Single-Arm Kettlebell Split Jerk
Trains the Shoulders.
- Equipment
- Kettlebells
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Clean one kettlebell to the rack position, feet about hip-width apart, torso upright.
- Dip a few inches by bending the knees, keeping the heels down and the chest up.
- Drive hard through the legs and, as the bell leaves the rack, punch the arm up while splitting the feet: one foot steps forward, the other back.
- Catch the bell overhead with the arm locked, your front knee bent and your back leg slightly bent behind you.
- Recover by stepping the front foot back half way, then the back foot forward to meet it, with the bell still overhead.
- Lower the bell to the rack and reset before the next repetition.
Common mistakes
- Pressing the bell up instead of driving under it. The arm locks because the body drops beneath the bell, not because the shoulder pushes it; if you feel a press, the split came too late.
- Splitting narrow. Feet that stay on one line leave you wobbling side to side under the load; the front and back foot land on separate tracks about hip-width apart.
- Recovering back foot first. The front foot steps back first so the weight stays centred; stepping the back foot forward first pitches the bell forwards.
- Letting the elbow bend as the feet land. The arm is straight at the instant the feet hit the floor, and stays straight until you have recovered.