Jerk | Juggernaut Training Systems

Best Exercises to Improve Your Jerk

Chad Wesley Smith — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 14:43:24 +0000

Max Aita shares his favorite movements to address different problems and improve the Jerk.

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4 Tips To Improve the Jerk

Chad Wesley Smith — Tue, 04 May 2021 20:47:58 +0000

Coach Max Aita and Team Juggernaut bring your 4 Tips To Improve Your Jerk. Use these simple but effective tips to improve the most missed lift in Weightlifting.

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Warming Up for the Jerk

Chad Wesley Smith — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 18:01:07 +0000

We break down some simple drills to help you warmup for the Jerk and improve your technique.

An effective Jerk warmup should increase core temperature, increase blood flow to the necessary muscle groups and reinforce the motor patterns of the Jerk. Drills that help develop coordination and timing should be incorporated into the warmup as well. Here is a sample Jerk warmup:

Wall Slides

–Feet Start 6-8” away from wall

-Elbows and wrists touching wall forearms vertical

-Keep moderate pressure against wall, sliding arms up and down

-Keep scapulas depressed, traps relaxed (no shrugging)

-8-10 reps

Elbows-In Goblet Squat Press

–Feet shoulder width apart

-Knees and toes tracking together

-Hold a plate or KB 6-12” in front of you

-With upper back neutral pull elbows together press up overhead to limit of ROM

-Use tempo, pausing, stretching to gain more ROM

-6-8 reps

Front Rack Stretch

–Use full grip if possible, wedge stick under tricep

-Keep wrist rigid and neutral

-Use opposite hand to apply pressure to tricep

-Keep torso neutral, no hyperextension

-Use tempo, pausing, holds to gain more ROM

-Incorporate between sets of Front Squats, Cleans, Jerks

-8-10 reps, 20-30 second stretches

Press from Split

-From Split position bar in front rack

-Bring elbows down and out slightly

-Brace trunk and maintain neutral spine position

-With a full grip on bar press overhead

-Lockout with bar stacked on top of shoulder, shoulder above hip, hips in neutral position

-5-8 reps

Stepping Jerk Balance

-Start from front rack with full grip

-Brace torso and maintain neutral spine

-Back foot steps back onto the toe

-Front foot stomps out and down arms lockout TOGETHER

-Hips remain “high” in split, no lunging

-Recover front foot, then back foot

-4-6 reps

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How To Have Your Best Weightlifting Meet

Chad Wesley Smith — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 22:38:24 +0000

Team Juggernaut is the best Weightlifting team in the Country. Max Aita is here to help you have your best meet possible with tutorials on how to handle Tapering, Weight Cuts, Meet Day Nutrition, Warmups and Attempt Selection.

Designing an effective taper is a balancing act between decaying fatigue and maintaining fitness to ensure that you can put forth your best performance on the platform, where it counts. Max Aita discusses the considerations he makes when tapering Team Juggernaut athletes.

Effective weight cutting can make or break your meet performance. Max discusses how Team Juggernaut approaches their weight cutting and meet day nutrition protocols.

You’ve trained hard, you cut weight and now you’re in the backroom ready to get on the empty bar. Max Aita gives you his strategies to warm up and make sure you’re timing properly relative to when you’ll take your opener.

Picking the right attempts can be the difference between winning a meet and losing, Max Aita weighs in with Team Juggernaut’s attempt selection strategy.

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Improving the Jerk

Chad Wesley Smith — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 20:22:49 +0000

The Jerk is the toughest lift in Weightlifting. Here is everything you need to know about improving your performance in it.

Max Aita goes step by step through the most important aspects of success in our Jerk Technique Pillars series.

Improve your Jerk technique and your communication with your athletes/training partners with these cues from Max Aita.

Are you pushing your jerks out if front of you and having to chase them to the front of the platform? This will help.

Alyssa Ritchey made a HUGE 105kg/231# Clean and Jerk to win the 49kg/108# class at the 2018 American Open Finals. Her Coach Max Aita, breaks down her technique in this great lift.

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5 Keys to a Better Jerk

Chad Wesley Smith — Mon, 18 May 2020 14:48:46 +0000

The Jerk is the most missed lift in Weightlifting, fix yours with these 5 important technical aspects.

The start position of the Jerk is critical to get the most vertical and powerful bar path you can

#1-Set the Hips

Set the hips back slightly to allow for a straight and balanced dip. Positioning the hips directly under the torso can cause the lifter to drift forward at the bottom of the dip and drive the bar out front.

#2-Lower the Elbows

Drop the elbows down and out slightly. This position allows you to maximize the involvement of the arms in drive and catch phase. If the elbows are too high at the start of the dip you may end up feeling disconnected from the bar once it is driven from your shoulders.

#3-Bodyweight Midfoot

Keep your bodyweight in the middle of your foot as you start the dip. If your weight is too far forward or too far back you will lose balance during the dip and end up driving the bar forward too much.

How to start the dip properly in order to set yourself up for a powerful drive.

#1-Start Smooth

Initiate the dip with a smooth and controlled tempo to prevent any loss of balance as you start the movement. Once the movement has initiated allow yourself to accelerate to the bottom of the dip.

#2-Stop Abruptly

The bottom of the dip should be an abrupt stop that allows you to capitalize on the oscillation of the barbell and the elastic components of your leg/hip muscles to drive improve the power of the drive.

