Split Jerk - Position #2 - The Dip & Drive
Once we have the bar in position, it’s time to get the bar moving. Remember, the legs are the big engine that makes a jerk really work. Obviously the arms are very important also, but the Dip and Drive phase is mainly about the legs.
THE KEY THREE
- Vertical Torso Position
- Bar stays “fixed” to shoulders
- Vertical bar path
VERTICAL TORSO POSITION
The shoulder, hip and ankle need to stay in one line. Otherwise we lose balance and will have a tendency to push the bar forward, instead of straight up. When the bar goes forward, it’s hard to control and leads to missed lifts.
This also means that your weight will stay slightly back toward the heels (60% heels, 40% ball of foot, to avoid tipping forward and coming off the toes in the drive).
[PHOTO & VIDEO: good dip and drive, tipped forward]
BAR STAYS FIXED TO SHOULDERS
The bar needs to stay in solid contact with the shoulders during the dip. If the bar becomes unsettled during the dip, you will lose the ability to fully transfer the force of the drive into the bar, leading to missed lifts and less total weight lifted.
VERTICAL BAR PATH
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Because we’re working up to moving heavy weights, adding extra distance that the bar has to travel is a bad idea.
When we view the side of the barbell, we want it to move in a vertical line.
If the bar deviates, it will be hard to catch and control, and will lead to missed lifts.
[VIDEO: with motion analysis]
Potential Problems and Their Fixes
Weight Shift to Toes
Practice (all drills and exercises listed below): Wall dips, weighted dip & drive, push press
Key Mental Cues: “stay on the heels” or “drive up through the heels”
Knees Collapse
Practice: band side shuffles, dip and drives with band around knee.
Key Mental Cues: Glute Tension/Screw feet into the floor
Chest collapse
Practice: Practice: Wall dips, weighted dip & drive, push press, proper bracing with abs, back and lats.
Body stays vertical but slides forward
Practice: Wall dips, weighted dip & drive, push press
Hips Tuck Under
Practice: Wall dips, weighted dip & drive, bracing with abs, back and lats
Dipping Too Low
Practice: Wall dips, dip & drive, push press
Key Mental Cue: "Short Dip"
Bar Looses Contact
[INSERT VIDEO]
Practice: bracing with abs, back and lats. Weighted dip & drive, push press
Slow the dip down. Think “Load and Explode”
Elbows Drop
Practice: push press, weighted dip and drive, bracing with abs, back and lats.
Key Mental Cue: “Elbows up”
Incomplete Extension
Practice: jumping footwork drill, push press - all with an emphasis on full extension
Key Mental Cue: “push the floor away from my feet” or “straighten the knees and squeeze the quads”
Arm and Leg Timing is Backwards
Practice: push press, doing jerks at moderate weight and focusing on using 90% legs
Think: “My legs are the thing that needs to drive this weight up.
Head snaps back/close eyes
Practice: Push press, brace the abs, back and lats
Think: “keep my eyes looking at one spot the entire time”
Corrective Drills
Click the link to open a video description of each drill.
Wall Dips or Bar-In-Front-Of-Chest Dips
Jumping Dip-Drive-Footwork Drill
Dip Drive Complex with Light Weight
Proper bracing with abs, back and lats
Dip and Drives with Band around Knee