Linden Asks: Like a lot of people, I'm having a giant challenge with my jerks. I have a 124kg jerk, but its frustrating because I know I have enough strength. I have a 156 front squat, 100 push press, 100 snatch, 175 back squat, and 120 clean and jerk. When I miss, I tend to miss in front and struggle to get my front foot far enough forward above 115. 

Is this just a case of being close to my max that I miss, do I just need more upper body strength (I only have a 65kg strict press), better technique (obviously), or all of the above? What suggestions do you have for me other than suck it up and get stronger?

Greg Says: I’d expect, with those squat numbers, you to be able to clean & jerk more around 130-135. That being the case, I’d say it’s not primarily a lack of strength that’s the problem, although that doesn’t mean you don’t need to get stronger. More likely it’s an issue of strength related to the jerk dip and drive specifically, and technique/timing in the jerk.
 
Your press is right about where I’d expect it to be with your jerk, and pressing strength per se isn’t really that important to the jerk. Particularly when you say you struggle to step the front foot forward enough above 115—that’s very clearly totally unrelated to pressing strength.
 
The inability to get into a long enough split position with the front foot is most often the result of a failure to drive the bar adequately. If you can’t drive high enough, you don’t have the time and space to get the foot into position, and if this is the problem, no amount of footwork practice and pressing exercises is going to fix it.
 
The first thing to check is your dip: Is it the proper depth? Is it balanced and straight down? Are you bogging down in the bottom or trying to change directions too soon? If your dip is out of whack, nothing else is going to work well. You can do jerk dip squats, jerk dips, and pause jerk dips to work on that specifically. Jerk drives or jerk springs can help with the timing in the bottom.
 
Next, look at the drive: Are you driving forward with the legs? Are you actually driving backward and forcing yourself to fall back (unlikely but it happens)? Are you splitting before you finish driving? Push presses and power jerks will help you train to drive straight and push the bar back, and with driving high enough. Complexes of push press + jerk, power jerk + jerk or push press + power jerk + jerk will help with being patient in the drive and split.
 
Finally, look at the timing of the push with the arms. If you’re pushing early or late, you’re going to lose bar speed and elevation, which means you can’t get that foot out or lock the bar overhead. What works will depend on how you dip and drive.

Diagnose the problem and modify your training program to address it, and continue pushing your squat strength, and you’ll see improvement in the jerk.