Straight to the Bar

All Things Strength

HELPING YOU GET STRONGER SINCE 2004

Jefferson Lift
Written By : Scott Bird
Filed In : exercises | History of Strength (HoS)
Partial Jefferson Lift

Partial Jefferson Lift
UPDATE :

This lift owes its origin to Strongman Charles Jefferson, not Thomas. Thanks Jan.

Scott

The origins of this lift are a little more difficult to find than those of many other weird and wonderful movements from the strongmen of old. The only strongman I’ve come across with the name of Jefferson is Thomas Jefferson ‘Stout‘ Jackson (1890-1976) of Texas; though I can’t find any link with this particular lift.


Whomever the originator, this lift was initially performed using a large pear-shaped weight with a cross-bar attached. As this style of weight isn’t exactly common, a loaded barbell is usually substituted. The lift itself is essentially a deadlift performed whilst straddling the bar, such that one hand is in front and the other behind you. The difficult part seems to be getting the foot and hand placement just right so a comfortable lockout can be achieved (this lift is also called the ‘nut crusher‘, and a bad foot/hand placement will show you exactly why).

Over to you. Drop us a line on X/Twitter ( @scottbird ), or add a comment below.

Cheers.

 

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Written By Scott Bird
Scott is a long-time fitness enthusiast (Jan 2004!), writer and photographer living in Sydney, Australia. If you share the passion for spending a bit of time under a bar, welcome. Love hearing how everyone else trains. You can connect via X (Formerly Twitter), Facebook and the various networks listed in the sidebar.
Drawing of Scott Andrew Bird performing a deadlift. Artwork by Vince Palko.