Jerk Balance — start position
Start
Jerk Balance — end position
End

Full body / Intermediate / Compound (multi-joint)

Jerk Balance

A barbell explosive exercise for the front delts and side delts, with the glutes, hamstrings and quads assisting.

At a glance

Primary
Front delts, Side delts
Secondary
Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads, Triceps
Equipment
Barbell
Movement pattern
Overhead push
Level
Intermediate
Type
Full body, Compound (multi-joint), Explosive

Loads the shoulder. Use a load you can control and skip it if it causes pain.

How to do it

  1. This drill helps you learn to drive yourself low enough during the jerk and corrects those who move backward during the movement. Begin with the bar racked in the jerk position, with the shoulders forward, torso upright, and the feet split slightly apart.
  2. Initiate the movement as you would a normal jerk, dipping at the knees while keeping your torso vertical, and driving back up forcefully, using momentum and not your arms to elevate the weight.
  3. Keep the rear foot in place, using it to drive your body forward into a full split as you jerk the weight. Recover by standing up with the weight overhead.

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Muscles worked

Neck (Front)Upper traps (Front)Front delts — primary (Front)Side delts — primary (Front)Chest (Front)Serratus anterior (Front)Biceps (Front)Forearms & grip (Front)Abs (Front)Obliques (Front)Hip flexors (Front)Quads — secondary (Front)Adductors (Front)Shins (tibialis) (Front)Calves (Front)Outer shins (peroneals) (Front)Feet (arch & toes) (Front)Neck (Back)Upper traps (Back)Upper back (rhomboids, mid/lower traps) (Back)Rear delts (Back)Side delts — primary (Back)Rotator cuff (Back)Lats (Back)Lower back (erectors) (Back)Triceps — secondary (Back)Forearms & grip (Back)Hip abductors (glute med) (Back)Glutes — secondary (Back)Hamstrings — secondary (Back)Adductors (Back)Calves (Back)
FrontBack
  • Primary: Front delts, Side delts
  • Secondary: Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads, Triceps

Best for

How specific this exercise is to each movement.

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Photos and instructions: free-exercise-db (github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db), public domain.