Shameless Self-promotion

Listen, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but beep beep. As many of you know, I have been teaching an Olympic lifting class at CrossFit Balance on Saturday mornings at 9AM. Danielle and I created this class for three reasons: 1) I love teaching the O-lifts, 2) It's an excellent opportunity for people to develop/improve their technique, and 3) You probably suck at the snatch and clean & jerk. Hear me out...

Olympic lifting is the most technically demanding aspect of CrossFit and dedicating some focused attention to it will pay dividends. Too often do you see these beautiful movements bastardized by people who care more about moving fast than moving efficiently. Newsflash: Efficient = Fast. You can only muscle through reps for so long until form breaks down, time slows, and the potential for injury increases. While CrossFit has helped provide more exposure to the Olympic lifts, it has also done some damage by exemplifying such poor technique development. Admittedly, most of the blame should be laid on the individuals and their coaches for failing to devote some effort into becoming proficient in the O-lifts.

Here is a quick case-study: Chris is a client whose best previous snatch was a 155lbs power snatch. Chris is plenty strong and has good mobility in his hips and thoracic spine. When he told me his best overhead squat was 195 for three reps, I told him there was absolutely no reason he couldn't snatch 185lbs. So I took him through some light technique work, a lot of positioning drills with a barbell, and when I thought he was ready, I slowly had him work up to a heavy snatch. The result?

184lbs

With some more work, I have no doubt that Chris can snatch 200lbs. Now, keep in mind, I am by no means an "elite" Olympic lifting coach, but I know enough about the lifts and have seen enough to help correct flaws in people's form. This is an opportunity to enhance your Olympic lifting proficiency. I encourage you to do so.