When most people talk about “cleaning”, they’re probably talking about something to do with soap and water. Yes, that’s important (!), but I want to talk about a different kind of clean – a powerful, whole body type of clean: the power clean. This is a movement we do in our group classes typically with the sandbag. Regardless of the tool used to perform the clean, the movement and purpose is similar.
The power clean is an Olympic movement used by athletes. It involves explosively getting a weight (i.e. sandbag) off the floor and onto your upper body. This is done to generate whole body strength and explosive power. Since we’re all athletes in our own life and can benefit from whole body strength and power – we do the power clean too! Daily life requires the same whole body power – lifting a kid from the floor to your hip, lifting a jug of water from the floor to your shoulder or chest, etc. During the power clean, it’s super important to use proper form. We always want that sandbag to stay close to your body in both directions (up to your chest and back down to the floor) and to make sure you hinge at the bottom. If the bag drifts away from your body or your round your back at any point, you will feel it in your lower back. When done properly, the only thing you should feel is fatigued. Benefits of the power clean movement are many:
- FULL body workout – you use all your major muscles and joints in this movement. Because it requires so much muscle and joint power, you burn serious calories and work your whole body in just one move.
- Improves your balance – not your first thought when doing this movement, but think about it. You are required to lift a heavy sandbag from the floor to your chest and not fall over. That requires stability in every joint from your ankles to your shoulders and then you have to balance that weight on your chest. Yah, balance training.
- Improves grip strength – grip strength decreases with age and makes opening lids/tops difficult. The mere act of hanging onto the bag handles or the kettlebell, strengthens your grip. No more help opening a jar of jelly!
- Improves your posture – this is a no brainer! Again, when balancing that weight on your chest after you catch it, you must stand up straight, brace your core, and pull your shoulders back. If not, you fall over or your back will hurt.
- Builds bone density – research has repeatedly demonstrated that weight bearing activities build bone density. More recently, there’s been a huge amount of support and proof for the benefits of weight training. Using a load beyond your body weight (i.e. sandbags) stresses your bones so that they get stronger!
- Burns serious calories – Again, because this is a whole body movement, you are using a lot of muscles in one movement and your intensity is quite high. This shoots your metabolism up for hours after your workout. If you wear a heart rate monitor during this movement, you will notice that it jumps right up into the 80-90% max heart rate range!
- Generate explosive power – This isn’t something you consciously think about when exercising, but it is something you need! For example, if you’re hiking and you trip over a stump in the train, you need explosive power to quickly get your leg out in front of you so you can catch yourself in a lunge position and not fall. Power = quick response (get your leg out in front). Strength = maximum force (support your body in the lunge position).
- Cartilage health – cartilage is that stuff between your joints. It needs joint movement in order to stay healthy and supple. Exercise that moves your joints helps keep them lubricated and reduces the risk of arthritis.
For all these reasons, we do the power clean in our group classes. It’s a super whole body, functional, multi-joint movement! You are keeping your body young, supple, strong, and powerful!