The Zercher and the Jefferson: Brutally Functional
Two hybrid lifts for transitioning barbell strength to Strongman and the real world.
Have you ever been asked to lift a real world object, well below your perceived strength capacity, and failed utterly? Maybe the girl next door needed help moving her grandmother's solid granite garden gnome to a sunnier spot, but instead of triumphantly hoisting the little guy, he doesn't even budge, and you receive only his cold, mocking stare of gnomish disapproval. The girl snickers and says something about you not being as strong as you look, and you fumble for excuses like, “I'm not warmed up" or “My knee sleeves are in the wash”, but you know what the real problem is: The real problem is that you don't have the magical power to shape shift the granite gnome into a 28mm barbell sitting exactly 9 inches off the ground.
Now, don't get me wrong, the barbell is probably the most important strength training tool we have available to us, and squats, bench-presses, and deadlifts go a long, long way to building fundamental strength and size, but they are not an exhaustive representation of the movement patterns that need to be applied for real-world strength. There is a big gap between the tightly measured, moment arm optimization of power-lifting, and the adaptability necessary for stones, kegs, sand-bags, logs, crates etc., as you would find in the real world and the sport of strongman. Today I am going to show you a pair of lift types that go a long way towards bridging that gap: these are barbell exercises that mimick certain important variables of non-barbell lifting.
The Zercher
Fundamentally, Zercher refers to holding the barbell in the crooks of your elbows. The prevailing story is that a lifter in the 1930s named Ed Zercher didn't have access to a rack, and so to perform heavy squats, deadlifted the bar into his lap, to then pick it up with his elbows. This might sound bizarre to you, but there is nothing really that strange about it; we carry most objects this way. Whether it be a heavy box, a bundle of firewood, a stubborn household pet, or a lifeless corpse, objects without handles are generally scooped with the arms and held tight to the body. So, if this type of loading gets used all the time anyway, surely there is value in becoming good at it…
Carrying an object in your arms in front of you requires an incredibly taxing combination of core and upper-back strength, as well as requiring increased participation from your quadriceps to squat. You will learn to brace at a whole other level of intensity performing exercises this way, and that will have strength carryover to just about every field.
Zercher Version 1: From the Floor
The most extreme version of this lift is called the Zercher deadlift, where the weight is lifted directly from the floor with the elbows. This is a movement to work up to, and not recommended for complete beginners.
The range of motion is simply massive in this exercise, and the total volume of muscle stimulated is unparalleled. Your quads, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, abdominals, lats, and traps are all thoroughly stimulated, as well as the smaller muscles around the hips. Even the chest, biceps, and front delts receive some stimulation since they must contract to hold the weight in place.
Some rounding of the back is expected in this movement, but it should take place in the *upper* back only, and be a gentle curve.
Knees and toes are pointed outward throughout the movement.
Incredible hip mobility is required, and if you are not initially flexible enough, you may have to place the barbell on blocks at first to enable you to reach it.
Start very light, while you build skill in the pattern. 20% of your deadlift 1RM is not unreasonable for your first session. This lift may eventually be programmed with low reps/heavy weight as a replacement for the squat or deadlift, but initially should be used as lighter/medium rep accessory.
Zercher Version 2: From the Lap Position
Now, the Zercher variation I recommend for most people, is the one Ed himself used, where the barbell is deadlifted conventionally into the lap first. This action in itself is a very important skill, and is referred to as “lapping” in the sport of Strongman, where it is used with a variety of objects.
Once the barbell is balanced behind the knees in the squat position, the deadlift grip is abandoned, and the arms are slipped under the bar to initiate the zercher hold. From here the weight is squatted up.
For the purpose of carry-over to Strongman style lifting, I advocate dropping the barbell and repeating the lapping process on each repetition, with relatively heavy weights in the 2 - 5 rep range.
This movement is valuable for those without a rack, as a substitute for a primary squatting exercise. In this case, the weight does not need to start from the floor each time, but just be squatted to parallel on each rep in the 5 - 12 range.
Again, knees and toes pointed slightly outward.
Zercher Version 3: From the Rack
Just like a typical back or front barbell squat, the Zercher can be walked out from the rack and initiated from the standing position, eliminating the need for the barbell to ever touch the ground. This, however, is the variation furthest from the point of this article, since we are discussing the Zercher for its carry-over to lifting objects in the real world that weren't designed to be lifted, and getting them off the ground is kind of the whole point. Nonetheless, there are reasons one might want to perform a Zercher lift this way.
Even without extended range of motion, a Zercher lift is still a brutally effective tool for developing core strength and stability.
A trainee may want a quad-dominant squat variation but not have appropriate limb length/flexibility for typical front-squat positioning.
A trainee may have shoulder injuries that prevent them from back squatting.
Additional lower-body volume/variety is wanted without the use of machines.
Zercher Safety
This movement is a powerful and effective one, but it certainly comes with its own set of drawbacks.
