Kettlebell Clean Variations

Using a different implement to practice cleans opens the door to other movements. With the kettlebell, this means the dead clean, the kettlebell clean and the two-armed clean.

The positions, Jeff Martone says during this Kettlebell Trainer Course, are the same as they would be with the barbell, and full extension is key to both the barbell and kettlebell lifts.

To fix errors, multiple drills can be used, including standing inches from the wall and pinching objects in the armpit to ensure the elbow stays in contact with the body. But the best-named drill might be the so-called six-shooter drill.

“It just re-emphasizes the fact that, hey, you gotta keep this thing tight,” Martone says, referring to the elbow staying in contact with the body during the lift. “The reason it’s called a ‘six-shooter drill’: kinda like cowboy action, shooting like you got a single-action revolver, right? As you’re drawin’ and shootin’, you’re shootin’ from the hip.”

10min 54sec

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Additional reading: Kettlebell Clean by Jeff Martone, published March 1, 2007.