#GetTechnical // Stacking Your Body in the Split Jerk for Olympic Weightlifting

Posted on Posted in GetTechnical, Olympic Weightlifting

 

“Stacking your joints” is a phrase that has been used to describe stability. Visually, we are basically playing connect the dots with the dots being our major joints: The the wrists/hands, the shoulders, and the hips. A closely related and relevant joint would be the back knee in a split jerk.

In this scenario with one of our Remote Athletes, we see some misaligned major joints, but also a breakdown in the “line” connecting the shoulders and the hips…aka, the spine! When in a split position, the athlete should look to:

✅Vertically align the hips, shoulders and hands
✅Straighten the spine (bracing!)
✅Have back knee *relatively* underneath the hips

A breakdown in this vertical alignment could cause:

🚫Jerks feeling or missing forward
🚫Pressure on the lower back (too much extension)
🚫Uneven weight distribution (feet)

Below, you’ll find both the active scenario followed by a corrective drill to let the athlete feel what it means to stack their joints — INCLUDING the back knee! This exercise can double as an assisted stretch, but is primarily meant to line up the major joints of the body.


ATHLETE SCENARIO:

CORRECTIVE DRILL: