Olympic Lifts

There are so many moving parts in an Olympic lift. It takes many years of concentrated training just to get the footwork right, and it can take even more time to establish a solid pull. Then there’s the whole getting underneath the bar thing. That’s tough, too.

Eleiko, makers of some of the finest Olympic and powerlifting gear on Earth, have tapped 1992 Olympics competitor Anders Lindsjö to teach people the proper mechanics.

Lindsjö is familiar with CrossFit… Continue Reading

Chris Moore offers seven lessons learned from 18 years under the bar.

Training is just like whiskey.

You start with raw, coarse ingredients. After careful preparation and sustained heat, you can produce something recognizable: a foundation. In time that product will improve. You might even call it good, but that’s only because you’ve never experienced anything better. After years of persistence, you will… Continue Reading

Eleiko has over 50 years of experience in the business of creating high-quality bars and plates for some of the world’s strongest athletes. In fact, over 900 world records have been set with Eleiko equipment. Eleiko was also the company that introduced the rotating sleeve, which represented a great leap forward in weightlifting equipment.

World traveler Sevan Matossian was recently in Sweden to cover the Europe Regional hosted at the Eleiko Center… Continue Reading

Many strong athletes eventually hit a wall when training the Olympic lifts. Bill Starr explains how to get back on track when your clean stalls and PRs cease to come.

I’m assuming that you’re using at least decent form and have advanced to the point where you’re handling some testy poundages in the lift. You’re gaining confidence in your technique. Your routine typically has you… Continue Reading

The squat snatch is the way to move the heaviest load, but what’s the fastest way to snatch lighter loads for multiple reps? Dave Castro outlines your best options for high-rep snatch workouts.

The traditional approach to the Oly lifts is to use these movements to develop explosive speed and power. They have certainly been proven effective for that purpose, and the best results are found with shorter sets… Continue Reading

Bill Starr offers up a program designed to help athletes begin training the basics of the Olympic lifts.

I’ve written articles for the CrossFit Journal on how to snatch, clean and jerk. By following the advice in those presentations, any athlete who is interested in the Olympic lifts can learn how to do them. I realize many athletes are tentative in trying these high-skill, explosive movements on their… Continue Reading

In a continuation of our series with Owen Franks, a rugby player for the New Zealand All Blacks, Mike Burgener takes the powerful athlete through a series of cues to push him toward a max-effort clean and jerk.

Beginning with sub-maximal loads, Burgener identifies three main elements Franks needs to get very heavy loads overhead: proper hip and foot placement, speed, and rhythm.

Progressing through a range of weights starting… Continue Reading

After introducing New Zealand All Blacks rugby player Owen Franks to the Burgener Warm-Up and some snatch position drills, Mike Burgener takes him through several weighted skill-transfer exercises at Mike’s Gym in Bonsall, Calif.

Franks is very strong and can overhead-squat well over 200 lb., but Burg wants to test him with the snatch balance. Ideally, you want your snatch balance to be 20-25 kg more than your snatch, and… Continue Reading