Sonny Webster coaches the clean in order, and wins it on the turnover. Here's how to build a fast, clean catch.
Most cleans are missed on the turnover, not the pull - the elbows are too slow to whip the bar into the front rack. Sonny Webster, a Rio 2016 Olympian, coaches the clean as an ordered masterclass: setup and pull, the fast elbow turnover into a solid front rack, and a full front-squat receive. This breakdown covers his method in our own words, adds our take (including front-rack mobility as a prerequisite), and turns it into a clean checklist you can film against.
By Markus Evers · September 2026 · a Coachway video breakdown
the short version
Webster's case is that the clean is an ordered sequence - setup, pull, turnover, receive - and it's usually won or lost on the make-or-break turnover: whipping the elbows around fast to catch the bar in a solid front rack, then receiving in a full front squat. The one thing a coach should do about it: stop chasing the pull when the real limiter is a slow turnover or a front rack the client can't reach - drill the turnover directly, treat rack mobility as a prerequisite, and gate load behind clean positions.
Sonny Webster - How To Clean: The Complete Masterclass (Olympic Weightlifting)
Source: Sonny Webster on YouTube - "How To Clean: The Complete Masterclass (Olympic Weightlifting)". Watch on YouTube. We embed the public video and summarise it in our own words; the video, title and channel belong to Sonny Webster, and nothing here implies his endorsement of Coachway.
Who is Sonny Webster, and why coaches watch
Sonny Webster is a British weightlifter who competed for Great Britain at the Rio 2016 Olympics, and since then has become one of the most-followed weightlifting and Olympic-lift technique educators online. His content teaches the snatch and clean & jerk in accessible, ordered detail aimed at CrossFitters and lifters learning the lifts, not just elite competitors. Coaches watch him because the Olympic lifts are technically demanding and hard to self-teach, and he breaks the clean down into a clear sequence a coach can work through. This complete-clean masterclass is a good example of that ordered approach, which is the lens this page is written for.
What Webster actually argues (our summary)
This is our summary of the ideas in the video, in our own words - not a transcript. Watch the original for his exact framing and demonstrations.
- 1
The clean is an ordered sequence. Setup, pull, turnover, receive - each is its own coachable checkpoint, worked in order.
- 2
The pull sets up everything. A close, balanced, patient bar path off the floor gives the lifter something to finish; a bad pull can't be saved.
- 3
The turnover is make-or-break. Fast elbows whip the bar around and up into the front rack; slow elbows mean a crashed, low or missed catch.
- 4
Receive in a solid front rack. Elbows high, torso upright, bar resting on the shoulders - the rack position determines whether the catch is stable.
- 5
Catch in a full squat. Receiving in a real front squat, not a quarter squat, lets the lifter get under heavier bars and stand them up.
Coachway's take
We like the ordered, sequence-first approach, because it stops coaches from randomly cueing whatever they notice and instead gives a logical order to work in. And the emphasis on the turnover is right: it's the least-coached, most-missed part of the clean. Plenty of coaches over-index on the pull because it's the most visible phase, while the actual bottleneck - slow elbows into the rack - goes unaddressed. Coming from a lifter who cleaned world-class weights, the detail on the turnover and receive is worth studying.
Where we'd sharpen it: a huge share of clean problems are mobility, not technique. If a client can't achieve a front-rack position, no amount of "elbows up" fixes it - they physically can't get there. So we'd add a step before the sequence: assess front-rack and squat mobility, treat it as a prerequisite, and use a modification the client can actually hold while the mobility improves. Coaching a position the body can't reach just produces a frustrated lifter and a coach who thinks the client isn't trying.
For online coaching, the clean is a good film-and-drill candidate because the sequence is readable from a couple of angles. The value you add remotely is accurate analysis - naming the one link that's failing - and prescribing the isolated drill (a tall clean for turnover speed, mobility work for the rack) that targets it, then re-filming. Gate load behind the positions; a heavier clean built on a slow turnover is just a bigger version of the same miss.
So our version of his approach is: coach the clean in order, prioritise the fast turnover and a solid front rack, screen and build front-rack mobility as a prerequisite, drill the failing link in isolation, and run it as a film-and-drill loop that gates load behind clean positions.
Read the sequence, drill the failing link
Coaching the clean remotely is a film-and-drill loop. The client sends a video from the side and front, you read the sequence - setup, pull, turnover, receive - and flag the one link failing, then the isolated drill or the front-rack mobility work lives in the workout builder, with load gated behind clean positions. Re-filmed lifts come back through the same loop so the fix is visible. The masterclass is Webster's; the platform keeps the film, the drill and the mobility prerequisite together.
For the rest of the Olympic lifts, the companion breakdowns on Oleksiy Torokhtiy on the split jerk and Greg Everett on weightlifting technique cover the jerk and the pull.
The clean checklist (film against it, drill the weak link)
A short checklist of the clean sequence and the fault to catch at each link, to review a client's clean film against. Screen mobility first, then drill the failing link before loading.
