But beyond opinion and personal favorites lies science. And according to science, the clean and jerk is one of the most - if not the most - effective and all-encompassing lifts you can perform. With a floor-level starting position, mid-level "racking position" and an overhead finish, the C&J is rivaled only by its Olympic-lift brother, the snatch, in terms of physical and mental demand. Studies have shown it increases your strength, size, power, speed, coordination, vertical jump, muscle endurance, hormone output, bone strength and physical ability to withstand stress.
The clean and jerk is a very difficult movement to learn, however, so we've broken it down into six exercise components. As you perfect each one, you'll be working your body in a new and highly results-oriented manner. And before long, you'll master the clean and jerk - the true undisputed heavyweight champion of the weight room.
Dead lift
Muscles involved: Traps (upper/lower fibers), lower back, glutes, hamstrings
Tip: This exercise teaches proper pulling position off the floor and strengthens your lower back. As you get stronger and better at this exercise, you may need to use wrist straps to maintain a firm grip.
1. Stand upright with a barbell resting over the bridge of your feet.
2. With your knees slightly bent and feet shoulder-width apart, bend down and grab the bar with an overhand/underhand grip.
3. Keep your back slightly arched by sticking your chest out and pulling your shoulders back.
4. Look straight ahead or slightly up and keep your shoulders over the bar (position A).
5. Keeping your arms straight (pretend they're hooks), "push" the floor away from you with your feet and stand upright (position B).
6. Don't exaggerate the lockout; simply stand erect.
7. Lower the bar to the floor in a controlled manner and repeat.
8. Breathe in before you pull, and start to exhale once the bar is over your knees or once you're standing upright.
Power shrug
Muscles involved: Lower back, traps (upper fibers)
Tip: You'll learn how to shrug your shoulders high and powerfully as you move the bar through the section known as the second pull. Unlike the standard barbell shrug, this is an explosive movement. Don't be afraid to let it rip.
1. Lift the bar off the floor with an overhand grip and stand upright.
2. With your back slightly arched, bend at the waist and knees, allowing the bar to slide down your thighs until it's about two or three inches above your knees (position A).
3. Keeping your feet flat on the floor and your arms locked, thrust your hips forward and extend your knees.
4. As your hips and knees approach lockout, start shrugging your shoulders powerfully toward your ears and allow your heels, not your feet, to come up off the floor (position B).
5. Lower the bar to the starting position and repeat.
6. Breathe in before you pull, and start to exhale once your shoulders are at their highest point.
Hang pull
Muscles involved: Lower back, traps (upper fibers), biceps
Tip: The purpose of this exercise component is to teach you how to get the bar as high as possible before racking it high on your chest and across your shoulders.
1. Repeat steps one through four of the power shrug (positions A and B).
2. Once you reach the top shrug position, pull the bar high with your arms, keeping your elbows pointing outward.
3. Keep pulling until the bar is at neck level, allowing your wrists to bend (position C).
4. Breathe in before you pull, and start to exhale once the bar nears its final position.
Hang clean
Muscles involved: Lower back, traps (upper fibers), biceps
Tip: Racking the bar refers to pulling it to neck height, then flipping your elbows and wrists under the bar so it comes to rest high across your chest and front delts. Technically, this is the most critical part of the clean and jerk.
1. Repeat steps one through three of the hang pull (positions A and B).
2. Once the bar reaches neck level, rotate your elbows under the bar and hyperextend your wrists.
3, This is the rack position; your elbows should be facing as high as possible, or your upper arms should be parallel to the floor.
4. As you rotate your elbows underneath the bar, flex at your hips and knees to absorb the weight (position C).
5. Breathe in before you initiate the pull, and start to exhale once you reach the sticking point or neck level.
Power clean
Muscles involved: Lower back, traps (all fibers), hamstrings, biceps
Tips: From the dead lift to the hang clean, you're now going to put the first phase of the clean and jerk together in one explosive movement.
1. Repeat steps one through five of the dead lift, but when the bar reaches a point just above your knees, slide smoothly into steps one through five of the hang clean (positions A, B and C).
2. Breathe in before you pull, and start to exhale once the bar reaches neck level and you're ready to rack it.
Push press
Muscles involved: Shoulders, triceps
Tip: Unlike what you'd do in a typical press, the objective here is to get the bar overhead in an explosive manner.
1. Place the bar on a squat rack slightly below shoulder level (not shown).
2. Position yourself under the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width and the bar resting high on your chest and across your shoulders (position A).
3. With your wrists hyperextended and your upper arms parallel to the floor, flex your hips and knees slightly (position B).
4. Immediately follow with an explosive extension of your hips and knees, allowing your heels to leave the ground.
5. As you reach full extension, press the bar forcefully and explosively overhead to lockout (position C).
6. Inhale before you initiate the movement, and start to exhale as you move through the hardest part of the upward movement.
Clean and jerk
Muscles involved: All of the above
Tip: You've mastered each component of the clean and jerk; now it's time to put it all together. You're basically doing all of the above exercises one after the other in a smooth motion, like a wave crashing onto a beach. Maintain strict form throughout for maximal muscle involvement and minimal injury potential.
1. Stand in front of the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart and bend down to grasp the bar with an overhand grip.
2. As you bend down, keep your back slightly arched by keeping your shoulders back and your chest out.
3. Bend down until your thighs are about parallel to the floor, keep your feet flat and take a deep breath (position A).
4. With your arms fully extended, elbows pointing out, shoulders over the bar and shins close to the bar, begin to pull by extending your knees and hips and raising your upper body (position B).
5. Keep the bar close to your body, look straight ahead and maintain the arch in your back.
6. As the bar reaches a point just above your knees, thrust your hips forward, start shrugging your shoulders and raise your heels powerfully off the floor (position C).
7. Keep shrugging your shoulders as high as possible, pulling the bar up to neck height (position D).
8. As you reach neck height and rotate your arms under the bar, bend your knees to catch the bar, keeping your upper body erect and your back slightly arched (position E).
9. Come to an upright position, take another deep breath and bend your knees. As you explode upward, locking out your knees, you'll also raise your heels off the floor in a powerful drive of the bar overhead (positions F and G).
10. Exhale as you lock out (position H).
11. Once you lock your arms out, lower the bar to your chest and then to the ground. Repeat.
The workout
Your training for the clean and jerk will be divided into two weekly sessions. Leave at least two days between sessions; during that time, you can rest, or you can train other muscle groups. You're also welcome to do other exercises on your clean-and-jerk days, but be sure to follow these exercises in the prescribed order.
Weeks one end three
Exercise Sets Reps
Day A
Dead lift 3 6-8
Power shrug 3 6-8
Hang clean 3 6-8
Day B
Hang pull 3 6-8
Push press 3 6-8
Weeks two end four
Exercise Sets Reps
Day A
Dead lift 3 6-8
Hang clean 3 6-8
Day B
Power shrug 3 6-8
Hang pull 3 6-8
Push press 3 6-8
Week five
Exercise Sets Reps
Day A
Dead lift 2 6-8
Hang pull 2 6-8
Power clean 4 6-8
Day B
Power clean 2 6-8
Push press 2 6-8
Clean and jerk 4 6-8
