Fixing the Feet With Mike Burgener

By Mike Burgener

October 25, 2011

How do you fine-tune an elite athlete to reach even more potential? Olympic-lifting coach Mike Burgener trains Danny Nichols of TJ’s Gym in San Rafael on the finer points of snatch footwork.

Nichols competed at the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games with his team after he put on a lifting show in the thruster event at the NorCal Regional. In this video, he works on his snatch in order to improve a wide landing position.

“Throwing those feet out there like that is just totally inefficient,” Burgener says.

Burgener has Nichols find his footing on overhead squatting and outlines his feet in chalk. After a snatch balance, Nichols notices that he jumps even wider and says it hurts his knee in that position. To find better footing, Nichols practices jumping into the narrower overhead-squat outlines.

“That feels better,” he says.

Not only does the wider position physically hurt Nichols, but Burgener says it also takes more time to get out there and is less stable than landing in proper position. The master has Nichols practice overhead squats and snatch balances, working up in weight and only counting those lifts with the correct landing position.

9min 46sec

Additional reading: The Man Behind the 325-Pound Thruster.

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11 Comments on “Fixing the Feet With Mike Burgener”

wrote …

great video! Any video from Coach B and K-star are golden in my book. Even better would be if you got the two of them together for a series of videos on mobility and olympic lifting.

wrote …

I'm not gritting any audio after the CrossFit intro. Anyone else?

wrote …

@Scott - only got it through one ear on head phones... if that helps?
@Brian - you just got it, regarding K-star and Coach B. Where was Danny's knees (specifically the right) in correlation to the hip and foot... way the eff in, or more specifically his entire lower extremity was severely flexed and "internally" rotated. K-star preaches the development of flexion/external rotation at the hip/knee/ankle/arch. If Danny builds mobility in that range of motion and works OHS,FS,BS to reinforce stability, with Coach B's instruction he will slaughter 330 in a period of months. But notice I said months, because that doesn't happen over night. Compensations love to rear their ugly head with increased load. That is why it is so important to reinforce the correct patterns with any squat that is done regardless of load. Anyone who has that foot out position is being smacked in the face with their lower extremity... it's trying to say knock it off or you are going to blow my SI/disc/meniscus/patella/etc (Danny's right knee hurts... no shit?)

Awesome video and something that every owner and athlete must take very seriously to maximize the volume under the performance curve over time... HEALTH!!!

wrote …

Awe inspiring. Thanks Coach B!

wrote …

as an athlete that struggles with the snatch, i can't wait to be coached by coach B this weekend in OKC!

Keep these videos coming in, I love them and our athletes benefit from them!

replied to comment from Scott Kraatz…

Problems with the audio aswell.

replied to comment from Jared Van Anne…

That was it Jared, only put the right earphone on at work. Thanks.

Great stuff by Coach B as always. I learn more and more from each of these.

wrote …

Awesome vid! I'd write more but I have to go practice now...

wrote …

Brilliant - What more can I say?

Mauricio Leal wrote …

Awesome coaching. Stealin' it! Most of the answers are so simple to a trained eye.

wrote …

Great coaching!