Olympic Lifts

Alongside CrossFit Media’s Carey Peterson, two-time Olympian Chad Vaughn dissects his 285-lb. snatch via slow-motion footage.

As he settles into his start position for his heaviest snatch of the day, he’s thinking three things: build tension in the back, feel the shoulders in front of the bar, and be aggressive on the extension. As he takes a deep breath and locks in his back, he feels the tension he’s created, he says.

“My… Continue Reading

Bill Starr explains the technique for the Olympic-style press, which helped set records but ultimately ushered the lift out of competition.

In the ’60s, Tony Garcy of the York Barbell Club invented a technical style of pressing that required a high degree of timing, quickness, coordination and—most of all—balance. Previously, Olympic lifters used brute strength to elevate their presses. Tony’s version was a… Continue Reading

Champion weightlifter Donny Shankle says the competition isn’t over until the last clean and jerk comes down.

Gloria was 6 kilos behind the leader after missing two of her three snatch attempts.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spied her competitor dancing all over the platform like a newborn baby giraffe as she jerked.

“Chicken legs,” Gloria whispered under her breath… Continue Reading

Bill Starr explains why the feet are the key to almost any lift.

Oddly enough, few strength athletes think about their feet when performing an exercise—but they should.

Seldom do people even think about their feet unless something goes wrong with them. Stub a toe badly and you will suddenly understand how important that part of your foot is for locomotion and any other athletic movement.

The feet play a critical role… Continue Reading

Four years after CrossFit helped him lose 210 lb., Johnny Di Gregorio abandoned the training methodology to become a competitive weightlifter. After several injuries, he’s back to CrossFit, saying it’s the healthiest choice for him. Andréa Maria Cecil reports.

At 23, Johnny Di Gregorio was 425 lb. Three years later, he lost nearly half of that weight by following CrossFit.com programming. But that’s not the most interesting part of Di… Continue Reading

At this CrossFit Invictus Training Camp, longtime Olympic-weightlifting coach Mike Burgener works with one athlete who is not reaching full hip extension and is therefore being pulled forward by the bar. Coach Burgener explains the height of the bar is often less important than the speed with which an athlete can pull under it.

If athletes “lose connection” between the time of hip explosion and getting under… Continue Reading

Champion weightlifter Donny Shankle addresses the true character of the world’s fastest lift.

The snatch is one of two exercises in the sport of weightlifting. It involves lifting a barbell from the floor up and over your head in one motion. Many hours are spent in the gym practicing the snatch, trying to get as close to perfection as possible. Because the movement is so quick, there is little room for error. The… Continue Reading

Doug Chapman, coach to 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games second-place finisher Julie Foucher, doesn’t talk about a shrug or an elbow pull when he teaches the snatch.

“The reason is I have your mind going in too many flippin’ places,” explains the owner of HyperFit USA/CrossFit Ann Arbor.

His cues are simple: “I want you to dip and I want you to catch,” Chapman says.

Next, he starts a workout where athletes are snatching from… Continue Reading