Hang Power Clean
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Start with the bar hanging at hip/thigh level — knees slightly bent, hips back. This is the 'hang' position: flat back, bar touching thighs, weight on mid-foot. Initiate by driving the hips FORWARD explosively — the hip snap drives the bar upward. As the bar rises, shrug the traps aggressively, then pull the elbows HIGH and outside. Drop under the bar quickly — rotating elbows forward to catch in the front rack. Catch with knees slightly bent. Stand tall. Lower the bar to hang. Repeat.
Why It Works
The hang power clean is the most complete athletic power exercise — it trains triple extension (ankle, knee, hip) at maximum velocity plus the rapid descent under the bar (catching phase), which builds the reactive strength pattern of absorbing and redirecting force on the ice. Many NHL teams use the power clean as their primary power development tool precisely because it trains the entire kinetic chain simultaneously.
Hockey Transfer
Trains explosive triple extension (ankle/knee/hip) under load — the exact pattern of a skating stride. Builds rate of force development. Requires coaching — if you have not been taught the catch position, substitute trap-bar jump or hang clean PULL (no-catch variant). Triphasic Phase 2 (max power). The bridge between heavy strength and plyometrics. Best of both worlds.
Coaching Cues
- "Bar at hip"
- "Hinge to mid-thigh"
- "Explode hips through"
- "Shrug hard"
- "Catch in quarter squat. Speed > weight. If the catch is shaky"
- "Stop — drop to a clean pull (no catch) until coached."
Common Mistakes
Pulling with the arms too early — the arms just guide the bar. Power comes from the hip drive. Bar drifting away from the body — keep it close throughout the pull. Catching with a stiff lower body — the catch requires a quarter squat to absorb. Ego loading — technique falls apart above a certain weight. Keep it clean.
Progression / Regression
Full power clean from the floor — adds a more challenging starting position.
Kettlebell swing — same hip drive mechanics without the catch complexity.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Strength/neural
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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