pull. If you want to work one arm at a time, the Kettlebell Dead Clean pulls a single kettlebell to your shoulder, one side and then the other. If you are already pulling heavy and want more grip and back demand, the Sumo Deadlift With Chains hangs weight that grows heavier as you stand, and the Sumo Deadlift With Bands sets up the same wide stance with bands looped over the bar instead.

Power Clean FAQ

Which alternative loads the top of the pull hardest?

The Sumo Deadlift With Chains and the Sumo Deadlift With Bands both add resistance that grows heavier as you stand: the chains pile more of their own weight onto the bar and the bands stretch tighter, so the last inches near lockout get harder while the pull off the floor stays the same as a regular deadlift.

Which barbell lift keeps the Power Clean's pull and catch?

The Clean. It uses the same barbell, pull and hip drive as the Power Clean, and still finishes with a catch on your shoulders. The change is depth: the Clean keeps riding the bar down into a full front squat and stands up out of the bottom, where the Power Clean catches it higher. Both pull with an overhand grip, and the Clean is usually taken with a hook grip instead.

How do I train the Power Clean's pull without the catch?

Take the catch out and you are left with a deadlift. The Clean Deadlift and the Sumo Deadlift pull the bar off the floor with the same hip and knee extension and simply stop at standing, with no drop under the bar. The Stiff-legged Barbell Deadlift starts standing instead, lowers the bar toward your feet with the knees held still and drives the hips back through, so it keeps the hinge without the floor pull.

Can I load the Power Clean on one arm at a time?

Yes, with the Kettlebell Dead Clean. It keeps the same pull and hip drive as the Power Clean but moves it to a single kettlebell, pulled to your shoulder one side at a time. Both legs still drive every rep, so the hamstring and glute work is the same; what changes is that the load hangs from one hand, so each side gets its own set.

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