Barbell Clean and Jerk

Description

The barbell clean and jerk is one of the two Olympic lifts (along with the snatch). The lifter performs a clean — pulling the barbell from the floor and catching it on the front shoulders in a deep squat — then stands tall and performs a jerk to drive the bar from the shoulders to a locked-out overhead position. It is the heaviest of all overhead lifts and a foundational test of total-body strength and power.

Muscle Group

Back, Glutes, Quadriceps, Shoulders, Triceps

Equipment Required

Barbell

Barbell Clean and Jerk Instructions

Set up with a loaded barbell on the floor. Stand with feet hip-width apart, bar over mid-foot.
Hinge down and grip the bar shoulder-width apart with hook or overhand grip. Set your back flat, chest tall.
Brace your core. Pull the bar off the floor, keeping it close to your body through the first pull.
As the bar passes the knees, explode through “triple extension” of the hips, knees, and ankles. Shrug the bar up.
Pull yourself under the bar and catch it in the front-rack position (across the front shoulders, elbows up) in a deep front squat.
Stand up from the front squat with the bar racked. This completes the clean.
For the jerk: brace your core, dip with vertical torso (knees only, ~10-15 cm), then drive explosively up. As legs extend, press the bar overhead while jumping under it (split or power stance).
Catch the bar locked overhead, recover to standing with feet aligned. Lower the bar carefully (or drop with bumper plates).