Clean and Jerk

What is the Clean and Jerk?

The clean and jerk is one of the two competition lifts in weightlifting and the heaviest overhead lift in sport: the bar is cleaned to the shoulders, then driven overhead with a leg-powered jerk. It is a two-part, full-body expression of strength and power, and because it involves two maximal efforts in one lift it is trained in very low reps with a full reset between the clean and the jerk.

Muscles worked

Primary — Quads

The quads drive the clean out of the floor, stand you up from the front squat, and power the jerk dip-and-drive under the overhead load.

Secondary — Glutes, Hamstrings, Back, Shoulders, Traps, Triceps

The glutes and hamstrings extend the hips in the clean pull, the back and traps hold position and finish the pull, and the shoulders and triceps lock the bar out overhead in the jerk.

How to perform the Clean and Jerk

1. Clean the bar first: pull from the floor, extend explosively, and catch it in a front squat on the delts, then stand fully upright and reset your breath.
2. Set the jerk: bar on the front delts, elbows down slightly, feet under the hips, and brace the whole trunk hard.
3. Dip straight down a few inches by bending only the knees, keeping the torso vertical, then drive explosively up to launch the bar off the shoulders.
4. As the bar leaves the shoulders, punch the arms to lockout and drop under it — split the feet (or dip in place) to receive it locked out overhead.
5. Stabilize the bar overhead, recover the feet to a shoulder-width stance, then lower the bar under control to finish the lift.

Suggested working range: 1–2 reps. Default progression: percentage.

Mechanics

Two linked movements: an explosive triple-extension clean caught in a front squat, then a vertical dip-and-drive jerk that launches the bar off the shoulders while the lifter drops under it — usually into a split — to receive it locked out overhead. The clean is a pull-and-squat; the jerk is a leg-driven overhead press with a drop-under.

Form cues

• •Fully recover and reset your breath, feet, and rack after the clean before starting the jerk.
• •Dip straight down with a vertical torso — dipping forward throws the bar out in front and loses the jerk.
• •Drive the bar up with the legs, then drop under it and punch to lockout rather than pressing it out with the arms.

Common mistakes

• •Rushing straight from the clean into the jerk without resetting the feet, breath, and rack position.
• •Dipping for the jerk by breaking at the hips and pitching the torso forward instead of a straight vertical knee dip.
• •Pressing the bar out with the arms instead of driving it up with the legs and then dropping under it.
• •Catching the jerk with the bar forward of the head or an unlocked elbow, so it drifts and is lost.

Variations & alternatives

• •Clean only — to train the pull and front squat without the jerk.
• •Jerk from rack or blocks — to drill the overhead half with fresh legs and heavier loads.
• •Power clean and push jerk — a lower-skill athletic variant received high at both ends.

Barbell Back Squat

Quads · Barbell

Leg Press

Quads · Machine

Bulgarian Split Squat

Quads · Dumbbell

Goblet Squat

Quads · Dumbbell

Leg Extension

Quads · Machine

Programming: sets, reps & when to use it

Program it first in the session in very low efforts — often singles and doubles at a percentage of the clean-and-jerk training max, loaded off %1RM. It earns broad leg, back, and shoulder credit, but two maximal efforts in one lift means fatigue accumulates fast; keep the reps minimal and the positions crisp rather than chaining tired attempts.

Frequently asked questions