Clean and jerk

During the clean, the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without resting fully on the clavicles.

To execute a clean, a lifter grasps the barbell just outside the legs, typically using a hook grip.

Once the barbell is above the knees, the lifter extends explosively, raising the bar as high as possible before quickly dropping into a squat and receiving it in a "racked" position in front of the neck and resting on the shoulders.

The lift begins with the dip-drive phase – the lifter dips a few inches by bending the knees, keeping the back vertical, before driving the barbell explosively upward by straightening the legs.

The bar is received overhead on straight arms; once stable, the lifter recovers to a normal standing position, with the legs in the same vertical plane as the rest of the body.

Both power and hang cleans are considered to be ideal for sports conditioning, as they are both total body exercises that have been known to increase neuromuscular co-ordination and core stability.

[11] In split jerk, the lifter dips down their hips and propels the barbell upward by performing a short jump.

The squat jerk requires considerable shoulder stability and flexibility to avoid injury, and it is therefore practiced only by a small minority of lifters.

[14] As a form of unilateral exercise, a single arm clean and jerk can be beneficial for core strength as the lifter has to work to stabilise the off-centred weight.