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Power Β· Lower body

Kettlebell clean & jerk

Difficulty Overhead presses

How to perform it

Clean the kettlebell to the shoulder with one arm. From a slight dip, drive it upward by explosively straightening the legs, dip lightly under it again with the arm locked out, and finally stand up straight. Targets the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings and calves assisting; the shoulder, triceps and torso control the load overhead. Unlike the clean & press it uses leg drive and a dip under the bell. One rep is the full cycle of clean, jerk and return to the bottom on the same side.

Video demo

Equipment

  • KettlebellFree weight

Muscles worked

Muscles and artwork credits
  • Biceps femoris
  • Erector spinae
  • External obliques
  • Forearm flexors
  • Front delts
  • Gastrocnemius
  • Gluteus maximus
  • Rectus femoris
  • Semimembranosus
  • Semitendinosus
  • Serratus anterior
  • Soleus
  • Transverse abdominis (not on the surface map)
  • Triceps – lateral and medial heads
  • Triceps – long head
  • Upper traps
  • Vastus intermedius (not on the surface map)
  • Vastus lateralis
  • Vastus medialis

Artwork: Ryan Graves, CC BY 4.0, modified

Related exercises

Find another variation and compare difficulty.

Family in the library

Kettlebell cleans and clean-and-press

Exercise family Β· pattern: Overhead presses

1 family Β· 3 variationsDifficulty

Difficulty describes how demanding the execution is. It is not a recommended training order.