Double Kettlebell Clean

Secondary muscles
Traps, Forearms
Body part
Shoulders
Position
Standing
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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Cleaning both kettlebells at once roughly doubles the load of a single-bell clean and demands a stronger, more symmetrical hip snap, since there is no free hand for balance. Its real value is feeding other double-bell work: every set of front squats, presses, or jerks begins from the rack position this lift builds.

How to do the Double Kettlebell Clean

  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell in front of your thighs with both hands, palms facing towards you.
  2. Bend your knees slightly and hinge at the hips, lowering the kettlebell towards the ground.
  3. Explosively extend your hips and knees, using the momentum to pull the kettlebell up towards your shoulders.
  4. As the kettlebell reaches shoulder height, rotate your wrists and catch the kettlebell in the rack position, with your elbows tucked in and the kettlebell resting on the back of your forearm.
  5. Lower the kettlebell back down to the starting position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Keep the bar close, extend the hips fully and let the legs, not the arms, generate the speed.

Muscles worked

Primary

Delts · Shoulders

The delts hold the bar in the front rack and press it overhead on clean and press variations.

Secondary

  • Traps — The traps shrug hard at the top of the second pull and are the last thing to move before the bar travels up.
  • Forearms — Hook grip and kettlebell cleans put a lot of stress on the grip and the wrist, so build up gradually.

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms early — the arms are just hooks until the hips have fully extended; if the elbows bend before the bar reaches the thighs, you have lost the power.
  • Catching with a soft rack — on a clean the elbows should come through fast and the bar should sit on the shoulders, not in the hands; if the wrists take the weight, work on elbow speed.
  • Rushing the first pull — the bar should leave the floor at a controlled speed with the back set, and the speed comes in the second pull from the hips.
  • Looping the bar — the bar should travel straight up and stay close; if it swings out and back you are muscling it with the arms.

Where it fits in a workout

Olympic lifts go first in a session, before squats or deadlifts, while you are fresh and explosive. Pair a clean with a front squat to make a complex.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Alternatives

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.