Push Jerk
The push jerk drives a barbell from your shoulders to arms' length overhead with an explosive dip and drive of the legs, then you re-bend your knees to catch it on locked arms before standing up. It trains whole-body power and the ability to support heavy loads overhead, with the legs, shoulders and triceps all working.
Also called: Power Jerk, Push Jerk from Rack, Dip-Drive-Dip Jerk · Equipment: barbell · Pattern: push
Step by step
- Take the bar from a rack onto the front of your shoulders, hands just outside shoulder width and elbows slightly in front of the bar. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Take a big breath and brace your trunk. Dip by bending your knees a short way, keeping your torso vertical and your weight across your whole foot.
- Without pausing at the bottom, drive up explosively through your legs to launch the bar off your shoulders, moving your head back slightly so the bar travels straight up.
- As the bar leaves your shoulders, push yourself under it: re-bend your knees into a partial squat while punching your arms straight.
- Catch the bar on locked elbows over the middle of your feet, with your head pushed through and your trunk braced.
- Stand up fully with the bar overhead and hold it still, then return it to your shoulders under control, bending your knees slightly to absorb it.
- Dip straight down, drive straight up
- Legs launch the bar
- Punch under and lock out fast
- Catch on locked elbows
- Ribs down, brace at the catch
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Anterior deltoid: anterior | Prime mover | D |
| Triceps brachii | Prime mover | D |
| Quadriceps | Secondary | D |
| Gluteus maximus | Secondary | D |
| Trapezius: upper | Secondary | D |
| Erector spinae | Stabiliser | D |
| Rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | D |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Dipping forward onto the toes
Fix: Keep your weight across your whole foot and dip straight down.
Pressing the bar out
Fix: Punch your arms straight as you drop and lock your elbows on arrival.
Soft trunk in the dip
Fix: Take a big breath and brace hard before every dip.
Leaning back at the catch
Fix: Keep your ribs down and push your head through so the bar sits over mid-foot.
Pausing at the bottom of the dip
Fix: Change direction the moment you reach the bottom of the dip.
What the research says
Power · first choiceSport performance · first choiceStrengthFat loss & conditioning
- Power — A review of overhead weightlifting lifts describes the dip and drive as mechanically related to jumping, and reports that the loaded push jerk resembled a countermovement jump more closely than a jump squat did.
- Learning order — The same review sets out a skill order of strict press, push press, push jerk, then split jerk, and many lifters learn the push press before the push jerk.
- Sets and reps — A common approach is 3–6 sets of 1–5 reps with full rest, keeping every rep fast. No study has compared set schemes for the jerk.
- Placement — Research on exercise order finds the exercise done first in a session benefits most, so jerks are commonly placed at the start of a session.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the push jerk in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.