Olympic Lifts - The Jerk
The Olympic Lifts are recommended exercises for inclusion in power
and speed training programs. The objective of these exercises is to develop the
large muscles of the body in an explosive action that requires the use of many
joints and muscle groups in a coordinated movement. The Olympic Lifts comprise
of the Clean & Jerk and the Snatch. The Power Snatch and Power Clean are
auxiliary lifts that aid in the training of the Clean & Jerk and the
Snatch.
The Jerk execution checklist
- Bar loaded evenly, collars in place and secure
- Bar positioned on a stand at shoulder height
- Feet flat on the floor and approximately shoulder width
apart
- Grasp the bar with the palms facing upward
- Hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart
- Lift the bar from the stand and rest the bar on your
shoulders
- Elbows pointed slightly down and out
- Back straight
- Head facing forward
- Keep your chest high (as in Fig 1)
- Athlete inhales and holds breath
- Abdominal muscles pulled in
- Bend the legs slightly with a quick dipping action (10 to
15% of athlete's height)
- Jump explosively to drive the bar vertically as high as
possible
- At the same time straighten the arms to thrust the weight
overhead
- Drop directly beneath the bar catching it straight over
the shoulders
- The legs can be kept shoulder width or split forward (as
in Fig 2)
- Return to the erect position by moving the feet back to
the start position
- Lower the bar carefully to the shoulders
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Fig 1: Start
Position
Fig 2: End Position |
Page Reference
The reference for this page is:
- MACKENZIE, B. (2001) Olympic Lifts - The Jerk [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/jerk.htm [Accessed
Associated Pages
The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page:
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