For instance, when in use without a rack, it is highly recommended that you be comfortable dropping the weight. This requires a little practice to feel natural, but it also requires a set up where dropping the weights is feasible, like a deadlifting platform, rubber flooring, and/or bumper plates, or even just outside in the grass and dirt.. which is honestly where you may end up anyway, after getting kicked out of planet fitness for even mentioning this lift.
Another issue is the pain caused by the barbell digging into your arms. Of course, a little bit of pain is to be endured for its own strengthening value, but big bruises are counter-productive, so you may want to take steps to mitigate this effect if you are going heavy regularly. One option is to use an axle/thick bar instead of a regular olympic barbell, and spread the force out that way.
Alternatively or in combination, you could just wear a sweater or two. I suppose if you really, really, had to, you could use one of those squat pads… but I can't outright suggest it because I am trying to maintain my dignity.
One final word of caution: Your arms are participating in a static hold. Never, ever, not now, not later, not even for a split second think of arm-curling as part of the Zercher movement. I have torn a bicep tendon, (not on a Zercher, but all the same) and trust me, you do not want that.
If you want to learn to pick-up all sorts of things, especially big, odd-shaped objects without handles whose center of gravity is out in front of you, like stones and logs, the Zercher is the perfect barbell go-between. It feels primal and confers incredibly functional strength, all while stimulating a huge volume of muscle tissue.
The Jefferson Lift
Popularized by Charles Jefferson, this is another semi-forgotten old-timey lift. Now, I am going to get just a wee bit technical on this one, so those of my readers who are literal gorillas may want to peel a nice banana or two to keep themselves occupied.
A properly loaded barbell is a perfectly symmetrical object, and conventional lifting form on the squat and deadlift puts the lifter’s body in perfectly symmetrical positioning to lift this perfectly symmetrical object. This confines force to the sagittal plane (up and down).
Unfortunately, when dealing with real world objects that weren't necessarily designed to be lifted, this level of symmetry is rarely available, either because of the objects weight distribution, or because its shape forces an asymmetrical stance, or both. Thus, a main difference between odd-object lifting and typical barbell lifting, is the addition of loading outside of the sagittal plane.
The Jefferson lift refers to a split-stance foot position where one foot faces between 45 and 90 degrees away from the other foot. This stance allows a lifter to align the object's center of gravity with his own center of gravity, improving the efficiency of sagittal loading, but at the expense of introducing rotational force (loading in the transverse plane). Basically, the take-away here is that the Jefferson lift forces you to engage more of your core to prevent the barbell from turning left or right during the lift, as well as encouraging/requiring hip mobility for the wide open stance.
The Jefferson lift can be performed as a deadlift, meaning that the hips are kept high and the back is forward (hinged).
The Jefferson lift can be performed as a squat, meaning the back is upright and the hips are brought low.
It is recommended that your forward leg be alternated, and that equal volume be given to your left and right leg.
Whichever leg is forward, the corresponding arm always grips the bar on the outside of that leg.
The Jefferson deadlift can be cycled in as a temporary replacement for a conventional deadlift, or used as an accessory/secondary movement.
On the other hand, the Jefferson squat is in my opinion best used as an accessory, and not as a replacement for a primary squatting movement, but is an incredible mobility exercise.
The most advanced variation of the Jefferson lift, is a Jefferson deadlift loaded unevenly, where the core is now forced to resist side - to - side movement as well, causing additional recruitment of the obliques. This lift is only for those with the loftiest of functional strength goals, like carrying all the groceries in one trip. We have gone all the way now, from a symmetrical stance on a symmetrical weight, to an asymmetrical stance on an asymmetrical weight, and now have loading in three planes: the sagittal, the transverse, and the frontal.
The lifter should become very comfortable with the Jefferson position before attempting this variation.
At first, the difference should be minimal. Start with one side 10% or 15% heavier than the other, and increase this ratio slowly.
It is even more highly recommended that the forward leg is alternated between sets.
There are many variables in this lift, which means many opportunities for error. To prevent injury, it is extremely important you pay the utmost attention to every aspect of this lift while performing it.
Conclusion
The Zercher and the Jefferson are best viewed as path-ways for taking conventional barbell strength, and adapting it to a host of other applications that require greater stability and mobility. Not everyone has room for or access to full sets of stones, sandbags, etc. (I mean, in an ideal world the atlas stone cave would be a standard feature of every household, but this isn't an ideal world.) The barbell provides flexibility in programming as well, allowing for tight control over progressive overload. Even if your sport doesn't directly involve lifting, and you don't care about conquering granite garden gnomes, the increased core activation in these lifts could have tremendous benefit for many other sports, from hockey to wrestling; anything that has a demand for force production through multiple planes. I recommend everyone add the Zercher and the Jefferson to your toolkit, even if you only bring them out once in a while for the pleasure of picking up heavy things in different ways.
Oh and here is Eric Bugenhagen Zercher deadlifting 500lbs because this article wouldn't be complete of he wasn't mentioned.
Great article
Zercher with his famed Zercher Squat is testimony to the fact that Inventiveness is not only America's Greatest Strength, but Produces its Greatest Strength! A Power American from St. Louis (my mother';s city) Zercher was one of the Strongest Men Alive in his day!