Olympic Weightlifting: Benefits of the Clean and Jerk

The benefits of the clean and jerk align with all Olympic weightlifting moves. Olympic weightlifting is a sport that requires athletes to perform lifts with a loaded barbell. In these exercises, athletes lift the bar from the ground to overhead. These exercises are completed with the heaviest weights possible. They are complex and take immense amounts of strength and power to successfully complete. They can even take years of practice to improve and refine proper technique.

The clean and jerk is one of the most popular Olympic lifts. The clean and jerk (and all Olympic lifts) places a large amount of force on the body’s musculature system. This stimulates immense amounts of muscle growth and strength. This is a result of the muscular coordination and timing required to execute complex movements. Let’s learn more about why the clean and jerk is such a beneficial exercise.

Learn more: Get to know the differences between weightlifting, powerlifting, and bodybuilding. 

What is the Clean and Jerk?

The clean and jerk activates multiple muscle groups throughout the body. Lower body muscles like the quads, glutes, and hamstrings are involved. While upper body muscles like the back, shoulders, and core are also involved. 

The clean and jerk is a combination of two weightlifting movements. Hence, the name “clean and jerk”. For the clean movement, the lifter is responsible for getting the bar from the ground to the racked position. Once the bar is resting on the shoulders, above the clavicle bone, they will perform the second part of the exercise. 

The second part of the exercise movement is the jerk. The jerk consists of the athlete lifting the bar above the head and ending in a split stance. The arms must fully extend, and the lifter must have full control of the weight above their head. This must be completed with everything in line. This means the lifter’s arms and legs are directly below the barbell.

Often, lifters break down the movement into three different exercises: deadlift, clean, and overhead press. The clean and jerk combines these into one quick and explosive movement. 

This might make the clean and jerk seem simple, but the explosive strength, coordination, and power required to complete the full-body lift is incredibly complex. For some, it can take years of lifting to excel at such explosive power and coordination.

Since lifters are training with heavier weights, some consider using specific weightlifting gear.

Benefits of the Clean and Jerk

When it comes to weightlifting, clients assume benefits as just muscle growth and strength. However, the clean and jerk and other Olympic weightlifting movements produce more than just body composition changes. Check out these benefits of the clean and jerk. 

Enhances Motor Skills

The nervous system and muscular system work together to produce motor skills. Motor skills are responsible for body movement and coordination. To refine these skills, you must perform complex movements and incorporate full-body strength training. The clean and jerk weightlifting exercise forces the body to move as one unit. This programs the nervous system and influences motor skills in other areas of life. 

Increases Hormonal Response

Compound or complex exercise lifts like the clean and jerk use more muscles than most exercises. The body is placed under heavy weight and stress, causing muscle tissue breakdown. This heavy load forces the body to produce growth hormones and testosterone. These are two hormones that help clients build muscle, get stronger, and burn fat. 

Improves Neural Adaptations

The neural system is responsible for neural adaptations to exercise, the brain’s ability to recruit muscles and activate muscle contraction. Neural adaptations help produce efficient movement. Performing reps of a certain movement for an extended time, teach your brain to correct muscle movement. Due to the complexity of the clean and jerk, neural pathways are highly active during exercise. 

Incorporates Entire Muscular System

Traditional resistance training improves strength and increases muscle growth. Olympic lifts like the clean and jerk require the same explosiveness and strength, except much more. They also require mobility, stability, and core strength. Incorporating the entire muscular system can lead to improvements in performance and hypertrophy. This is often due to more motor unit recruitment. Recruitment of faster motor units leads to better energy output and strength gains.

Benefits the Cardiovascular Health

Since the clean and jerk recruits all muscle groups in the body, it will raise your heart rate. This will impact cardiovascular endurance, like that of cardio training. Not only does this affect aerobic endurance, but also anaerobic endurance. Explosive bouts of exercise in a short period of time build anaerobic power and endurance. You don’t always need cardio-specific workouts to improve cardiovascular health. Some clients even use kettlebell training for cardio. 

Increases Explosive Power and Total Body Strength

The combination of lifting, raising, and pressing during the clean and jerk makes it a total body exercise. Though you can’t just rely on strength, you must be powerful when completing the movements. Flexibility, coordination, and power work together when executing the clean and jerk. It requires multiple joints and muscle groups to work as one. This training style also helps improve any muscular imbalance in the body. 

Builds Core Strength, Stability, and Posture 

In a movement like a clean and jerk, balance is a top priority. To be able to hold a barbell effectively and safely on your shoulders and above your head, you must have balance. Balance training alone helps improve muscular coordination. Core strength plays a role in the stability at the end range of motion, but also during the transition of the bar, from the racked position to above the head. The movement targets the upper back and shoulders leading to improved posture. 

The Clean and Jerk: Olympic Lifter or Not

The list of benefits for the clean and jerk is extensive. It not only benefits Olympic weightlifters, but also clients looking to improve body composition, strength, and power for alternative reasons. Strength training and resistance training incorporate similar movements and require a similar body position. This means, that athletes involved in sports performance training can benefit. 

Don’t rely on just lifting heavy weight. Be sure to focus heavily on form and technique. The position your body is in during each phase of the lift is crucial. Recognize and understand muscles worked during each phase. The hips, shoulder region, and core are just a few areas of importance. Olympic weightlifting can benefit all clients and if taught properly will lead to explosive power, core stability, and muscle tissue growth.

Become a certified coach with ISSA’s Strength and Conditioning course today. Help your clients achieve optimal performance by understanding more about the nervous system and muscular system. This will help you properly train your clients.