#3-Maintain a Braced Position

In order to maximize your ability to stop the downward motion of the barbell in the dip you need to maintain tightness and rigidity in your torso.

Here are the key points for developing as much power and control as you can in the drive of the Jerk.

#1-Time the Drive

Dipping and stopping abruptly will force the barbell to oscillate and this effect will dramatically improve the power of the drive BUT it must be timed properly. During the dip phase you should already be anticipating the rebound and drive in order to time the explosion correctly.

#2-Drive Through the Legs

The majority of the power you generate in the drive will come from your legs, ensure that you generate as much power as possible by completing your extension as the drive is completed.

#3-Use the Upper Body

Approximately halfway up the drive you should be starting to press up against the barbell in preparation for catching it overhead as well as keeping contact with it and maintaining awareness of its position once it becomes airborne.

The split position in the Jerk requires timing, positioning and tempo of your footwork. Correct placement of the feet, shins, hips, knees, etc is all important.

#1-The Back Foot

Your back foot should be planted down on the floor just before the front foot lands on the platform. This allows for a much better receiving position and timing of the lockout.

#2-Front Shin Perpendicular

Moments after the rear foot comes down the front foot will land several feet in front of where it started. The distance should be enough to ensure that the shin ends up perpendicular to the floor so that your weight is properly distributed between front and back feet. The knee should NOT be in front of or over the toes.

#3-Overhead Position

The barbell should be locked out behind the head with arms slightly internally rotated. If you draw a line from the barbell down to the floor it should cross over the shoulder, and hip and bisect the split position. Your combined weight should be balanced with the bar overhead.

Don’t miss your Jerks after the hard work is completed. Recovering properly from the split position is key to maintaining your balance when moving your feet together.

#1-Push With Both Legs

Before moving your feet, push up against the bar with both legs so that you have more room to actually move your feet under you.

#2-Front Foot First

Move the front foot first, take several short steps back.

#3-Short Steps with Back Foot

Move your back foot forward with the same short steps as before. Then repeat the process until your feet are directly under your hips.

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Developing Weightlifting Technique

Team Juggernaut — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 19:23:08 +0000

The technique of the Snatch and Clean & Jerk are intricate and complex, when done poorly they’re a mess but when executed well, they’re a symphony of power and coordination. That well executed technique is a combination of three aspects working together harmoniously, Height of the Bar, Trajectory of the Bar/Athlete and the Athlete’s Time to Fixation Under the Bar, this relationship we call, The Weightlifting Technique Triad.

Developing weightlifting technique and assessing where an athlete’s technique falters relies upon understanding the inter-relationship of Bar Height, Bar Trajectory and Time to Fixation of the Bar.

The ability to impart height to the barbell requires a combination of strength in the legs and back, along with balancing tension and speed. Squatting and pulling exercises can help better develop bar height, but pulling the bar high for heights sake, is a sign of inefficiency.

Weightlifting fans are constantly enamored with lifters who appear to be exceptionally fast going under the bar, this is a quality that we call Time to Fixation. Being able to quickly fix oneself under a heavy barbell requires great technique and skill, as well as bravery.

While a strong lifter can pull the bar high and a fast lifter can go under the bar quickly, neither quality will matter if the bar isn’t going in the right place in relation to the lifters body, this is Barbell Trajectory.

The movements of Weightlifting are technically complex, while also requiring great strength, speed and flexibility to execute successful. In our Technique Pillars series, Max Aita will take you step by step through the foundational aspects of effective and efficient technique.

Snatch

Clean

Jerk

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Pillars of Jerk Technique

Team Juggernaut — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 19:17:46 +0000

The Jerk is the most missed lift in Weighlifting, great Jerk Technique must be combined with strength and power to be successful. In this series, Max Aita will help you drive the bar high and straight while finding a deep and stable split position.

Max begins our Jerk Pillar series with a tutorial on the proper start position.

Finding the right balance in your foot during the Dip phase of The Jerk is critical to keeping the proper body angle and being able to drive the bar overhead for a successful lift.

Drive the bar high and straight with these tips from Max Aita.

Find a stable and consistent split position to receive your Jerk.

Max Aita concludes of Pillars of Jerk Technique series with Part 5.

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How To Get Started in Weightlifting

Team Juggernaut — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 15:41:47 +0000

Getting started in Weightlifting can be a daunting task, the technique seems complex and the training complicated, but we are here to help simplify things for you. From Technique to Mobility to taking the leap to step onto the competition platform for the first time, we have got you covered in this series of some of our favorite content to help beginner weightlifters.

First things first, let’s learn how to Snatch and Clean & Jerk:

Often times, one of the biggest struggles for new lifters trying to perform the Olympic movements, is the ability to get into the necessary positions. Dr. Quinn Henoch, Founder of ClinicalAthlete, breaks down some simple but useful drills to improve your overhead squat and front rack positions.

One of the biggest factors in driving your success in Weightlifitng will be the strength of your legs and great squat technique will be a critical part of this. Check out our Pillars of Squat Technique series to improve your technique and be on your way to stronger legs and bigger lifts.

Finally, as you begin to feel more comfortable with your technique, it will become time to test yourself and get on the platform for a meet. Competing can be intimidating but with proper preparation you can make your first meet a fun and empowering experience.

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