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Albert Initiative

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Albert Investigates

Hot Take: The True King of All Exercises

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by

Albert

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Why the Clean and Jerk Is the True King of All Exercises

In the world of strength and fitness, debates over the “king of all exercises” are endless. Most enthusiasts quickly name the squat or deadlift—both deserving of high praise. However, there is one exercise that quietly reigns supreme in terms of total athletic development, full-body engagement, explosiveness, coordination, and pure power: the clean and jerk.

Let’s unpack why the clean and jerk deserves the crown.

1. It Trains the Entire Body—More Completely Than Any Other Lift

While squats primarily target the lower body and deadlifts the posterior chain, the clean and jerk involves:

  • Legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes) for the initial pull and the squat.
  • Back and traps during the pull and catch.
  • Core to stabilize the load from floor to overhead.
  • Shoulders and arms in the jerk phase.
  • Feet and ankles for power transfer and balance.

No other single exercise demands such integrated, full-body power and precision.

2. It Builds Explosiveness and Strength Simultaneously

The clean and jerk is not just about brute force. It teaches you to generate maximal power in milliseconds—a trait that transfers directly to sprinting, jumping, and nearly every sport imaginable.

It’s no coincidence that Olympic sprinters, NFL players, and elite fighters all include Olympic lifts in their training. You’re not just getting stronger; you’re getting faster, more explosive, and more coordinated.

3. It Improves Athletic Coordination and Timing

Unlike a squat or deadlift, the clean and jerk is a technical lift. To do it well, you need to move with precision and rhythm:

  • The bar path must be efficient.
  • The transition from pull to catch must be seamless.
  • The dip and drive in the jerk demands timing and stability under load.

This kind of high-speed, high-skill movement builds neuromuscular coordination—a key factor in athleticism that pure strength lifts don’t emphasize.

4. It Enhances Mobility and Posture

Performing the clean and jerk correctly requires and develops:

  • Deep hip and ankle mobility (front squat position)
  • Thoracic spine extension and shoulder flexibility (overhead position)
  • Upright posture under heavy load

If your clean and jerk improves, your overall mobility, posture, and movement quality will follow—unlike the deadlift, which can often reinforce poor posture if not done carefully.

5. It’s the Ultimate Test of Power Under Pressure

Olympic lifters don’t have multiple attempts to get their lift just right in training. On the platform, they need to hit a max effort clean and jerk with one shot. That makes it not just a physical test, but a mental crucible.

There’s no room for hesitation, no time to grind. You must commit with full speed and full control—skills that build confidence and resilience in all areas of training and life.

6. It Bridges Strength and Functionality

Powerlifters dominate in static strength. CrossFit athletes lean toward conditioning. Bodybuilders focus on hypertrophy. But the clean and jerk unites them all:

  • It’s heavy, like a deadlift.
  • It’s dynamic, like a sprint.
  • It’s technical, like gymnastics.
  • It’s functional, like hoisting something overhead in real life.

It creates a foundation of usable, real-world strength that carries over to sport, work, and play.

Why Isn’t It More Popular?

The clean and jerk’s complexity scares people off. It requires coaching, practice, and humility. Unlike a bench press, it’s not easy to learn in a single session. But that’s also why it’s the king. Its difficulty is what makes it so rewarding.

If you’re willing to learn, the clean and jerk pays off like no other lift.

Final Word: Long Live the King

The squat builds brute strength. The deadlift trains grit. But the clean and jerk blends power, athleticism, coordination, and grace in one lift. It turns lifters into athletes and athletes into monsters.

Want to build a body that’s not just strong, but dangerously capable? Crown the clean and jerk as your go-to.

Because nothing builds total-body dominance quite like it.

Would you like a beginner-to-advanced training plan centered around the clean and jerk?

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Why the Clean and Jerk Is the King of All Exercises

When fitness enthusiasts argue over the best compound exercise, the usual contenders are the squat, deadlift, and bench press. But there’s one exercise that often gets overlooked—despite its unmatched benefits for strength, power, mobility, and athletic performance: the clean and jerk.

In this article, we’ll explain why the clean and jerk exercise deserves the title of king of all lifts, and how it outperforms other popular compound movements.

What Is the Clean and Jerk?

The clean and jerk is an Olympic weightlifting movement that combines two distinct phases:

  1. The clean – lifting the barbell from the floor to the shoulders.
  2. The jerk – explosively pressing the bar overhead.

Together, they form one of the most powerful, full-body strength training exercises in existence.

1. The Clean and Jerk Works Every Major Muscle Group

When it comes to full-body exercises, the clean and jerk is in a league of its own. It engages:

  • Legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes) during the pull and squat.
  • Back and traps for power and stability.
  • Core to support and transfer force.
  • Shoulders and triceps during the overhead press.

No other exercise activates this many muscle groups in one explosive movement. It’s a perfect combination of strength, speed, and coordination.

2. Clean and Jerk Builds Explosive Power Like No Other

One of the greatest benefits of the clean and jerk is its ability to develop explosive strength. Unlike slow, grinding lifts like the squat or deadlift, the clean and jerk requires maximum force production in minimal time.

This makes it ideal for athletes in sports like:

  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Track and field
  • MMA and combat sports

Explosive power improves not only gym performance but also functional strength for real-world tasks.

3. Boost Athletic Performance with the Clean and Jerk

Athletes love the clean and jerk for good reason—it builds:

  • Speed and acceleration
  • Balance and coordination
  • Reflexive strength under load

Mastering this lift demands timing and precision, which trains your nervous system for fast, controlled movement. This has direct carryover to sports performance and injury prevention.

4. Improves Mobility and Flexibility

The clean and jerk develops hip mobility, shoulder flexibility, and thoracic spine extension. Unlike deadlifts, which can promote tightness when overdone, the clean and jerk encourages a healthy, upright posture and functional range of motion.

Lifters also report improved ankle mobility and wrist flexibility over time, especially when using proper warm-ups and progressions.

5. Enhances Core Strength and Stability

While many people turn to planks or crunches for core training, few exercises challenge the core like a heavy clean and jerk. From the initial pull to the overhead lockout, your abs, obliques, and spinal stabilizers are firing at full capacity.

This makes the clean and jerk one of the best core-strengthening exercises available.

6. It Builds Mental Toughness and Confidence

The clean and jerk is mentally demanding. You need:

  • Courage to commit under a heavy load
  • Focus to execute each phase with precision
  • Confidence to catch and drive the bar overhead

This mental challenge helps lifters build discipline, self-belief, and resilience—traits that extend beyond the gym.

Why Isn’t the Clean and Jerk More Popular?

Despite its benefits, the clean and jerk isn’t as widely adopted as it should be. Here’s why:

  • It’s technical – requires coaching and practice.
  • It’s humbling – progress is slow but rewarding.
  • It’s underutilized in mainstream fitness programs.

But that difficulty is exactly why it’s so valuable. High skill means high reward—if you’re willing to put in the work.

Clean and Jerk vs. Squat and Deadlift: Which Is Better?

While squats and deadlifts are excellent, they focus mostly on raw strength. The clean and jerk builds:

  • Strength
  • Speed
  • Power
  • Mobility
  • Coordination
  • Balance

No other single movement trains this many athletic qualities at once.

Conclusion: Why the Clean and Jerk Is the Ultimate Exercise

The clean and jerk is the most complete strength training exercise in the world. It develops full-body power, functional strength, explosive speed, and high-level coordination—all in one lift.

If you’re looking to get stronger, more athletic, and more capable in real life and sport, it’s time to elevate the clean and jerk to its rightful place at the top of your training program.

Long live the king of all exercises.

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