The Best Beginner Split Jerk Progression | Weightlifting101
The Clean & Jerk is one of the most impressive lifts you can do.
Anyone can build a big squat or bench press, but when someone has an impressive clean and jerk, they earn a different kind of respect among gym-goers.
In this article I’ll break down the exact progression I use to teach beginners the second half of the clean and jerk - the split jerk. You can take this progression and start learning the jerk in under an hour if you put your mind to it, even if you’ve never touched a barbell before.
This progression is exactly what I teach in my free WL101: Beginner Guide + 6-Week Program, which you can find here!
Exercise 1: Shoulder Press
The foundation of the split jerk is learning how to press a barbell overhead.
While you don’t necessarily need to have a strong overhead press to have a strong jerk, it is important when learning the lifts to start with the basics.
The shoulder press also doubles as an extremely effective shoulder warm-up for jerks, so I recommend keeping it in your training on a consistent basis, even if it is just a few empty barbell reps before your jerks.
How To Perform The Shoulder Press
To perform the shoulder press, start by pushing your shoulders forward to create a shelf for the bar to rest, and then grab the barbell with your hands just outside of shoulder width, with your elbows pointing down but still in front of the barbell.
Then, press the bar overhead, making sure to pull your head back out of the way, and finish with the barbell behind your head, with your elbows locked out, and the barbell directly in line with the back of your neck and heel.
Common Shoulder Press Mistakes
While the shoulder press is a somewhat simple exercise, there are still a few key things to avoid.
Pressing the bar forward around the head - instead move the head out of the way
Not finishing the rep and leaving the bar over the head instead of behind, or without locking the elbows - instead, make sure to always emphasize the final locked out overhead position for every rep
Exercise 2: Pause Push Press
The next exercise in your progression to learning the jerk is the Pause Push Press.
This lift has two goals…
Practice the correct dip position
Learn how to create leg drive
Both of which are an absolute necessity when it comes to a strong jerk.
How To Perform The Pause Push Press
To perform the pause jerk, start with the same bar position you had for the shoulder press…
Hands just outside shoulder width
Shoulders pushed forward to create a shelf for the bar
Elbows pointed down but still in front of the bar
Then, make sure your feet are about hip width or slightly wider, with the toes pointed out to a small degree. Bend your knees while keeping your torso completely vertical, the bar on the rack position, and your feet flat with midfoot balance.
Hold this position for 2 seconds, and get familiar. This is called your dip position and is one of the most important parts of an efficient split jerk. From here, stand up fast and aggressively, using your legs to get the bar moving off of your shoulders quickly, then when the bar has reached about forehead level, lock your knees and squeeze your butt, and finish pressing the bar overhead like you would for a shoulder press.
The key thing here is making sure the legs do the majority of the work to get the bar moving. The arms should play almost no part in pressing the bar until after the bar has been launched by your legs. If you have a strong upper body, this may be hard to do. Just try to relax your grip as much as possible and be a little more dynamic with your approach.
Common Pause Push Press Mistakes
Adding in a new position, as well as speed can lead to a ton of new errors. As this is a progression, all of the previous errors from the last exercise will apply here as well, however there are some new things to consider…
Leaning forward, dipping too low, or collapsing in the core, leading to a forward dip - instead keep your chest tall, your core braced, and your balance midfoot (knees out in line with toes helps with this)
Pressing with the arms too early - instead relax your arms and let the legs take over, the arms shouldn’t have to work until the last 2-3 inches of the movement.
Incorrect stance - make sure that the stance you choose easily allows you to keep your feet flat and your torso upright. Most go too narrow in the beginning.
Exercise 3: Split Jerk Footwork Drill
The Split Jerk Footwork Drill is your secret weapon to speed run learning the jerk.
It allows you to get very good, very quickly, with almost zero fatigue.
This drill has one goal - to practice the perfect split position.
How To Perform The Split Jerk Footwork Drill
To perform the Split Jerk Footwork Drill, you will not need any weight or barbell.
Simply stand with your feet under your hips in your dip stance, then bend your knees to dip into your dip position that you practiced in the previous progression, and make any corrections as needed such as dipping too low, dipping forward, or placing your feet too narrow.
Pause in your dip, and take the time to make sure your dip position is perfect, then perform the rest of a jerk, jumping up and sliding your feet into your ideal split position.
In this split position you should have…
A vertical front shin with your front foot pointing forward or slightly in, but not out.
Your back knee should be bent, keeping your back foot active with your heel off the ground.
Your hips should be under your shoulders, not letting your back overextend, so keep your glute squeezed and your core braced.
Your feet should be wide enough horizontally that you are stable side to side. Think railroad tracks, not a tightrope.
Your balance should be 50/50 between your front leg and back leg - most put too much weight on their front leg.
Once you are in the perfect split position, recover the front foot with a shuffle step to the middle, then the back foot with a step towards the middle. If you do this correctly, your feet should return to the exact starting position you had earlier.
Common Split Jerk Footwork Mistakes
Some of the most common mistakes people make in the split footwork drill are…
Incorrect foot placement, most often is not moving the front foot far enough forward and moving the back leg too far or straightening the back knee
Incorrect balance in the split, you can have the correct footwork, but if you are leaning all of your weight on the front leg, you are losing the 50/50 balance goal.
Recovering from the split incorrectly - most of the time taking one big step forward with just the back leg. With weight overhead, this will throw off your balance.
Not fixing any of the above. If you don’t correct any of these mistakes before recovering, you are just drilling bad habits. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.
Exercise 4: Double Pause Split Jerk
The Double Pause Split Jerk is the next step in the progression where you will perform the jerk footwork drill… but with a barbell.
