Push The Bar Back In The Jerk
Remember—the bar in the jerk should move backward slightly from its starting position. If you move it straight up, it’s too far forward, and your base is behind it rather than balanced directly under it.
The heavier the weight you’re jerking, the less ability you have to correct a bad trajectory. In other words, once a heavy weight is headed a certain direction—such as straight up, or if you’ve really screwed up, forward—it’s not changing significantly no matter how hard you try.
This means it’s critical you begin pushing it slightly back immediately as it leaves the shoulders. Aim to push it in a direct line from the rack position to behind the neck. That means getting your big dumb head out of the way immediately.
A simple way to think of it is to imagine pushing the bar along the line your forearm describes in the rack position—assuming of course yours is a good one in which the elbows are relatively low.
Practice this motion with all presses and push presses to make it second nature. If you can’t recover with your front foot first from the split, it’s a good indication you haven’t put the bar where it belongs.
Videos by Hookgrip
The heavier the weight you’re jerking, the less ability you have to correct a bad trajectory. In other words, once a heavy weight is headed a certain direction—such as straight up, or if you’ve really screwed up, forward—it’s not changing significantly no matter how hard you try.
This means it’s critical you begin pushing it slightly back immediately as it leaves the shoulders. Aim to push it in a direct line from the rack position to behind the neck. That means getting your big dumb head out of the way immediately.
A simple way to think of it is to imagine pushing the bar along the line your forearm describes in the rack position—assuming of course yours is a good one in which the elbows are relatively low.
Practice this motion with all presses and push presses to make it second nature. If you can’t recover with your front foot first from the split, it’s a good indication you haven’t put the bar where it belongs.
Videos by Hookgrip
