Jerk with Paused Dip

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Purpose

The purpose of this exercise is to develop composure, discipline, and confidence in the dip. The exercise is beneficial for athletes who display tendencies to either dip too fast, or fail to keep upper body vertical in the dip.

Advice

Start with an unloaded bar.

The pause at the bottom of the dip is a strategy that promotes greater control and precision in body positioning by slowing the descent and allowing more time to process sensory feedback. It may also provide the athlete with a greater opportunity to receive coaching instruction. These benefits lead to greater precision in movement.

Your key task during the dip is to keep your upper body vertical by keeping your hips directly under the bar. If achieved accurately, this hip position ensures that the upward drive from the bottom of the dip results in minimal forward or backward motion of the bar. Unfortunately, many athletes fall into the common fault of allowing their hips to move backward at the bottom of the dip, causing the bar to gain forward momentum during the upward drive. This forward momentum is extremely hard to control when weights are at the limit of strength, forcing the lifter to take several steps forward with the weight overhead and often causing the lifter to fail by running out of space on the platform.

Key Coaching Points

1. Inflate chest well and keep chest up.
2. Dip slowly with strong bracing of the body core and keep body vertical.
3. Pause at the bottom of the dip for a count of 3.
4. From the bottom of the dip, focus on the upward drive.
5. Work on fast movement speed under the bar.
6. Holding still in the receiving position is a good practise.