Olympic-style weightlifting is often referred to as a predominantly lower body strength sport. However, we cannot ignore the fact that upper body strength plays a big role as well, if not an equal one. We need a significant amount of upper body strength to help further elevate the barbell and stabilize the weight overhead in a snatch and a jerk.
 
The jerk is what determines who wins a weightlifting competition, bottom line. If a lifter cannot successfully jerk one of their three attempts after cleaning it in competition, then they will be unable to post a total. The jerk can be the Achilles heel for a number of lifters out there. One of my big takeaways from a seminar I attended with USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame coach Bob Takano was that the clean & jerk needs to be treated and trained as two separate lifts. Strength movements need to be programmed to supplement both the clean and the jerk because each lift requires special attention and if we want our lifters to lift heavier weights, they must get stronger. Weightlifting is a strength sport, after all.
 
In my opinion, the push press is one of the most underutilized training lifts in general, not just for strengthening the jerk. I seldom see lifters, either national or international athletes, post a video of themselves on Instagram performing a push press either from the blocks, the rack or after a clean. My guess is that one of two things are happening: either the lifter does not perform the push press that often, or the push press is not programmed heavy enough to be deemed Instagram-worthy.
 
If you look at world-class weightlifters (past or present) whose push press is up to par or even far beyond that, you’ll see that they seldom miss a jerk. This is due to not only proper and consistent jerk mechanics, but also a surplus of upper body strength. A good example of this is the 2008 105kg Olympic silver medalist, Dmitry Klokov.
 
I am not saying that near perfect and consistent technique doesn’t contribute to a successful jerk, but being able to impart more vertical force to the barbell should only help a lifter’s jerk and will never hurt it. I think it’s safe to say that if a lifter’s push press goes up, then they have an increased chance at obtaining a new jerk personal record and overall jerking with more consistency.
 
As you may have already guessed, in order to maximize the push press for the jerk, it is ideal if a lifter jerks with the barbell in the palms of their hands. When I switched from jerking the barbell from my fingertips to jerking the barbell in the palms of my hands, my push press went up a fair amount. It’s because the barbell was in a more advantageous pressing position directly over the wrist joints with the radius and ulnar bones in the forearm providing maximum transference of force and support.
 
Push pressing from the fingertips is not too kind on the wrists; therefore, I do not advocate it. Another way to maximize the push press is to maximize upper body pressing strength through the use of horizontal pressing movements such as bench press variations and vertical pressing movements such as overhead press variations (seated, standing, front of the neck, behind the neck, partial press, z-press, etc.) Having the ability to transmit more upward force to the barbell will help a lifter push themselves down to their end position quicker consequently finishing the jerk with more aggression and authority. 
 
Contrary to what other coaches may recommend, I believe a lifter should be able to push press at least 80 percent of their best competition jerk. If not, then their coach needs to figure out what is lacking and what the weak link is. A lifter tends to miss a push press due to the inability to finish the lift by lacking the upper body strength, or so it may seem.
 
Another reason is that a lifter may simply lack confidence in the lift. Personally, if my legs feel strong enough to drive the bar up easily upon performing my re-rack out of a clean, then my confidence goes up. The push press can provide a lifter with a lot of additional strength and confidence in the dip and drive phases of the jerk, especially if they are push pressing in the 80% range of their best jerk. When a lifter’s push press is in the 80% range of their best clean and jerk, then clean and jerking weights in that 80% range will most certainly feel easier even when a lifter is feeling fatigued. In this instance, the clean may feel hard and might be a grind especially if it is rep two or three in a set at the end of a workout, but the jerk will more than likely feel easy when their push press is at 80% or above of their best competition jerk. We need to be so good at the jerk that no amount of strain in the clean will prevent us from successfully completing the jerk. Who’s going to be winning competitions then? 
 
Programming Suggestions
 
As a weightlifter gets closer to competition, the training must become more sport specific. This means phasing out or dropping those exercises that either create too much added stress or are not contributing to their peak or taper in a meaningful way. There are a variety of exercises one can use to help strengthen the push press. Again, this is where a coach must assess their lifter’s weaknesses in the lift and decide which exercises will be appropriate to target those weaknesses.
 
I suggest starting a training cycle off with behind the neck push presses. If a lifter cannot perform these correctly (especially the dip and drive phases), then they have no business moving to push press in front of the neck. By having the bar behind the neck, the movement is simplified; the bar just needs to travel straight up. The dip and drive phases also become easier to feel out and strengthen. A lifter can then move to front rack push presses from the blocks. If jerk blocks are available, I feel that it is best to use them when doing heavy push presses to avoid the chance of injury from re-racking the bar in the front rack position between reps, this will also conserve energy for the following reps and sets.  
 
If a weightlifter is going through a three block 12-week mesocycle leading to a peak for a major meet, then I suggest the bulk of their strength work (e.g., bench pressing, strict pressing, and push press variations) be done in the first two blocks along with jerks paired with the cleans or separate depending on the lifter’s needs. The third block is where the strength gained in the first two blocks is translated to the push press and jerk through clean and push presses and heavier clean and jerks. Pairing up a clean with a push press is a great way to give a lifter a mental break from heavy clean and jerks but also a way to stay sport specific without deviating too much that close to a major competition.
 
Here is where a coach can use the clean and push press as what I like to call a “parallel lift.” A parallel lift is a training tool that I use for myself and my lifters. It is a percentage of a training lift that parallels with one of the competition lifts. For example if a lifter’s best clean and push press in training is 120 kilograms and proceeds to clean and jerk 150 kilograms in competition, then they can use this in preparation for future competitions by giving themselves a number to shoot for in training based on a percentage which in this case is 80% of 150 kilograms. If they plan on clean and jerking 155 kilograms in their next meet, then they know that they’ll have to clean and push press 124 kilograms, approximately 80% of 155 kilograms in training, to give themselves a good chance at clean and jerking 155 kilograms in the meet. It is a nice way to increase a lifter’s confidence going into a meet and see where a lifter’s clean and jerk performance is without maxing in the clean and jerk. 
 
Bottom Line
 
When it comes down to it, training for weightlifting—or any sport for that matter—is all one big constant scientific experiment. As coaches, we tailor a program to our lifter’s needs and make an educated guess when designing their training program. We base the bulk of our programming off scientific principles. However, since science cannot prove or disprove anything, we have to do our homework and apply the research suggestions and articles we read accordingly. You can choose to take away some ideas from this article and implement them or not. It’s up to you. Only you know what’s best for your athletes.
 
Decide what’s best and go with it, but don’t let fear dictate your coaching decisions. If you are not willing to experiment or open your mind to new or even some unconventional training methods because you are afraid of being criticized, then you have some serious growing to do. If I feared criticism, then I would not be a coach. We evolve in our coaching role and eventually some aspects of our coaching philosophy will change, but that’s okay. In fact, I’d say it’s a good thing. I am certainly not the same coach I was four years ago, and I am glad I can say that. You cannot evolve unless you are willing to change. Keep reading, keep learning, and keep growing.