Strength

Kettlebell One-arm Clean

Use a hip drive to bring the bell close to the body into the rack, then return and park it. Floor-to-rack-to-floor counts as one repetition on that side.

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Get ready

  1. Clear the full swing arc in front and behind. Place the bell a short step in front, feet wider than hips. Push hips back, soften knees, grip the handle and tilt the bell toward you; keep arms long and back in its natural shape.
  2. Grip with one hand. Keep the free hand outside the moving bell path and your chest facing forward.

How to do it

  1. Hike the bell between your thighs, then drive your hips forward. Keep the elbow close and guide the bell upward near your body rather than out in a large swing.
  2. As the bell rises, slip your hand through the handle so it wraps softly around the forearm. Finish with wrist straight, elbow by the ribs and bell resting against the outer forearm; stand tall without leaning back.
  3. Let the bell roll forward off the forearm and guide it into a backswing with a hip hinge. Then guide it forward to the floor starting spot and reset. Do not drop it straight from the rack.

Finish the movement

  1. Park the bell securely before switching hands or resting.

Make it easier

  • Practice the rack with a two-hand assisted lift, then lower with both hands; use a smaller hip-driven arc while learning the clean.

Make it harder

  • Pause in the rack to confirm balance and wrist alignment before a controlled return.

Common mistakes

  • Curling with the arm, swinging far from the body, gripping rigidly so the bell slaps the forearm or bending the wrist backward.

When to stop or adjust

  • End the set if grip slips, control or balance is lost, or pain, numbness or dizziness appears. Set the bell down under control before resting.
  • Modify to the two-hand assisted rack lift if the bell repeatedly strikes your wrist or forearm.