Clean checklist
| Link | Coach for | Fault / drill |
|---|---|---|
| 0. Mobility | Front-rack & squat position achievable | Can't rack -> mobility first, not "elbows up" |
| 1. Pull | Close, balanced, patient bar path | Bar swings out / early yank |
| 2. Turnover | Fast elbows around and up | Slow elbows -> tall/muscle clean drills |
| 3. Front rack | Elbows high, upright, bar on shoulders | Low/straight-arm catch |
| 4. Receive | Full front squat, not a quarter squat | Catching high, can't stand it up |
How to use it: screen front-rack and squat mobility first, then film the clean, read it in order, and drill the one link that's failing (often the turnover). Gate load behind clean positions, and re-film to confirm. If a client chases serious weightlifting numbers and you can't read the sequence confidently, refer to a specialist.
CLEAN CHECKLIST (via Coachway) - screen mobility first, then coach the sequence in order; drill the failing link - 0. MOBILITY -> front-rack & squat position achievable | can't rack -> MOBILITY first, not "elbows up" - 1. PULL -> close, balanced, patient bar path | fault: bar swings out / early yank - 2. TURNOVER -> fast elbows around and up | fault: slow elbows -> tall/muscle clean drills - 3. FRONT RACK-> elbows high, upright, bar on shoulders | fault: low/straight-arm catch - 4. RECEIVE -> full front squat, not a quarter squat | fault: catching high, can't stand it up HOW TO USE: SCREEN front-rack and squat mobility FIRST, then film the clean, read it in ORDER, and drill the one link that is failing (most often the TURNOVER). Gate load behind clean positions; re-film to confirm. A slow turnover is a mobility/skill issue, not a "try harder" issue. If a client chases serious weightlifting numbers and you cannot read the sequence confidently, refer to a specialist.
Coaching the clean - FAQ
What is the most common fault in the clean?
A slow turnover. After the pull, the lifter has to whip the elbows around and up to catch the bar in the front rack fast enough to get under it - and most missed or ugly cleans come from elbows that are too slow, so the bar crashes onto the shoulders or is caught low and forward. Coaches often chase the pull when the real problem is downstream: the lifter pulls fine but can't turn the bar over quickly. Sonny Webster's masterclass treats the turnover as the make-or-break moment, which is where a coach's attention usually pays off most.
Why can some clients not catch the bar in a front rack?
Usually mobility, not effort. A solid front rack needs enough wrist, elbow and shoulder (and often thoracic) mobility to get the elbows high with the bar resting on the shoulders - and a lot of clients physically can't achieve that position, so they catch the bar low, on straight arms, or drop it. Cueing 'elbows up' harder won't fix a mobility restriction. The coaching move is to treat front-rack mobility as a prerequisite: assess it, work it, and use a rack width or a modification the client can actually hold while it improves, rather than loading a position their body can't get into.
How do you fix a slow turnover?
Drill the turnover speed directly, separate from the full lift. Tall cleans, muscle cleans and high-hang variations force the lifter to move the elbows fast because there's little pull to hide behind, so they train the exact quality that's missing. Keep the load light enough that speed is the point, cue aggressive elbows and meeting the bar rather than lowering onto it, and re-test in the full clean. As with any skill, you isolate the weak component, groove it, then re-integrate - chasing a heavier clean while the turnover is slow just reinforces the fault under more weight.
How do you coach the clean with an online client?
Film-and-drill, from useful angles. Have the client film the clean from the side (for pull and bar path) and ideally the front (for the rack and catch), and read it in order: setup, pull, turnover, receive. Identify the one link costing the lift - often the turnover or the front rack - and prescribe the isolated drill or the mobility work that targets it, then re-film. Gate load behind the positions rather than the calendar. It's the same ordered, positional coaching an in-person weightlifting coach does, adapted to clips and precise drill prescription for a remote lifter.
More weightlifting and technique breakdowns
- · Oleksiy Torokhtiy on the split jerk - the overhead half of the clean & jerk.
- · Greg Everett on weightlifting technique - the pull and bar path.
- · The full library: fitness creator coaching breakdowns.
Coach the Olympic lifts well
all guidesOleksiy Torokhtiy on the Split Jerk (Coach Breakdown)
Oleksiy Torokhtiy on the split jerk, broken down for coaches: coach it as a 5-step positional map - vertical dip and drive, punch and re-bend under the bar, a balanced split landing, a locked overhead receive - and gate load behind the positions.
Read the guideGreg Everett on Olympic Weightlifting Technique (Coach Breakdown)
Greg Everett (Catalyst Athletics) on cueing the Olympic pull as leg drive, not an aggressive hip snap, to keep the bar path clean - broken down for coaches teaching the snatch and clean online.
Read the guideStuart McMillan on Sprint Mechanics (Coach Breakdown)
Stuart McMillan (ALTIS) on linear sprint mechanics, broken down for coaches: coach the phases of a sprint and the late-acceleration transition from drive to upright max velocity as a teachable technical skill - not just 'run faster'.
Read the guideFree tools for this: Warm-Up Set Calculator · Protein Calculator · Weekly Training Volume Calculator
Coach the clean as a sequence, on film
The clean is won on the turnover and the rack - so online it's a film-and-drill loop. In Coachway you program the drills and mobility work and review the lift by video, gating load behind clean positions. Start your 14-day free trial and coach the Olympic lifts the way they're actually built.
