For the jerk, as in the snatch and clean, certain parts of the body have to move out of the way of the bar so it can travel up straight. In other words, these parts have to move around the bar. In the jerk, of course, the head is the only obstacle. Also, the distance from the shoulders to overhead is a much shorter than that from the ground to the shoulders or the ground to overhead.

Olympian and coach Chad Vaughn instructs athletes on footwork technique for the split jerk.