Split jerk, power jerk or squat jerk? If you are familiar with Olympic lifting, you have a preference on how to get a heavy load from your shoulders to overhead. The power jerk is simpler and requires a bit less technical demand than the split jerk or the squat jerk. The split jerk requires you to coordinate your feet just so as you land with one foot forward and the other foot behind you, while the squat jerk requires insane mobility and overhead stability to catch your weight as you land in a full squat position. Insert: POWER JERK. This is an option that requires coordination, mobility and precision however this option is the lesser evil when compared to both the split or squat jerk.

Athletes who require a fast vertical jump would benefit from refining the technique, skill and strength required in a power jerk. Basketball players, volleyball players, football receivers and even shot putters can add this to their strength training as a way to train explosive power as well. Let’s unpack what it is and some of the more common considerations and mistakes.

To get a heavy load from shoulders to overhead, a power jerk can help you accomplish just that. With keeping feet parallel the entire time, the drive of the hips and dropping under to catch the bar you just essentially launched off your shoulders is a power jerk. This is an exercise found in olympic lifting and CrossFit, however its not limited to helping just those athletes and sports. A power jerk requires strength, coordination, speed and power. Improved posture and dynamic trunk control are also trained with power jerks and these two things most any athlete would benefit from training and improving.

While it may simply look like a push jerk is simply you pushing the bar overhead with force from your entire body, this is actually a somewhat technical movement. The devil is in the details and as you become more experienced with the power jerk, athletes find that some of the smallest tweaks can have a big payoff in how this exercise not only feels but how it's executed.

Set Up

A strong set up will translate into a strong lift. Typically starting with your feet around hip width apart, or your drive stance. If we were to tell you to just as high as you can, where would your feet go? Likely hip width apart. This is because you are most explosive from that position. We want to produce as much force as we can to get the bar overhead so setting up your feet in a place that will offer you the most power is important.

Making sure body weight is distributed evenly throughout the entire foot is important. You don't want to start the lift with weight too far forward or too far backwards. This is important for efficient force transfer, again to get the bar overhead, for an optimal bar path, and because you will likely have more stability and balance which sets you up for more controlled execution of the lift.

It may also be worth noting foot position. Oftentimes athletes will angle their toes slightly out at the set up of this lift. This will ultimately be a personal preference so playing with what works best for you is important.

Dip

The dip is the foundation of a power jerk. To initiate the dip, slightly bend the knees and lower the body straight down. A dip is just that, a short movement typically only 3-5 inches deep if we were to put a distance to it. Bodyweight remains distributed evenly across that foot as you lower with control and balance. Even though it is a very controlled and short part of the lift it is where a successful lift starts.

Drive

Once the dip is executed swimmingly, it is now time to launch the bar overhead. This is done in the drive portion of a power jerk. With a vertical torso in both the dip and the drive you will forcefully push the legs and hips off the ground to get full extension of each hips, knees and ankles. The bar is then driven straight up as that full extension is reached. The dip and drive work together as one so the timing of these is important.

Catch

Finishing with a shuffle of the feet out to catch in more of a squat position is where you find yourself next. You will be in what is often called a quarter squat position as you catch the bar so the shuffle of the feet can be important. This is where you will absorb the catch with your legs and also allows you to have more of a solid base for the catch. The catch also requires maintaining tension throughout your entire body, especially in the trunk as you are bracing to hold the bar overhead. Along with trunk tension, a stable lockout of the arms overhead is imperative.

Also worth mentioning that your feet will shuffle out from the optimal drive position to the catch. Going from hip width to shoulder with position in one swift movement. This shuffle allows you to get under the bar quickly after finishing the dip and drive. Being quick is key so you have adequate time to lock out your arms, essentially pushing yourself under the bar and preparing for a strong and stable catch.

Mobility

All of your major joints will be tested in a power jerk. Overhead mobility is important for a proper overhead position. If your shoulders or thoracic spine are too tight or restricted in any way, catching in the proper position (not too far forward or too far back, but we will unpack that a bit more later) with stability and locked out elbows is necessary. A controlled dip with an upright torso is determined by hip mobility. So while it may seem as though shoulder and thoracic spine mobility are what matters most here, hip mobility also needs to be taken into consideration. Since the dip and drive are critical to the catch, mobile enough hips to allow an upright torso on this portion of the lift needs to be considered.

Working down the chain from overhead to hips, next to consider is ankle mobility. In order to extend for the drive and shuffle into the catch, poor ankle mobility can lead to poor balance and even a loss of power.

Dynamic trunk control

A strong trunk makes a strong athlete. Even more so in the power jerk since the core is ultimately where you transfer energy from pushing off the ground to get the bar overhead. A stable core for every part of this lift is imperative. Maintaining core tension in the dip and drive allows you to have more control and therefore not be at risk for the bar leaving your shoulders in the dip. When the weight is then pushed overhead, having your center of gravity will ideally stay midfoot to have control. A well trained and strong trunk allows this to be the case. Without trunk control the chances of losing balance or not being strong enough in the overhead position puts you at risk for an incomplete lift.

Bar path

There are several factors that can throw off the bar path during the power jerk. Ideally, the bar should travel in a straight line throughout the entire lift. If you were to film an athlete in slow motion from the side, the bar would remain in the same plane and aligned vertically, neither drifting forward or backwards at any point. Maintaining a proper bar path is essential for finishing the lift with strength and efficiency. This all starts with proper weight distribution in your feet during the setup, continues through torso position during the dip and drive, and extends to how you push under the bar and position your feet in the catch. Consistently keeping the bar in that same vertical plane is key to executing a successful lift.

Dip Depth

Not a squat but not something that can be missed if you blink, the dip is where the power begins. Too shallow of a dip doesn't allow enough power to be produced as you push off the ground while too deep of a dip puts you at risk for losing tension in core and legs. The dip needs to be just around the 3-5 inch mark and well controlled. Refining dip depth can all add up to generate maximal force without losing balance or control of the bar.

Torso position

Torso position needs to stay as upright as possible. Going back to the bar path and ensuring a vertical line the entire time, maintaining an upright torso is what can make or break this lift. Oftentimes we see breakdown begin in the dip and drive portion of this lift and the torso starts to lean ever so slightly forward. A proper torso position can be linked back to everything from maintaining tension in the trunk to hip and ankle mobility to stay upright in both that dip and drive again.

While a power jerk is certainly the more simple version of the jerk compared to its relatives, when broken down into pieces it can definitely be very complicated. Trying to think about each part of the lift and executing them all properly at the right time can be paralyzing. Instead of racking your brain trying to do it all well, all at once, first identify your own unique weak points. Identify the top 3 and focus on those to start. Maybe your dip is too quick, you're pushing the bar forward and you need more tension in your trunk on the catch. Awesome, focus on those three things and don't stress about everything else for the time being. With some practice, those three will get better and better and you will find other parts of the lift then improving as well.

One affects the other affects the other. The power jerk is complicated in that you need to move your body and the bar as one cohesive unit. A small breakdown early on in the lift can impact the final catch so taking the necessary time to drill each individual part can be where you find most of your improvements come from.

If you are looking for more help in the jerk specifically, check out the jerk improvement program to get massive gains in technique and strength.

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