World Champion Weightlifter Tian Tao Teaches His Secret to Power Cleaning Massive Weights

“You can’t all be like me,” says 2019 World Champion and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Tian Tao. That’s more than bravado, too; the Chinese weightlifter is renowned for his skill and strength in competition. Tao currently holds the Men’s 89-kilogram clean & jerk world record — a ludicrous 222 kilograms, or 489.4 pounds.

But in an Aug. 5 YouTube video, Tao explained his process for mastering the power clean and broke down his favorite warm-up procedure as well. While world-record weights might be out of reach, you can certainly apply Tao’s technique tips and hit a new personal record in the power clean yourself.

[Related: World Champion Weightlifter Kate Vibert Used Blood Flow Restriction to Set a Squat Record Post-Surgery]

Tian Tao’s Power Clean Warm-Up

Tao prefaced his power clean tutorial by emphasizing the importance of a good warm-up. He notes that, despite the power clean not containing a deep squat, you should still prioritize mobilizing both your lower and upper body. In particular, your elbow, ankle, and shoulder joints.

Tao starts his warm-up for cleans by performing some type of light cardio and a few dynamic stretches to open up his shoulders. Then, he moves on to some joint-specific work:

Ankle Mobility: Place your toes up against a wall or squat rack and drive your knee forward.
Elbow Mobility: Stand sideways against a wall and drive your arm up the wall with your elbow bent.
Shoulder Mobility: Face a chest-height rack or bench, place your palms on it, and hinge over.

Clean Like Tian

In keeping with the Chinese approach to proper weightlifting technique, Tao emphasizes that a proper power clean starts before the bar ever leaves the ground. There’s a checklist to the start position, and you need to hit every beat if you want to pull on a big weight:

Squat down with your knees in front of the bar and your shoulders on top of it.
Tighten your lower back.
Relax your arms.

Tao stresses the importance of maximizing your leverage in the power clean.

“Find a posture that you can fully execute your power [with],” he says, explaining that everyone’s body type is their own and that your exact posture should be equally unique. Still, the general theme for actually performing the power clean is the same:

Push with your legs to bring the barbell off the floor.
Keep your arms relaxed as the barbell passes your knee and moves toward your hips.
Maintain the angle of your torso and hips as you begin to extend your legs.

That last bit is the key: Tao demonstrates how your torso angle can make (or break) the power clean altogether. If you lean back too much, you’re liable to thrust your hips forward and send the bar flying with it. However, if you tip over too far as you lift, you may compromise your ability to elevate the bar vertically.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tian Tao 田涛 (@tiantao89kg1)

[Related: The Best Pre-Workout Powders You Can Buy in 2023]

As you extend, Tao believes in pushing the hips upward, not forward, and letting the bar fly naturally rather than forcing it up with the arms.

“You are simply letting the bar flow with inertia,” he says. Then, all you have to do is catch it:

Shrug your shoulders after your legs are fully extended.
Pull your elbows up to guide the bar.
Turn your arms over and catch the bar in the front rack position.

The “Secret”

Tao takes a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to teaching the power clean. The truth, though, is that his legendary performance in the clean comes from both years of dedicated practice and innate talent for weightlifting.

That said, he stresses two main technical elements that anyone can apply — maximizing your leverages by finding a starting position that works for your body, and not leaning back too much (or too little) after the bar passes the knees. Put these principles into practice and you’ll be power cleaning a new PR in no time.

Tian Tao’s Power Clean Warm-Up

Clean Like Tian

The “Secret”

More Weightlifting Content