Have you ever wondered how the clean got its name? Apparently in olden times weightlifting contests included a lift called the “Continental” so named by Englishmen who noted with disdain that it was practiced mostly by Germans. The Continental was performed by lifting the bar from the ground to your lap and then to your chest. English lifters disdained this method in favor of the “cleaner” lift which raises the bar straight to the chest. Thus from the murky waters of Euro culture and weightlifting hygiene was the modern clean born.