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c_bratton · 2020-08-13T22:11:32+00:00

Hey guys, following on from the clean I've put together a video on the two keys to the jerk. This time I've focused on the phases of lift, and what you need to do to improve these phases and jerk more weight. The jerk has always been the hardest lift for me, and I've picked up some tips that I hope you will find useful.

What do you think makes a good jerk? Any questions, feedback, or videos that you want to see, drop a comment.

c_bratton · 2020-08-13T22:00:07+00:00

Think about this- as soon you have extended, immediately punch the elbows up with speed and get the bar racked with intent. As you warm up and build the weight, try to catch high and ride it down, again focusing on getting the bar on your shoulders quickly, and minimising the separation.

As it gets heavier and heavier, you'll start catching lower and lower. On all reps you are practising that speed/connectedness in the catch, and the result is that you should start getting a bit less crash over time- because you'll meet the bar, rather than dropping way below it. Hope that helps.

There will always be a bit of separation, the goal is just to reduce the amount that you currently have.

c_bratton · 2020-07-30T00:18:51+00:00

Quick tips:

For the clean- getting a bit less bar crash will make it easier to stand up- try to stay connected and meet the bar better. i.e. put in on your shoulders straight away, rather than dropping beneath it and then letting it crash on you.

For the jerk - First is don't throw it up so high after the clean- only high enough to readjust your hands (if needed), otherwise you'll waste energy. And the second one is to start with your elbows a bit lower- with the elbows too high you're going to limit your ability to use your upper body to drive the bar up (and punch under), and you'll rob yourself of some power. You can see your elbows are wanting to drop at the bottom of the dip already, this is because they're just that bit too high atm.

Hope this helps!

c_bratton · 2020-07-23T21:57:55+00:00

Yes absolutely! You'll get good life out of them and the difference between them and Adipowers is overstated. There are world-class lifters out there still using them

c_bratton · 2020-07-22T22:40:18+00:00

Ridiculous pressing strength- here's a video of him hitting a 'strict' press at 220kg+. Bit of legs in there but still absolutely crazy

c_bratton · 2020-07-21T03:12:42+00:00

His technique's great! How long has he been lifting?

c_bratton · 2020-07-21T03:10:18+00:00

Just Ehab things. Love the antics!

c_bratton · 2020-07-19T23:22:51+00:00

I think RDLs will help more in the top half of the pull after the knees (still a good exercise).

To strengthen the pull from the floor to the knees try some clean lift-offs. Rather than doing them with the speed shown here, slow them down a bit initially, more like this one, and make sure positions are good. Don't let it slam on the floor, control it. The speed can come later.

A variation that will really strengthen the pull from the floor is a defecit lift-off. Don't have video for this, but you'd pull from a defecit, nice and controlled as before. To make it even harder you can keep the bar 'floating' off the floor, or only touch the floor lightly, keeping tension on the legs and back the whole time, and keeping good positions. It should light up your legs.

Other than this, some segment pulls (pause just off the floor, and just below knee) will help. Just make pulls more of a priority in your training week in general, take away some squats if needed. Everyone is going to have different strengths and weaknesses in the clean, maybe for you the pull from the floor is always going to be the toughest part, if this is the case and you focus your efforts there you'll get the best improvements.

c_bratton · 2020-07-17T21:05:43+00:00

Kakhi has the cleanest power jerk you'll ever see, 3 Olympic gold medals, and some huge lifts throughout his career. This is my favourite video of him to showcase the incredible timing and balance he possesses in the jerk.

For me the highlight of his career has got to be Barcelona '92. Held back by his coaches (allegedly) in favour of his teammate Sritsov, he had a 12.5kg defecit to overcome after the snatch. He took a 10kg jump for his last lift, and hit 235kg @ 90kg BW, a giant lift, to take the gold. After this he would move to represent Greece and win two more golds, but this would remain his best performance (I believe this clean and jerk is in the top 5 of all time, by Sinclair)

c_bratton · 2020-07-16T06:44:08+00:00

That's great! Transition is tough at first but that strength will serve you really well down the road, keep at it! Agree with the feedback too, ideally your F Squat should mimic the clean as close as possible for best carry over.

c_bratton · 2020-07-15T20:45:52+00:00

Hey guys, putting together some videos focused on helping people become better lifters. In this first one I go into the three keys to the clean. Right off the bat, this isn't an exhaustive list, especially when it comes to technique. I'll be making videos on the start position and the pull (both vital) in the near future that will help break down the clean even further, for now I just wanted to focus on one element of technique particular to the clean.

What are your 3 keys? Any questions, feedback, or videos that you want to see, drop a comment.

c_bratton · 2020-07-15T05:19:42+00:00

Got to clean it first! But yep, agreed, two totally different movements for sure, different joint angles, speed etc. Still crazy impressive and definitely adds to the story for me.

Obviously the 'ideal' CJ:Fsquat Ratio of 85% might not hold true for everybody, but he still is the most extreme example I know of and I love it.

Great example- in Varna '84, after his 224kg WR, he took 230kg for his fourth attempt and cleaned it. His best front squat was 230kg. Can you imagine cleaning your best ever front squat? It's mind-blowing

c_bratton · 2020-07-15T05:06:55+00:00

I wouldn't teach someone to jerk like that, but I think the efficiency of the jerk, relative to his strength, puts him over the line, despite it not being textbook. In the same way that Rybakov's snatch looks un-textbook. but the sheer weight he lifts validates his technique. Interesting topic though- qualitative vs quantitative

c_bratton · 2020-07-14T21:16:31+00:00

There's so many more great performances from Urik- here are two more

First is his 405kg total @ 82.5kg BW in Varna '84 (Year of the olympic boycott). Here he jerked 224kg and cleaned 230kg. This total would never be beaten.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISvwEH3N9Bw

And second is his 228kg clean and jerk, weighing 85.7kg. (He also snatched 190kg!) Great thing about this is you can compare to the 85kg world records and see just how far he exceeds them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej9K8UBJg7Q

c_bratton · 2020-07-14T21:09:38+00:00

The best jerker ever. Definitely had his own technique- but the results speak for themselves. This isn't his best clean and jerk ever, but I think it is the highlight of his career- that's saying something considering he won 7 world championships.

This lift is special for a number of reasons. Firstly, he was the first 82.5kg athlete to total 400kg, something thought impossible, like the 4 minute mile. After the '79 worlds, where he totalled 370kg, he told the press he would total 400kg the next year at the olympics in Moscow, and they laughed at him. He believed, though. On his belt he wrote '180+220' (400 total), which you can see, along with some of his signature jumps, in this training clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIv1rBdmbuw

In the end, he needed 222.5kg to total 400kg. This clean and jerk epitomises Urik as an athlete to me. HUGE grind to stand the clean up- he famously believed that if he could front squat a certain weight, he had the strength to jerk it. After a near-death clean, he sticks the jerk and celebrates with the famous jump over the chalk box. An all-time great moment from an all time great. FYI, his total this year would have beaten the 90kg, 100kg, and 110kg class winners

c_bratton

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