5 Keys to PR Your Snatch & Clean + Jerk: Part 2, The Squat & Push Press

In part 1 of this 5-part series on developing the snatch and clean + jerk, we discussed the importance of incorporating pulls into your training. You can find that full post here.

In part 2, we’ll be discussing the importance of getting stronger in the squat and push press.

Let’s get to it…

Key #2: Get Strong in the Squat and Push Press

Strength work is an essential component of any successful Olympic Weightlifting program.

Technique is important, of course, and we’ll discuss that topic in another post. But to consistently improve in the snatch and clean + jerk, an athlete also needs to focus on developing strength in the right places.

And when it comes to exercises that have a direct carryover to the Olympic lifts, there are two that should be a regular part of almost every program:

The squat and the push press.

The squat builds the strength needed to pull, catch, and stand up heavy weights.

The push press builds the strength, timing, and overhead power needed to drive and stabilize the bar in the jerk.

Neither one is flashy. Neither one is complicated. But both are essential if you want to become a stronger, more confident lifter.

The Squat

The squat is a fundamental part of the Olympic lifts for several reasons.

It develops leg strength, trains depth and stability, builds core strength, reinforces movement mechanics, and provides several psychological benefits that carry over directly to the platform.

Let’s examine each of these a little further.

1. Leg Strength

The snatch and clean + jerk are technical lifts, but they are still strength lifts.

At some point, if you want to lift more weight, you need the legs to support it.

The squat develops the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, which are essential for the explosive power required to separate the barbell from the floor, extend aggressively, receive the bar, and recover from the bottom position.

Strong legs allow a lifter to generate more force, move the bar with more confidence, and stand up from heavier catches.

This is especially important in the clean.

Many athletes are strong enough to pull the bar high enough, but once they catch it, they get buried. That’s not always a technique issue. Sometimes it’s just a squat strength issue.

If you can’t stand it up, you can’t make the lift.

2. Depth and Stability

In both the snatch and the clean, lifters have to receive the bar in a squat position.

This means the squat is not just a strength exercise. It’s also a position exercise.

Regular squat training helps athletes develop the flexibility, strength, and control needed to achieve and stabilize the bottom position of the lifts.

In the snatch, this means being able to sit into a deep overhead squat with the bar balanced and locked out.

In the clean, this means being able to receive the bar in a strong front rack position with the torso upright and the elbows high.

Then comes the next part: standing up.

Catching the bar is only half the battle. Once the bar is received, the athlete still needs enough leg strength and trunk stability to recover.

A strong squat makes this recovery easier. It also gives the athlete more room for error. If your legs are strong, you can save lifts that are slightly out of position. If your squat is weak, every imperfect catch becomes a missed lift.

3. Core Stability

Squats also build the core in a way that directly transfers to the Olympic lifts.

And I’m not just talking about abs.

I’m talking about the ability to brace, stay rigid, and maintain position under load.

During the squat, the trunk has to stabilize the spine, pelvis, and ribcage while the legs produce force. That same demand shows up in the snatch and clean + jerk.

If your core collapses in the clean, the elbows drop and the bar pulls you forward.

If your midline is weak in the overhead squat, the bar drifts and the lift becomes unstable.

If you can’t brace during the dip and drive of the jerk, power leaks out before the bar ever leaves your shoulders.

A strong squat teaches the athlete how to create and maintain tension. That tension is one of the biggest differences between a lift that feels solid and a lift that feels like survival.

4. Movement Mechanics

Squats also reinforce the movement mechanics needed in Olympic Weightlifting.

The front squat teaches the athlete to keep an upright torso, stay balanced through the foot, and maintain a strong front rack position.

The overhead squat teaches shoulder stability, thoracic extension, hip mobility, ankle mobility, and balance with the bar overhead.

The back squat builds general leg strength and gives the athlete the ability to handle heavier loads.

Each variation has a role.

The goal is not just to squat more weight for the sake of squatting more weight. The goal is to build strength in positions that improve the snatch and clean + jerk.

That’s an important distinction.

A lifter who can back squat a lot but folds over every time they clean may not be getting the full transfer they need. A lifter who front squats with poor posture may be reinforcing the same problem that causes them to miss cleans.

So yes, get stronger. But get stronger in positions that actually carry over.

5. Specific Squat Variations

There are a few squat variations that are especially important for Olympic Weightlifting.

Front Squat

The front squat directly correlates to the clean.

It mimics the rack position, demands an upright torso, and builds the leg strength needed to stand up from heavy cleans.

For most weightlifters, the front squat should be one of the most important strength movements in the program.

Back Squat

The back squat allows the athlete to handle heavier loads and build overall leg strength.

While it does not mimic the clean as closely as the front squat, it is still extremely valuable for developing the strength base needed to improve both Olympic lifts.

Overhead Squat

The overhead squat directly correlates to the snatch.

It teaches the athlete how to stabilize the bar overhead, stay balanced in the bottom position, and maintain control through the entire range of motion.

For lifters who struggle to receive the snatch with confidence, the overhead squat can be a valuable tool.

Pause Squats

Pause squats are also a great option because they eliminate the bounce out of the bottom and force the athlete to build strength and control in the exact position where many lifts are lost.

If you tend to get soft, collapse, or lose tension in the bottom of the clean or snatch, pause squats can help.

6. Psychological Benefits

There’s also a mental side to squatting that shouldn’t be ignored.

Heavy squats build confidence under the bar.

