Crash Course on the Split Jerk

I took the 2nd half of an Olympic Weightlifting Seminar today with Brista Mayfield at Crossfit .380 and it was very informative.  I've never been taught formally the split jerk, so I was just going off my own observations before this seminar.  I'd always just done the regular jerk since I wasn't sure how to do the split jerk.

Now I'm thirsty for all the information about the clean and split jerk since I don't have the movement completely down.  Brista said that I wasn't getting under the bar quickly enough so it was translating into a push press.  Also, Jonathan was telling me that I shouldn't have the bar on my fingertips like in a front squat because I'm preparing to push it up into the jerk (even though that hurt my right wrist).

Here's a crash course YouTube video that I think summarizes really well the foot placement (hardest part) for a split jerk:

Without knowing the proper foot placement and getting it down to second nature you will always feel uneasy and unstable as your base is not solid.  I learned this firsthand as a split jerk felt a lot more foreign to me than a regular jerk position with two feet planted solidly on the ground, especially with the heels dug in.  Jonathan told me that the split jerk is better though since you can get a lot more weight up in the air than with a conventional cnj, which is why I want to master this movement.

Also, remember on the recovery that the front foot takes a half step back and then the back foot takes a stutter step forward to meet it.  Brista said moving the front foot first helps with balance.

Video from the weightlifting technique king himself, Burgener:
Left jerkers (get your mind out of the gutter!), like me, should land at 11 and 5:30.

 See it in action with some heavy loads to put it all together:

"Mind Right, Body Right, Workout Right. In that Order."

I enjoyed this video from Crossfit HQ, which is different from the usual fare because it focuses on mental fortitude and NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming)/Psychology.

This reminds me of what Dave Masi tells us when we are out of gas during an intense WOD:  "Don't recover, just finish."

 

Tire Flippin'!

So I was never formally coached on how to tire flip, so I just did it by instinct.  Namely, I tire flipped using only my leg, back, and arm strength and it worked well enough but I could tell that it put a lot of strain on the lower back when I bent over to flip it.

This video shows that you can dramatically reduce that strain by transferring the load to your powerful legs.  I never knew about the stutter step and the kick with the knee of the dominant leg!  That's brilliant!

Orlando also shares the secret that if the tire is exceedingly heavy, then you can just incrementally ratchet it up while resting the tire at an angle from your hip crease, stomach, chest, etc. until you can tip it over completely.

He also makes a good point in the beginning that this is NOT a deadlift maneuver where you go straight up.  Rather, you are moving at a 45 degree angle, not up and not forward but diagonally.  Also, that your head isn't going back when you are coming up but forward to maintain that forward drive and momentum.

This free video is only a tidbit but I think it's sufficient and I learned ample technique from it, more than any I've picked up from an actual box, I must say.  I love Crossfit HQ videos.  A wealth of knowledge.

Ben & Owen Franks

Part II: