Dumbbell Split Jerk

Dumbbell split jerk execution

1
Bend your legs slightly (‘about a quarter squat’)
2
Drive yourself and the dumbbells straight upward in a straight line.
3
When your body reaches its highest point, in one movement bring one foot backward with the leg almost straight while placing the other in front of you. The front foot is flat on the floor; the rear foot is supported on the ball of the foot. In this movement, your body shifts slightly forward. Meanwhile, extend your arms to keep the weight at the highest point.
4
The weight now rests on the extended arms above and slightly beside the shoulders.
5
Now step back with the front leg and bring the rear leg in to place both feet next to each other again (hip- or shoulder-width apart). The order does not matter here. The most important thing is to move the upper body as little as possible forward or backward during this movement.
6
Lower the dumbbells and let them rest again on the upper chest and shoulders.

Dumbbell split jerk

Muscles involved:

Shoulder joint:

Deltoideus

Rotator cuff (subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus and the

teres minor)

Trapezius

Rhomboideus

Levator Scapulae

Arms

Triceps

Biceps

Forearm muscles

Abdomen:

Rectus abdominis (straight abdominal muscle)

Obliquus externus abdominis (external oblique abdominal muscle)

Obliquus internus abdominis (internal oblique abdominal muscle)

Transversus abdominis (transverse abdominal muscle, ‘corset muscle’)

(Lower) back and spine:

Erector spinae

Lumbar multifidus

Quadratus lumborum

Legs:

Quadriceps

Glutes

Hamstrings

Calves

Dumbbell split jerk preparation

With light dumbbells, you can bring them to your shoulders simply by using your biceps. With heavier dumbbells, this becomes difficult. You can then start with the so-called clean (as in weightlifting). In this exercise, you bring the dumbbell upward as follows:

Stand directly in front of the barbell with your feet hip- or shoulder-width apart.
Bend your legs as for a dumbbell deadlift.
Come up as in an explosive deadlift.
As you come up, bring the dumbbells forward and upward in the same movement.
As the dumbbells are brought to this height, bend your legs again to get your body and forearms under the dumbbells. In the same movement, descend a little further to catch the weight.
Come up as in a squat.

Dumbbell split jerk technique

Olympic weightlifting naturally has a long history. The split jerk is the final part of the so-called clean and jerk. This exercise has gained a lot of popularity in recent years. Partly, or especially, because of the rise of CrossFit, in which the clean and jerk is often trained.

There are several variations. In the split jerk, one foot moves forward while the other is brought backward. Among other things, this can make it easier to stabilize the weight forward and backward.

In the squat jerk, the feet remain next to each other (hip-/shoulder-width apart). To get under the barbell with extended arms, you must bend your legs deeply as in a full squat. This requires more leg strength and high shoulder mobility (because in the squat you are bent forward while having to keep your arms straight above you). Because you descend so deeply, you do have more time to get under the weight.

In the power jerk, the feet also remain next to each other, but you descend much less deeply (more like a half squat). This therefore requires somewhat less shoulder mobility. However, to get under the weight with extended arms, you will have to bring it further upward. This requires more explosive strength, hence the name of this variation.

With the split jerk, you get relatively low without having to lean far forward or bend your knees deeply. This is therefore the easiest or most achievable variation for most people.