The split jerk is made of several parts, the last of which is the recovery: the portion where you come out of the split by bringing your front foot back and back foot forward. This is a challenging piece of the lift for many athletes. If you hit the split and your feet aren’t in the proper placement, you wobble around and struggle to keep the barbell directly overhead. That’s where jerk recoveries come in.
The jerk recovery helps you practice strengthening the overhead position. It’s an excellent opportunity to rehearse footwork, balance, and position. One of the best parts is that many athletes can load a weight far heavier than what they actually split jerk since you’re doing only one portion of the lift.
Here’s Noah Ohlsen doing it at 405 lbs (roughly 184 kg).
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Catalyst Athletics also has a great demo.
Setting Up for the Jerk Recovery
Here’s how Catalyst explains the set-up:
Set up a barbell in a power rack at a height 2-3 inches below where it would be if overhead in your split jerk receiving position. Set your jerk grip on the bar and step into your split position underneath it, lowering yourself into position with locked elbows. Make sure you’re balanced directly under the bar—some lifters like to hang off the bar to get centered and then place their feet in the split. With the trunk and upper back locked tightly, push with the legs straight up to lift the bar off the pins. Once supported securely, recover from the split position into a standing position by stepping back about a third of the distance with the front foot, and then bringing the back foot forward to meet the front foot. Lower the bar back onto the rack by bending at the knees.
Jerk recoveries can feel really awkward if you’ve never done them before. Make sure you start with an empty bar and then light weights before loading it up to something heavy.
Want more help? Check out this blog for three tips for a better split jerk.
Main image: Noah Ohlsen/Instagram