The more comfortable you are handling heavy loads, the less intimidating heavy snatches and clean + jerks become.

This matters.

A lot of missed lifts happen before the athlete even starts the pull. They walk up to the bar unsure. They feel the weight in the setup. They hesitate. They rush. They change the movement because the weight feels heavy.

Squatting heavy helps remove some of that fear.

It teaches you how to stay calm under load, how to brace when things get hard, and how to fight through difficult positions.

That kind of confidence carries over.

The Push Press

The push press is one of the best exercises for developing the strength, power, and technique necessary for the jerk.

Many athletes see the push press primarily as an upper-body exercise. And yes, the shoulders and triceps are involved. But the real value of the push press comes from learning how to use the legs to drive the bar overhead.

This is what separates the push press from other overhead pressing exercises like the strict press.

The strict press has its place in training. It can help build basic shoulder and triceps strength. But its carryover to Olympic Weightlifting is small compared to the push press.

The push press teaches the athlete to dip, drive, transfer force from the legs into the bar, and finish with a strong overhead lockout.

That is exactly what we need in the jerk.

Let’s examine the benefits of the push press a little further.

1. Upper Body Strength

The push press develops the shoulders and triceps, which are important for the overhead phase of the jerk.

Once the legs drive the bar up, the upper body has to finish the lift and stabilize the weight overhead.

If the shoulders and triceps are weak, the athlete may struggle to lock out the bar or maintain a strong overhead position.

This can lead to soft elbows, instability, press-outs, or missed jerks.

The push press helps build the strength needed to finish aggressively and hold the bar with confidence.

It also improves overhead stability, which carries over not only to the jerk, but also to the snatch.

2. Power and Explosiveness

The push press develops explosive leg drive.

This is one of the biggest reasons it has so much carryover to the jerk.

In the push press, the athlete dips, drives through the legs, and transfers that power into the bar. The arms finish the movement, but they should not be doing the majority of the work.

A good push press should feel like the bar is being launched off the shoulders.

That timing matters.

Many athletes struggle with the jerk because they either dip too slow, drive too soft, or press too early. The push press helps teach the rhythm of using the legs first and the arms second.

That’s a lesson many lifters need.

If you’re trying to “shoulder press” your jerks, you’re going to hit a ceiling fast.

3. Core Stability

The push press also requires significant core engagement.

During the dip and drive, the athlete has to keep the torso vertical and rigid. If the core relaxes, the dip shifts forward, the bar path changes, and power leaks out.

This is one of the most common mistakes in the jerk.

The athlete dips, but instead of staying straight down and straight up, they let the chest drop or the hips shift. Now the bar moves forward, and the lift becomes harder than it needs to be.

The push press helps teach the athlete how to stay stacked and stable while applying force.

That stability transfers directly to the jerk.

4. Technique Improvement

The push press is also a great tool for improving bar path and timing.

A proper push press teaches the athlete to keep the bar connected to the body during the dip, drive vertically, and punch the bar into a strong overhead position.

It also teaches patience.

The athlete has to let the legs do their job before finishing with the arms.

That might sound simple, but it’s one of the most important lessons in the jerk.

Too many athletes rush the press. They dip, panic, and try to use their arms before the legs have fully driven the bar up. This usually leads to a weak lockout and a missed lift.

The push press gives the athlete a controlled way to practice that timing.

It also helps lifters become more comfortable with heavy weights overhead.

The more comfortable you are locking out and stabilizing the bar, the more confident you’ll feel when it’s time to jerk heavy.

5. Confidence and Mental Toughness

Like the squat, the push press has psychological benefits.

It allows athletes to handle weights close to their jerk and build confidence with heavy loads overhead.

That confidence matters.

The jerk can be intimidating because the bar is already on the shoulders, the body is fatigued from the clean, and there is very little room for hesitation.

If you don’t believe you can drive and lock out the weight, you probably won’t.

The push press helps build that belief.

It also builds toughness. Heavy push presses require aggression, focus, and commitment. You have to drive hard, finish strong, and stabilize the bar.

Those qualities carry over directly to Olympic Weightlifting.

How Often Should You Squat and Push Press?

Most athletes working on improving their snatch and clean + jerk should squat at least twice per week.

This should usually include a combination of back squats and front squats.

Some athletes may benefit from overhead squats, pause squats, or other variations depending on their weaknesses.

The push press should usually be included at least once per week.

That doesn’t mean every athlete needs to max out every week. In fact, most shouldn’t. But these movements should appear consistently in the program because they build qualities that the Olympic lifts depend on.

The key is to use them with purpose.

Don’t just squat because squats are hard.

Don’t just push press because it makes your shoulders burn.

Squat to build the legs, trunk, positions, and confidence needed to receive and recover heavy lifts.

Push press to build the leg drive, timing, overhead strength, and stability needed to improve the jerk.

Conclusion

The snatch and clean + jerk are technical lifts, but technique can only take you so far if the strength isn’t there to support it.

The squat gives you the foundation to pull, catch, and stand up heavy weights.

The push press gives you the power and overhead strength to drive and stabilize the bar in the jerk.

If you want to improve your Olympic lifts, these exercises should not be treated as accessories. They should be treated as essential parts of the plan.

If you’re looking for a program that puts all this together for you, give Oly Strong a try.

Every single one of the 25 athletes who tested this program set personal bests in at least one variation of the squat, clean + jerk, or snatch. This included beginner and intermediate lifters who trained in functional fitness.

If you want to blast through your old personal bests, this is the program for you.

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