Developing the Behind-the-Neck Split Jerk With Coach B: Part 1

Working his magic on Dave Lipson, Coach Mike Burgener refines the split jerk by breaking down the movement and rebuilding it.

In Part 1, footwork is the foundation, and Burgener coaches Lipson through a series of progressions he teaches to CrossFitters who attend his Olympic Lifting Seminars.

To develop the jerk, Burgener starts Lipson in a long lunge. He provides his coaching cues: make sure the front knee is over the ankle, the back foot is on its ball with the heel off the ground, and the torso is positioned perpendicular to the ground. From there, raising the back knee off the ground and raising the hands overhead mimics the landing position of the split jerk. Burgener calls this “stacking the bones.”

Next, Burgener has Lipson jump into the lunge position, adding speed before adding a PVC pipe or barbell. He says patience pays off, and he sometimes has athletes work for weeks only on the mechanics of jumping and landing.

“That’s how critical the feet are in this jerking position,” he says.

Finally, Burgener has Lipson work on his split jerk from behind the neck and discusses skill-transfer exercises for training the jerk.

14min 32sec

Video by Again Faster.

Additional reading: Teaching the Jerk by Mike Burgener with Tony Budding, published May 1, 2007.

Josie Maran Leighton Meester Dominique Swain Jamie Chung Alicia Witt