Exercise Library
Squat Jerk Behind The Neck
Stand in your jerk drive stance with the bar behind your neck as you would for a back squat using your jerk grip. Brace your trunk and ensure balance slightly more toward the heels but with full foot pressure on the floor.
Dip by bending at the knees only with the trunk as vertical as possible and maintaining your balance to a depth of approximately 10% of your height. Brake as quickly as possible in the bottom and drive straight back up aggressively with the legs to accelerate the barbell upward.
As you finish the extension of the legs, push the bar straight up to preserve as much bar speed as possible, and quickly punch the elbows into a secure overhead position to drive yourself down into a squat. Note that the squat jerk can be performed keeping the feet in place on the floor throughout, or moving them from a narrower drive to a wider squat stance.
Secure and stabilize the bar before recovering to a standing position with the bar overhead.
Purpose
The primary purpose of the squat jerk behind the neck is to potentially overload the jerk for an athlete whose competition jerk style is the squat jerk; that is, most lifters will be able, at least with training, to jerk more from behind the neck from the front, so weights can exceed their best jerk and allow the training of greater strength and confidence.
Programming
Sets of 1-3 reps are suggested with weights anywhere from 70% to the lifter’s maximum squat jerk and beyond. Generally this exercise should be performed following any snatch variants and possibly before clean variants depending on what the intended emphasis of the workout is. With light weights, it can be used to work on overhead stability and mobility before a jerk workout.
Variations
The squat jerk can be performed by moving the feet from a drive stance out to a squat stance like a power jerk, or without the feet leaving the floor like a push jerk.
Dip by bending at the knees only with the trunk as vertical as possible and maintaining your balance to a depth of approximately 10% of your height. Brake as quickly as possible in the bottom and drive straight back up aggressively with the legs to accelerate the barbell upward.
As you finish the extension of the legs, push the bar straight up to preserve as much bar speed as possible, and quickly punch the elbows into a secure overhead position to drive yourself down into a squat. Note that the squat jerk can be performed keeping the feet in place on the floor throughout, or moving them from a narrower drive to a wider squat stance.
Secure and stabilize the bar before recovering to a standing position with the bar overhead.
Purpose
The primary purpose of the squat jerk behind the neck is to potentially overload the jerk for an athlete whose competition jerk style is the squat jerk; that is, most lifters will be able, at least with training, to jerk more from behind the neck from the front, so weights can exceed their best jerk and allow the training of greater strength and confidence.
Programming
Sets of 1-3 reps are suggested with weights anywhere from 70% to the lifter’s maximum squat jerk and beyond. Generally this exercise should be performed following any snatch variants and possibly before clean variants depending on what the intended emphasis of the workout is. With light weights, it can be used to work on overhead stability and mobility before a jerk workout.
Variations
The squat jerk can be performed by moving the feet from a drive stance out to a squat stance like a power jerk, or without the feet leaving the floor like a push jerk.
