What you'll gain
Moves heavier overhead loads than a strict press by adding leg drive.
Trains the dip and drive timing that transfers to the split jerk.
Builds overhead lockout strength and stability under speed.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Take the bar in a front rack across the shoulders with the elbows down and in front of the bar.
- 2
Set your feet in your squat stance with your weight balanced over the whole foot.
- 3
Brace your trunk and dip by bending the knees only, keeping the torso vertical.
- 4
Reverse hard and drive the bar off the shoulders with the legs.
- 5
Punch the elbows into lockout overhead and receive the bar in a partial squat with the feet planted.
- 6
Stand up with the bar stable overhead, then lower it back to the rack position.
Common Mistakes
Dipping too deep, which slows the reversal and turns the lift into a slow press.
Letting the torso pitch forward in the dip, which sends the bar out in front of the body.
Pressing with the arms before the legs finish, which loses the drive and stalls the bar at eye level.
Receiving with soft elbows, which puts the load on the shoulder joint instead of the skeleton.
About This Exercise
The push jerk moves a barbell from the front rack to overhead using the legs, not the arms. You dip about ten percent of your height with a vertical torso, drive the bar up off the shoulders, then punch the elbows into lockout and settle into a partial squat before standing. What separates it from the power jerk is the feet: in a push jerk they stay connected to the floor in the squat stance instead of moving. The quadriceps are the target, with the shoulders, traps and triceps supporting. In a product library this clip covers the overhead lift that CrossFit and weightlifting programs use most often, and the dip-drive-lockout sequence is exactly the kind of timing detail a static image cannot carry.
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Push Jerk
Barbell overhead lift driven by a short leg dip, received in a partial squat with the feet planted.
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Choose a focused 104-exercise pack or unlock all 412, with commercial licensing included.
Specifications
Built for
- Overhead lift entry in a CrossFit or weightlifting exercise library
- Overhead power block in a strength and conditioning program builder
- Technique explainer contrasting push jerk, power jerk and split jerk
- Warm-up or primer clip before jerk-focused training sessions
Muscles Worked
Details
License Includes
Barbell Thruster
$4.99A front squat into an overhead press in one motion — the conditioning workhorse that hits legs, shoulders, and lungs at once.
Split Jerk
$4.99An explosive overhead lift where a shallow dip and leg drive send the bar up and the feet split to catch it.
Dumbbell Thruster
$4.99A front squat into an overhead press in one motion — the highest-output dumbbell lift for conditioning and full-body work.
Jumping Jack
$4.99Two-count bodyweight jump that opens the legs and sweeps the arms overhead, then closes back to a standing start.
Kettlebell Thruster
$4.99A two-kettlebell front squat into an overhead press that trains the legs, shoulders, and lungs in one combined movement.
Man Maker
$4.99A dumbbell complex that chains a push-up, two renegade rows, a squat clean and an overhead press into one rep.