CLEAN & JERK Learn the Clean and Jerk from coach Bob Takano, USA weightlifting Hall-of-Famer and National team coach, This is the most demanding exercise. It is presumed that a clean is a squat clean. It will have a significant effect on the metabolism as it will require the contractions (both concentric and isometric) of a large percentage of the skeletal musculature. The stance should initially be hip-width and after a violent extension of the knees and hips accompanied by a contraction of the trapezius, the feet move out to a squatting stance. After the demands of the clean, the athlete must then drive the weight overhead. When performed with maximal weight, the athlete will be generating the greatest amount of power of which he or she is capable.