When the clean and jerk are performed together, the lifter will change from clean rack to jerk rack by standing up from the clean violently, allowing them a brief moment to unload the bar and rerack. This positioning allows you to take a fuller grip on the bar and facilitates the bar’s drive over your head. The jerk rack differs in that the elbows can be lower (though still ahead of the bar) and kept slightly out towards the sides. The clean rack and jerk rack are the same in that the bar lays across the shoulders of the athlete and the load is supported by the core. The jerk rack prepares the lifter to push the bar overhead.

The front rack position we use in the clean (keep those elbows nice and high!) and the one we use in other overhead pressing movements are different.Ĭonsider that these rack positions have two different purposes: the clean rack prevents the bar from escaping as the athlete recovers from the clean.

If you’ve been lifting for a while now, you’ve probably realized that there’s more than one way to rack. Just like when we perform other overhead presses, we can use a rack or jerk blocks to hold the bar until we’re ready to lift. The jerk starts from a standing front rack position. This is yet another reason why we practice cleans and jerks separately. Moreover, since we’re bringing the bar overhead, accuracy, stability, and control must all come together. The technique for the jerk must really be on point because you’ve already exerted yourself in the clean. The tricky thing about a two-part lift is that you don’t always get a chance at the second part so when the moment comes, you’ll want to be ready. OK so you’ve landed the clean, but can you jerk it?

Hold the bar with your hands at about shoulder width apart.įollowing your clean, you can either leave the bar or you can set up for the jerk.

For the clean, set your feet about hip distance apart distributing your bodyweight evenly across your base.

This sets us up for or jerk or overhead press later.Ī lot can happen between the floor and front rack so let’s look at the points of performance. That’s because instead of taking the bar directly overhead as in the snatch, the clean ends in front rack position the bar supported across the athlete’s front deltoids. In the clean, the athlete will take a narrower grip on the bar.

Like the snatch, the objective of the clean is to guide the bar’s path from the floor to the hips taking advantage of and aggressive hip extension to further accelerate the bar upwards. (And if not, have a look at our guide here!) The good news is if you can snatch you can clean. There’s no sense in going too heavy too soon. Proper execution in both clean and the jerk relies heavily on timing, positioning, control, and force output. Neglecting the natural progression will result in injury or developing bad habits.

Clean and jerk