Topic: An article on the benefits of the Power Jerk

[Barry Kinsella]

Cathal Byrd--109/141 @69kg-- has written a guest article on the Power Jerk and why he thinks we should be including it in our training. The link is below and if you have any thoughts on the matter, please comment.

http://weightliftingepiphanies.blogspot.com/

[Jack]

Thanks for the interesting link Barry!

I think Cathal has a very good point about the benefits for the split jerk when practicing the power jerk.
Apart from the smaller fore-aft balance margins in the power jerk, this lift challenges your shoulder flexibility more than the the split version, the deeper the squat in the catch, the more this will be a factor.

Sjaak

[Chuck Lopez]

I agree completely with cathal, I think most people refuse to try to learn the power jerk because they think the split is the norm; but I've found even though I can lift more in the split the power jerk gives you a much stronger dip and drive and makes splitting so much easier when you come back to the split; more shoulder flexibility is never a bad thing I think .

[Michael Øvrebø]

Apart from the smaller fore-aft balance margins in the power jerk, this lift challenges your shoulder flexibility more than the the split version, the deeper the squat in the catch, the more this will be a factor.

Sjaak

This is very true! Have you seen that Cyprus guy from the European champs?



That's just sick flexibility!

[Shaun Le Conte]

I have been doing power jerk as well for the past 4-5 months as well, but because I have a foot and ankle injury that I don't know how to heal and doesn't allow me to do split jerk. The power jerk has been good for allowing me to continue doing some jerks maintain some strength in driving and supporting the bar overhead.

[Paul LaDuke]

I have added the power jerk for all my reps under 80% of 1RM since reading this article.  I must say that I feel that it has helped my split jerk tremendously!  I think one of the reasons that it is effective is because of the smaller margin for error.  The power jerk really hones in the skill of the dip and drive.  Little errors in the dip and drive in the power jerk, even with lighter weights, result in a missed jerk. 

I felt it really paid off today.  I have done more power jerks lately due to lighter training percentages.  I am just under 3 weeks away from the Keystone State Games and leaving on vacation tomorrow, so I wanted to see what I could do today.  I warmed up and only did the power jerk until hitting 105kgs.  Ofter that, I hit 110kg, 115kg, 120kg, and then nailed a nice and easy 125kg before missing 130kg clean.  The 125 really felt nice and the split jerk really felt solid.  More so than previous attempts.  I really think it was because of developing that motor pathway in the power jerk.  I have been having all of my lifters do this for any weight less than 80@ of 1RM.

I have enjoyed this discussion.

[Barry Kinsella]

Hi Paul,

I am glad you have benefited from the Power Jerk. I have also focused on the movement more since Cathal wrote the article and it has really helped my Jerk dip in particular. Good luck in your future training.

Barry