This exercise has three goals…
Practice the correct dip position
Practice the correct split position
Practice the correct recovery
And by pausing in each of the positions, we can take the time to correct any technique errors before we move into the next stage of the lift.
How to Perform the Double Pause Split Jerk
To perform the Double Pause Split Jerk, set up like you did for the Pause Push Press, pushing your shoulders forward to create a shelf for the bar, with your hands just outside of shoulder width and your feet about hip width with the toes turned out slightly.
Start the lift with a dip, and then pause in the bottom of your dip, just like you did in the Pause Push Press. At the bottom of the dip, take the time to correct any issues like leaning forward, shifting balance on the foot, collapsed core, or dipping too low, then once your dip position is perfect, finish the jerk by jumping up and landing in your split position, with the barbell behind your head and your elbows locked out.
In your split position you should have…
Vertical front shin
Bent back knee
Back heel off the ground
Core braced
Back glute squeezed
50/50 balance between front and back leg
Stable side to side
Once you have corrected any issues, then recover from the split position by bringing the front foot back one step, and the back foot forward one step, making sure the bar stays in the same spot as you recover your feet together under it.
Common Double Pause Split Jerk Mistakes
The common mistakes in the Double Pause Split Jerk are the exact same as the mistakes in the footwork drills, but because we have added some weight to the movement, they might be more noticeable.
Incorrect foot placement, most often is not moving the front foot far enough forward and moving the back leg too far or straightening the back knee
Incorrect balance in the split, you can have the correct footwork, but if you are leaning all of your weight on the front leg, you are losing the 50/50 balance goal.
Recovering from the split incorrectly - most of the time taking one big step forward with just the back leg. With weight overhead, this will throw off your balance.
Not fixing any of the above. If you don’t correct any of these mistakes before recovering, you are just drilling bad habits. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.
Exercise 5: Tempo Jerk
The Tempo Jerk is the first version of the jerk that is actually competition legal!
Rather than pausing during the jerk, we’re going to go slow with two goals:
Practice moving fluidly through each of the key positions
Practice a smooth, not sudden initiation of the jerk
This is an important step in the progression, however it’s the one I’ll spend the least amount of time on with an athlete as this is typically easier to pick up than the previous progression.
Many athletes may need to spend one to two weeks with the double pause, where they may only need one session with the tempo jerk to understand the lift!
How To Perform The Tempo Jerk
To perform the Tempo Jerk, start with the bar on your shoulders with your jerk grip and stance that you have practiced in each of the previous progressions.
Take a big deep breath in, brace your core, and initiate the dip slowly, aiming for a 2 second count until you reach the bottom of your dip. As you reach the bottom of your dip, begin changing direction, aiming to launch the bar forcefully with your legs, and when the bar has reached about eye or forehead level, begin using your arms to punch yourself under the barbell into your split position.
Once you reach your split, pause here to ensure you are stable and in the correct position before recovering the lift.
Common Tempo Jerk Mistakes
As you move through the progression, many of the common mistakes will look the same.
Dipping too suddenly, causing the bar to break from the shoulder at the bottom of the dip.
Dipping too low, collapsing in the core, or leaning forward in the dip
Pressing with the arms too soon - instead let the legs do the majority of the work to elevate the bar
Incorrect split position - see split position key points in the footwork drill section
Recovering with the back foot first
Exercise 6: Split Jerk
The Split Jerk is the final exercise in the progression, and the lift we have been working towards the entire time!
The only difference between the Split Jerk and the Tempo Jerk is how slow you can move.
Most lifters make the mistake of rushing the lift, trying to go 0-100mph, rather than understanding the natural tempo of the lift with max effort weights, which we want to mimic with lighter weights.
Dip = Slowest
Drive = Faster
Transition to Split = Fastest
Keep this in mind when practicing your first few split jerks!
How to Perform The Split Jerk
To perform the Split Jerk, start with the bar on your shoulders with your jerk grip and stance that you have practiced in each of the previous progressions.
Take a big deep breath, brace your core, and begin the dip. While this is not a tempo jerk, you should still aim to be smooth with your initiation of the dip, not sudden. This aspect of timing will never change.
As you reach the bottom of your dip, begin changing direction, aiming to launch the bar forcefully with your legs, and when the bar has reached about eye or forehead level, begin using your arms to punch yourself under the barbell into your split position.
Once you reach your split, pause here to ensure you are stable and in the correct position before recovering the lift.
Common Split Jerk Mistakes
As I mentioned earlier, mistakes in the Split Jerk are very often the same as the mistakes you could make in each of the previous progressions. As we add speed and weight, these mistakes will likely crop up again and again. Your job as a lifter is to work on being consistent in your technique and eliminating each of these mistakes one by one.
Some mistakes specific to the split jerk are…
Initiating the dip too suddenly, or trying to go 0-100mph from the start
Losing your dip position by collapsing in the core, dipping too low, or leaning forward
Ending up in a poor split position, typically short stepping the front leg, overextending or straightening the back leg, or not getting low enough into your split position
Hopefully you found this progression helpful! If you’re new to the olympic lifts, then I highly recommend checking out my free WL101: Beginner Guide + 6-Week Program here! It includes demo videos, tutorials, and pictures to help you learn in as many ways as possible, along with a 6-week program to follow to help you master the snatch, clean, and jerk using progressions like the one in this article!
By the way, I have a free discord group where you can post your lifts for form checks! Click here to join, and post a video in the #form-checks channel!
And if you’re looking for a weightlifting program designed to help you set PRs, improve your technique, and get strong af, then check out a FREE WEEK TRIAL of my 3 & 5-Day OlyStrong Team at the link below!