When programming for Olympic weightlifting, sometimes the jerk gets little attention because of the snatch, clean, and squats. While you maybe able to get away with this when you’re starting off, it will eventually catch up to you- no matter how strong your press is. Point being, make sure to put in the hours for the split or push jerk.
Below, we’ll talk about 3 common errors I see with many weightlifters during the dip phase of the jerk. Keep in mind that this is a generalization for the “common” weightlifter, international lifters may lift what some may call a technical flaw but it’s efficient for them. Also, keep in mind that international competitors have MUCH more reps and hours in the weightlifting hall than the average weightlifter. These high level lifters have also already been taught the foundations in weightlifting ‘technique’ which then allowed the lifter and coach to figure out the most efficient bar path for that INDIVIDUAL weightlifter. Another key point to note is that during competition the lifts won’t always look as “pretty” or “text book” because it’s a maximal lift.
3 Common Mistakes
Too Fast of a Dip
The dip is as crucial as the first pull in the snatch and clean. If you dip too fast, you can potentially separate from the bar = bad. The dip should be a nice controlled motion to set yourself up for the drive phase, like so:
Torso Lean
During the dip phase of the jerk, you want to keep that torso as upright as possible. If you have a lean, the direction of force is no longer straight, thus making it a bit more difficult to drive overhead.
I don’t have a great video or picture to utilize so this will have to do:
If you look closely at just the torso – from hip to shoulder – you can see a slight forward lean.
To help remedy this, try leaning back on during the set up like this:
the last 2 examples show the lifter shifting back than dipping down with an erect torso.
Another great tip is to have the toes slightly more externally rotated and push the knees out hard:
Initiating with the Shoulders
When the weight get’s a bit heavy, a lot of novice and intermediate lifters start to panic and not trust their legs. This causes the lifter to start the drive by pressing with the shoulders first, instead of initiating the movement with the hips. This takes a significant amount of power out of the movement, so we want to reinforce hip drive. We’ve found “Jerk Dips” to be very helpful.
Jerk Dips:
For some lifters that still have an issue, the Jerk Dip-Drives may work well- have the lifter do the same as above but this time drive up as hard possible -using the legs and hips- allowing the bar to come off the shoulders. Once the bar is off the shoulder the lifter will move out of the way and allow the bar to fall to the platform. While this is unconventional, it’s helped out a few of our lifters. With that said, I wouldn’t keep it too long into the program, just short enough to reinforce hip drive.
Stay strong,
Team Fusion Weightlifting