The Clean and Jerk
Contrary to the Snatch, I HATE the Clean and Jerk. It’s the bully in 3rd grade who called you fat; it’s the lousy football coach who said you couldn’t make it; it’s even the girl who turned you down for Prom. No, these aren’t specific instances, but that’s because I was having my own battles with the Clean and Jerk to know if anything else was going on in my life.
My aversion for the Clean and Jerk reached its apex in 2007 when I came upon this conclusion: If I trained the Snatch, and the snatch ONLY, I would eventually increase my ability in the Snatch by great proportions to that if I had trained both lifts. And thus, I felt I could reach my goals by Snatching so much more than everyone else and still get by with a subpar Clean and Jerk (Since everyone knows you can ALWAYS Clean and Jerk at the very least what you can snatch). When I presented this idea to my coach, he simply laughed and probably assigned me more Clean and Jerk doubles. (Hey, this isn’t CrossFit, people… One rep is enough.)
But since I choose to participate in this sport, here is my outlook on the Clean and Jerk-
The Clean and Jerk is a lift based much more on strength than technique. Although its technique is just as important as the Snatch’s, I feel like one can push through a Clean and Jerk with technique flaws and still prevail. This is the best, and probably the only redeeming, quality the lift holds for me.
To start out, I’ll go over the Clean. I’ve always had a decent Clean. Some years it’s been better than others but always decent. This part of the lift hurts. When I say it “hurts,” I don’t mean, “Oh man! I just fell off my skateboard and my knee is bleeding!” I mean “HOLY CRAP! I would feel better if my spine was being removed with chop sticks!” Ok, so that was a little dramatic, but it really is just a painful experience. So to prepare for the lift, I really have to focus on looking past the pain and looking straight at the end result (this has gotten me to year 2010, we’ll hope it continues to work). I’ve never been a strong lifter, just technically efficient, so going for a lift that is better meant for the stronger lifter, I have to focus a lot on how to maximize the strength I have for the weight I am attempting. It’s taken many coaches, but I finally feel like I have enough coaching tips to go through before I lift, that my Clean is where it needs to be. I really focus on pushing my legs through the platform, speeding up past the knees, and catching the best bounce possible. Of course, there are other components to the lift than that, but I feel if I focus on the aforementioned aspects of the lift, the other things come together almost instinctively.
The Jerk, where competitions are won, has always been 50-50 with me. I’ll go through a month or two where I could Jerk 15k more than I could Clean, and then I’ll follow that time period up with a equal stint of time when a good day of Clean and Jerks consists of me completing one heavy Jerk (at about 80%) and finishing with just Cleans. The problems that come about with this are that 1) We have to try and time my training so that the good Jerks come at competition time, and 2) I don’t get to practice heavy Jerks as often as others; therefore, my Jerk is not as strong as it could be. My problems with the jerk have nothing to do with strength. I am probably strong enough to Jerk at least 15k more than I actually do. The problem lies in the technique department, which is odd for me, because I concentrate so much of good technique. However, when it comes to putting the bar behind my head and splitting my front foot forward, I fall apart. I can do the lift correctly until it gets “heavy” (90%), and I have no problems with the dip and drive; it all comes down to what happens once the bar leaves my chest. No matter how hard I try, the leg just won’t move out (on bad weeks) and the bar just won’t go where it’s supposed to be (again, on bad weeks).
Luckily, I have about 2 years to put away my difference with the Clean and Jerk and kiss and make up. It’s time for me to be the boss.
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