What Is The Difference Between Clean And Jerk And Clean And Press?

Some people find it difficult to differentiate between the clean and jerk and the clean and press workouts. These workouts are similar but they are different. The two workouts are good at developing upper and lower body muscles. They are also good at strengthening your entire body. In this post is going to find out, what are the benefits of clean and press workout with dumbbell and kettlebell.

But the technique is different. In this article, you will know more about the clean and jerk form and how it differs from the clean and press form. You will also know about the clean and press alternative exercises such as log clean and press, axle clean and press, and more. You will also read about the various clean and press exercises.

Power Clean And Press.

The power and clean press is an intense workout that is good for improving stamina, building strength, and muscular endurance. The exercise targets the quads muscles. In addition to that, other muscles that get exercises include triceps, biceps, neck, shoulders, glutes, hamstrings, lats, and more.  In other words, the workout exercises the entire body.

To do the power clean and press, you may use the barbell. However, there are many variations that you can do without a barbell. To do the traditional power clean and press workout follow the steps below;

1. Start by ducking down over a barbell to grab it.
2. Use your hips to drive the barbell up. The barbell must rest on your shoulders in front of you with the elbows bent in front of you.
3. Bend your knees and push the barbell up over your head until your arms are straight.
4. Bring the barbell back to the chest and then lower it to the ground to complete the rep.

With Dumbbell.

The dumbbell clean and press workout is ideal for strengthening your body, power, and making your shoulders stable. Additionally, this exercise targets shoulders, triceps, quads, hamstring, glutes, lower back, abs, and many other muscles.  In addition to that, the workout is good for shaking off some kilos.

Furthermore, this workout can be used as an introduction to clean and press workout. It is much easier to start using the dumbbell to learn the this exercise. You can master the clean and press form by using the dumbbell before using the barbell which is quite challenging. To do the exercise in the right form, you can follow the steps below

1. Stand on your feet at shoulder-width apart at the same time holding dumbbells.
2. Lower the dumbbells to the ground by bending your knees.
3. Then stand up to push the dumbbells up. When the dumbbells reach your shoulders, squat a bit to push up the dumbbell over the head.
4. Lower the dumbbells to the starting position

Clean And Jerk.

The clean and jerk is a weightlifting movement. To do the exercise you use a barbell and you can add your desired weights. To do the exercise you have to raise the barbell to the shoulder and then push it up overhead through a lunge. Then finally, your legs and arms must be extended with the barbell overhead for a second or two. After that, you can lower the barbell.

The clean and jerk workout is good for improving anaerobic endurance, building core and strength, boosting balance, and more. Furthermore, to do the clean and jerk, you must be strong. The workout is good for strengthening the hip and leg muscles. More so, as you do the exercise you engage the upper back and core. Other muscles that get worked by the clean and jerk include arms and shoulders.

Clean And Press Vs Clean And Jerk.

The two workouts have been outlined above. They have similarities and differences. The two moves involve using weights. As such, it might be difficult to differentiate the two workouts.

However, the two exercises differ in techniques. They all involve lifting the weight up overhead. But there is a difference when it comes to pushing the barbell up overhead. For instance, the clean and press move is largely driven by the upper body. Then the clean and jerk technique involves the use of legs to drive the barbell up.

The fact that the techniques are different, this means that the two exercises work the muscles differently. They might work similar muscles but the focus is different. When you are lifting weights, you engage various muscles. These muscles get exercised in various ways.

As such, the clean and press workout focuses more upper body muscles, because you use those muscles to drive the barbell up over your head. As for the clean and jerk, it targets the lower body muscles such as legs and hips. Because you use the legs and hips to lift the weights.

Note that as much as the two exercises focus on certain muscles, it doesn’t rely entirely on those muscles. For instance, the clean and jerk use the legs mostly but upper body muscles also get engaged to support the legs in lifting the weights up.

With Kettlebell.

The kettlebell clean and press is a workout that trains a lot of muscles. It hits the upper body and lower body muscles, thereby strengthening your body. To be specific, some of the muscles that get exercises include shoulders, triceps, chest, quads, hamstrings, glutes lats, hips, and more. In addition, it can help you to have better coordination and stability. To do the exercise you can follow the steps below;

1. Place a kettlebell in front of you and stand on your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Then bend your knees to reach the kettlebell
3. Grab the kettlebell with one hand and swing it in between your legs. Swing the kettlebell back and bring it up to your shoulders
4. Then push the kettlebell up over your head
5. After that, lower the kettlebell to the shoulder position than bring it down to swing it in between the legs and drive it up again
6. Repeat the moves

Five Types of Clean And Press Workouts

There are kind of variations that you can do depending on the equipment and your ability. You can use various equipment to do the workout. In addition, the clean and press workout can be mixed up with other moves such as lunges, squats, and many others. In the above text, there are three clean and press variations that have been discussed. Below are some of the variations that you can do.

1. With Barbell
2. With Dumbbell
3. With Kettlebell
4. With Slamball
5. Hip flexor stretches with kettlebell

Clean And Press Alternative.

If you are not comfortable to do this workouts, there are many workouts that you can do. Below are some of the alternatives that you can give a try.

Axle Workouts.

The axle and clean and press workout is similar to the barbell clean and press. The difference is that the axle bar is thicker than the barbell. Therefore, the technique differs between the two workouts. The way you grab the barbell differs from the way you would grab the axle. To the axle clean and press follow the steps below;

1. Put down the axle bar in front of you
2. Stand next to the axle bar with feet at shoulder-width apart.
3. The axle is thicker than the barbell therefore as you prepare to grab it consider that. You should prepare your arms and hands to do an alternate grip. An alternate grip is whereby the other hand does and over grip then the other hand does an under the grip.
4. Bend your knees to grab the axle bar
5. Pull the axle bar up and as you clear the hips, release the hand that is doing under the grip to do an over grip. All the hands must be doing the over grip as you pull the axle bar up above the abdominals
6. Press the bar up over your head

Ball Workouts.

Using a medicine ball is good for beginners. It makes it easy to master the clean and press form. To do the exercise follow the steps below;

1. Put the medicine ball on the ground in between your feet.
2. Stand on feet at the hip-width apart.
3. Do a quarter squat and reach the ball with your hands.
4. Keep your back flat and lift the ball up. Push the ball up over your head

Log Workouts.

This exercise can be done by any lifters regardless of age and ability. To do the exercise follow the steps below;

1. Make sure that the handles of a log are pointing upwards
2. Stand in front of the log with feet apart and wider than shoulder-width distance
3. Bend your knees and his to grab the log
4. Lift the log up to the laps
5. Breathe before lifting the log further up to the chest
6. End by pushing your hips forward with the log on your chest and your facing looking up to the ceiling.

Final Words

Doing this workout requires a lot of strength and good form. There are various ways of doing it. It is also important to know the difference between a press and a jerk. A clean and press engage upper body muscles more than the clean and jerk.

Then the clean and jerk workout uses the lower body muscles such as the hip and legs. However, both workouts work similar muscles but in a different way.

The above text discussed the press and clean alternatives and the variations that you can do. Some of the variations that you may consider include the dumbbell press and clean, kettlebell press and clean, and many others discussed above. Then the press and clean alternatives include log clean press, ball clean and press, and more. What matters is doing the workout properly.

Which press and clean variation works wonders for your muscles? Share your experiences.