Power Clean and Jerk

Body region

• Legs
• Glutes
• Back
• Shoulders
• Arms

Muscles

Main

• Deltoid
• Gluteus Maximus
• Rectus Femoris
• Vastus Lateralis
• Vastus Medialis
• Triceps

Helps

• Serratus Anterior
• Trapezius
• Biceps Femoris
• Semitendinosus
• Semimembranosus
• Soleus

Holds

• Erector Spinae
• Rectus Abdominis
• Transversus Abdominis
• Flexor Digitorum Superficialis

Equipment

• Barbell

Technique

1. Stand with the bar over mid-foot and grip it just outside the knees, back flat, chest up.
2. Push the floor away, pull the bar up past the knees, jump and shrug, then catch it on the shoulders in a quarter squat.
3. Stand up fully with the bar in the rack position and reset your breath.
4. Dip a few inches with the torso upright, drive up hard and drop slightly under the bar, catching it overhead with locked arms in a quarter squat.
5. Stand up with the feet in line, then lower the bar to the shoulders and to the floor under control.

Cues

• Treat the clean and the jerk as two separate lifts joined together.
• Take a full breath and brace before the dip.
• Practise each part alone before linking them.
• Use bumper plates on a platform so you can drop the bar safely if a lift fails.

Common mistakes

• Rushing the jerk before the bar is settled on the shoulders.
• Pressing the bar out instead of dipping under it.
• Dropping the bar from overhead onto the body.
• Rounding the back off the floor in the clean.

Alternatives

• Clean and Jerk
• Barbell Jerk
• Power Clean