Brian explains the benefit of cheat cleans: “Once learned, cheat cleans can be a valuable addition to your training program. 1. Picking up a heavy load teaches tension. I’ve found that students have a harder time learning how to create tension when they are not given feedback. When students feel a heavy weight in their hands, their brains “figure out” how to send those tension messages to the muscles. Hardstyle planks, hip bridges, and even pushup variations, in some cases, don’t provide as much feedback as holding something heavy. 2. Similar to deadlifts, carries, and heavy swings—heavy cheat cleans, load the frame and build total squeeze strength. Why is this important? Powerlifters, who are among the strongest athletes, are masters of creating tension. They engage their lats in a back squat and know to squeeze their triceps in a deadlift. Strength athletes should know how to create total body tension. Heavy cheat cleans teach students to apply tension against load and not allow leakage. 3. The cheat clean requires low skill but yields high rewards. Essentially, the cheat clean is a drill that’s easy to learn but leads to a regular clean. This allows a student to benefit from loading the rack position before they are completely proficient in cleans. For students that already have mastered the clean, using the cheat clean allows strength training with heavy kettlebells. 4. Heavy cheat cleans will teach clean technique by reinforcing a strong rack position, setting up for a press or front squat. Because the cheat clean is a drill, it gives the student the necessary practice to improve the clean. And because it’s a bit heavier, it helps super load the prep systems and trains the skill of tension that translates into stronger presses and front squats.” Read the rest of the article here. | 
