I Coulda Jerked the World

By Mike Burgener

In Audio, Coaching, Olympic Lifts, Videos

November 11, 2008

Up close and personal with Coach Mike Burgener. The Again Faster crew captured this footage at his Oly cert at CrossFit Montclair in Montclair, NJ on October 4th and 5th, 2008.

The video shows Coach B at work, showing his “simple” system for getting anyone to do the Olympic lifts. While there are plenty of instructional nuggets here, this is not an instructional video. For straight instruction, see Coach B’s multiple articles and videos in the Olympic Lifts section of the Journal.

Instead, this is much more about the man himself. There is extensive footage of Coach talking about his history: Growing up on a farm in southern Illinois, getting interested in weight training, lifting for Notre Dame and York Barbell, coaching his children, including Casey to the 2008 Olympic team.

10min 28sec

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The Burgener Files—Clean and Jerk Part 2

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Active shoulders, weight over the base of the feet and, yes, the hook grip.

In this snippet from an Olympic Weightlifting Trainer Course, Mike Burgener first talks about keeping the shoulders… Continue Reading

The Burgener Files: 1 - The Warmup

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In this first video of this series from … Continue Reading

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21 Comments on “I Coulda Jerked the World”

wrote …

Coach B

Thank you for giving us all a glimpse into your world and the road you took in becoming who you are today. It's great to get to hear some of those stories of you growing up and being exposed to OLY lifting, you're an inspiration.

Darren Coughlan wrote …

I think its official, Again Faster produce the best vids!

Keep them coming.

wrote …

what a cool guy!

wrote …

Very very cool video. What a class act, I only wish I had more time at the Games to stop and talk to him.

wrote …

Wow. Makes me want to get my barbell cert. Seems like a really cool guy. Albeit, the kind of guy that would have no qualms kicking your ass :-)

wrote …

Coach B is a class act. A great coach, mentor, and, I'm happy to say, a friend.

I have the privilege of being semi-close to his gym, so I stop by occasionally and he always welcomes me with a smile and gives me great advice and coaching. Other than that, he's just a great guy to be around, and I would strongly recommend his olympic lifting cert to anyone that wants to learn, what I believe, is the key element in being a better CrossFitter.

wrote …

Believe it or not, about 4 years ago I actually went to an O-Cert with Coach B. before I hit my first Level I CF Cert. What an amazing Coach...I take lessons learned from him back to my training Academy everyday. I can't thank him enough. As Paul stated above, O-Lift IS the ket to being a better CrossFitter! Get some...

Coach Eric LeClair
www.TeamCrossFitAcademy.com

wrote …

This is an excellent video. Thanks to those who put it toghether. Mainly thanks to Coach for sharing his history and passion for lifting, for CrossFit, and for working with the likes of us. His last comments in this will resonate in my head continually as I work to excel w/ the Oly lifts and CrossFit (even more so than the threat of "more burpees"). - Theresa R.

Joey W wrote …

That's really cool to hear the background story of Coach. It brings a much deeper respect for someone when you know what they've done to get where they are.

But I have to ask.... where can I get the Under Armour shirt he's wearing?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v620/Magnum314/Coach.png

Adam Kayce wrote …

Ditto, ditto, ditto — excellent video. What a great opportunity to hear Coach B's background, and get some more training tips in the process.

I think my excitement about training with Coach Burgener just outstripped my fear of it, so thanks again.

replied to comment from Joey W…

Comment#9 Joey W
http://www.mikesgym.org/store/index.php
scroll down - 3rd tshirt picture

i want one of those myself!

wrote …

Thank you for all you do Coach Burgener. It is an honor and a priveledge to learn from and be mentored by such an amazing man.

For those who would like to know more about and improve their ability in Oly lifting, go to Coach Burgener's Olympic Lifting Certification, you will not be dissapointed.

wrote …

I learned the Oly-lifts from "Burgener Disciples" (the Macs) who had nothing but fantastic things to say about "Burg". I've been saving up money to make it to one of his Seminars/Certs and make sure to check his website at least weekly to eyeball the workouts and pick up as much as I can. This is a great vid. Thanks for everything you do Coach B.

wrote …

Class Act. All the Marines I know have something in common; they are hard workers and they are inspirational people. Thanks for what you do Coach B.

Shane Skowron wrote …

Great story; he seems like a great guy. I couldn't quite grasp when he went into the Marines though. Was it before he was at ND or after he graduated?

wrote …

In the video, Coach Burgener mentioned his son Beau is trying to become a Navy SEAL. I met Beau last weekend while training at their house and he recently graduated from BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) and is on his way to SQT (SEAL Qualification Training). I know so many outstanding and motivated Sailors who dropped out from BUD/S, so that is an achievement any parent should be proud of! By the way, CrossFit helped Beau prepare for BUD/S.

wrote …

...so cool and motivatin`!

wrote …

One word...

Out-Freakin-Standing!

wrote …

Can't wait to attend one of Coach B's certs. Hope you make it to CO sometime soon.

wrote …

That was a great cert and a lot of fun. I didn't realize I could move that fast until he made me!

wrote …

coach B is legit!!!!!!