Jerks!!!!

[OZ-USF-UFGator]

Do Jerks offer the same benefits as cleans, with respect to increasing power to the extent possible and increasing performance on explosive based movements such as lunging, jumping and tackling, etc.? FWIW, I know that one of the benefits of the clean is to drive deadlift, but for the sake of the question, let's ignore the potential deadlift carryover.

[MBasic]

Do Jerks offer the same benefits as cleans, with respect to increasing power to the extent possible and increasing performance on explosive based movements such as lunging, jumping and tackling, etc.? FWIW, I know that one of the benefits of the clean is to drive deadlift, but for the sake of the question, let's ignore the potential deadlift carryover.

They are even more reliant on good technique than power cleans IMO, that is, to be able to use heavy enough weight to get any kind of stimulus. . . .your technique is going to have to be spot on. Power cleans are more simplistic, you can do some/a lot shit wrong with relatively heavy weight and still rack it.
Or, if not, a missed power clean just falls to the ground, where the lift starts.

Then, when and if you are at that point where you are using decent weight to get anything out of it (jerks) . . . multiple reps sorta suck.
Either:
A- you make a good split jerk; rerack it (catch on shoulders) . . which sucks IMO**.
B- you make a good rep; say "fuck it" its too heavy, drop it . . .strip some weight, power clean it, put it back it the rack.
C- you miss it, because technique error; its on the ground now . . .strip some weight, power clean it, put it back in the rack.

So there is some logistics there to consider there. (unless you have access to jerk blocks / jerk tables . . .which would be awesome)


Might be better off with light power jerks (push jerk).
OR push presses.
(if you are dead set on using ballistic barbell lifts)



**IIRC, I think in some/one of the Oly programs in PP3, its states to just drop rack jerks ot the floor, its not worth it to re-catch and re-rack (if heavy).

[Dalton Clark]

Jerk blocks exist

[John Hanley]

Do Jerks offer the same benefits as cleans, with respect to increasing power to the extent possible and increasing performance on explosive based movements such as lunging, jumping and tackling, etc.? FWIW, I know that one of the benefits of the clean is to drive deadlift, but for the sake of the question, let's ignore the potential deadlift carryover.

I'm confident no one has anything remotely like a definitive answer. Maybe Anatoliy Bondarchuk

That said: I think so. If I could back back and redo my athletic career, they're the only explosive movement I would do with a barbell.

[MBasic]

Jerk blocks exist

Don't know if asking a question, or making a statement.
A full set of jerk blocks and/or jerk tables are pretty rare...from what I've seen. Not something you see at the average gym/HS gym....many Oly-only-gyms don't have them

[Skander]

I would just do push press. If done right, it's basically a jerk without the "third pull" as it were. Which is a bitch with jerks. It's easy to get decent at getting under without producing as much power as possible. That's something I'm working on now after almost 10 years of Olympic lifting. It's just super technically demanding in a way that push press isn't.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Do Jerks offer the same benefits as cleans...

I am with Hanley when he says there might nobody who actually knows the answer. I am a bit less convinced about his second assertion, that Jerks have more transfer than cleans.

In a clean, you exert force on the bar for longer, and over a much longer ROM, than in a Jerk; I think a bigger ROM might lead to bigger transfers.

On the other hand, a clean is fast, but a Jerk must be even faster. In a clean, or even in a Snatch, the time / space gap between catching the bar and hitting the lowest depth point gives you some useful 'wriggle' room to correct and save the lift. In a Jerk, you have nothing of the sort, no second chances; you either lock it first time round, or you don't. This would seem a point in favour of the Jerk.

I also have the impression that the way the speed of movement is expressed favours the clean. In a clean, you body moves up and then down, all the movement happens along a plane that is used in other major sport movements.

In a (split) jerk, you body moves up and down, but you also have a huge front/back component; I am not sure how much the ability to split your legs very fast can be transfered to other movements.

I think the difference between the two exercises you mention is not that great; given the apparatus required to perform the Jerk in a safe and non-punishing manner (I catch all my jerks back on the shoulders, and it gets quite tiring), I would stick with Cleans.

Having said that, IMHO one clear advantage of the Jerk over the Clean is that it's such a cool, empowering lift. Getting a heavy bar from the floor to your shoulders is nice, no question; hoisting it over your head with one explosive movement is a triumph.

IPB

[MBasic]

Having said that, IMHO one clear advantage of the Jerk over the Clean is that it's such a cool, empowering lift. Getting a heavy bar from the floor to your shoulders is nice, no question; hoisting it over your head with one explosive movement is a triumph.

IPB

This is a great quote.