Muscles worked
The clean and jerk is two lifts in one and, with the snatch, one of the two competition lifts in weightlifting. The clean is driven by your thighs and glutes, and since most lifters catch it in a deep squat, standing up takes strong legs. In the jerk, a short dip and a powerful leg drive send the bar upwards, and your shoulders and triceps lock it out while your trunk holds it still in the split. Most people get more weight overhead this way than in any press.
Common mistakes
- The dip travels forward. If your chest tips or your weight moves to your toes, the bar goes forward. Bend your knees straight down with your weight across the whole foot, and keep the dip short.
- Your feet land in a line in the split. Your balance then suffers. Land with your feet roughly hip-width apart side to side, like railway tracks, front shin close to vertical and back knee slightly bent.
- You rush from the clean into the jerk. Stand up fully, take a breath, adjust your grip if needed and brace before you drive.
Variations and alternatives
- The power clean catches higher and skips the jerk, to practise the first half alone.
- The push press teaches the dip and the leg drive, without the split.
- The front squat builds the strength to stand up from a deep clean.
- The snatch is the other competition lift, with the bar going overhead in one pull.
Sets and reps
A rep is usually one clean and one jerk. Most people do 3 to 6 sets of 1 to 2 reps, with long rests. Many also train the parts separately: power cleans, front squats and push presses. Read more about structuring your sets in the guide to sets and reps.
The lift is hard to learn alone. Start with an empty or light technique bar, use a coach if you can and film yourself from the side. Add weight only when both parts look the same every time, and drop back a step after a miss. That is progressive overload, at the pace your technique allows. If your shoulders, knees or lower back become painful, stop and let a doctor or physiotherapist assess it.