Now that we got all that silliness out of the way, we can get back to talking shop. But first—the last parts of this article received some comments regarding the lifts’ use within CrossFit conditioning workouts that warrant response. A sentiment that seems to be shared by a number of CrossFitters (presumably the majority) is that the snatch and clean & jerk are used by CrossFitters for different reasons than by weightlifters (this much is obvious)—namely, as a method of moving large loads long distances in little time for the sake of “increasing work capacity across broad time and modal domains.” This, it’s argued, means that technical proficiency is simply unnecessary—it doesn’t matter how the weight gets from A to B as long as it does so quickly.

I’m not going to lie—this line of reasoning is thoroughly exasperating. A weightlifter’s goal is to snatch and clean & jerk as much weight as possible. To this end, he or she continues improving strength, speed and technical proficiency. The more precise a lifter’s technique, the more he or she is able to snatch or clean & jerk, because the more effectively his or her strength and speed is applied. This is not a confusing concept—lift technique is designed to allow the athlete to apply maximal force to elevate the bar, get under it, and recover. A lifter can continue getting stronger and faster, but these qualities will never be optimally applicable without equivalently developed technique.

For the CrossFitter—even one who desires only to snatch and clean & jerk some astronomical number of consecutive repetitions—technical proficiency means more weight lifted in less time, as well as a reduction in extraneous effort due to inconsistent positions and movements among reps, or, for example, Sots pressing a failed snatch off the dome. This means more work can be done in a given period of time, whether that period is defined as the time to execute a single lift or a series of them, and consequently “increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains.”

If it doesn’t matter how the bar gets from A to B (this is the same argument used to support the use of the kipping pull-up, in case you’re getting confused—same start and end points, meaning same vertical mass displacement, meaning same approximate amount of work performed, but faster movement, meaning more power), then why would there possibly be any resistance to improving the method of elevating that bar in a manner befitting the stated goals?

Surely it can’t be argued that there isn’t enough time to work on lift technique—CrossFit workouts take less time than many bowel movements. Quit resisting improvement, develop some perspective, and do a bit of work. And if you’re going to argue, at least have the courtesy to come up with some legitimate rationale (actually don’t waste your time—it doesn’t exist).

Designing the System

Knowing what we now know, we need to create a system of instructing and practicing the Olympic lifts that addresses all of the complications discussed in the first part of the article. As has been mentioned a number of times, the actual system will vary among gyms, so instead of making a rigid prescription, I’m going to simply provide an example that can be used as a template and reshaped to fit various applications.

This example takes into consideration the setup of our own CrossFit program—ours is one that emphasizes strength and technical proficiency. I design a moderate-term strength program (generally 6-8 weeks) that involves 1-2 strength or Olympic lifts per training day prior to conditioning workouts, which are relatively brief and designed largely around the strength program.

We bring in new clients through an On-Ramp program, which means we don’t have any absolute beginners to worry about when doing this strength and Olympic lift work. All clients by this point are able to front, back and overhead squat, deadlift, press and push press quite well, with some exception in cases of extreme inflexibility that has not yet been resolved, or particularly poor motor skill. Not once have we had a client complain or ask why we do things the way we do, as this is what we have accustomed them to from day one, and because they continue to make excellent progress.

The following system also takes into account the fact that our clients are adults and treated as such with the according responsibility. For example, our clients bring their own notebooks and record all of their workouts. This means that they know what they’ve done on any given date, and we don’t have to waste everyone’s time trying to remember weights, reps, times or guessing when we shouldn’t be.

Nuts & Bolts

The first step is determining what drills and exercises we want to use in the instruction and practice process. Anyone involved with CrossFit should be aware of at least one teaching progression—Coach Burgener’s. This can be used in the following system, but obviously I’m going to use my own in this example. If the Burgener Warm-up is what you’re accustomed to and comfortable with, use it (but please do it correctly—and if you don’t do it correctly, please don’t post videos of it all over YouTube). It should be fairly clear how to substitute the BWU drills with mine.

It’s important to continue with the long term perspective when considering the following process. With this approach, clients won’t be performing certain lifts for a while into their training careers, but unless we expect them to train for only a couple months, this shouldn’t be a concern. And if they do only train for a couple months, they probably don’t deserve your time and effort anyway.

Because by the time our clients are first exposed to the Olympic lifts they have already been taught and have been practicing the back squat, front squat and overhead squat, our basic receiving position work has been accomplished, taking care of the first step in the snatch and clean progressions. They are already familiar with the press as well, but this will be included in the jerk progression because its practice in proximity to other jerk related drills seems to improve the performance of those drills. If your gym works differently, this will have to be taken into account.

The program is intended to be used 2-3 days/week. How this is actually implemented in each gym may vary considerably. It should be possible to fit this training into the rest of the schedule at least 2-3 out of every 5-6 days CrossFit classes are being run—most likely on days that contain somewhat briefer workouts.

Clients will go through the program individually—that is, each client will follow the workouts in order until completed. This means that on any given day, your clients may be doing several different drills. If these drills are familiar to you, this shouldn’t present a problem. Several clients can be monitored together, and clients who have advanced farther will be able to help clients who are just getting started.

For days on which an Olympic lift is prescribed, clients who have not yet completed the progression can work through all of the related drills they have covered to that point. In this way, they’re not feeling left out and are doing something productive with the time while more advanced clients work the lifts themselves.

Clearly trying to dictate multiple series of drills to a group of clients at different stages of their progressions would present a challenge. This problem can be managed fairly easily by ensuring your clients keep records of their training—I suggest having them note on a single easily found page of their training journals (e.g. front or back page) the steps they have completed. This avoids wasted time flipping through reams of marginally-legible post-metCon scribbling. When lift practice is prescribed, each client can simply find the workout that’s next in the progression.

These are meant to be drills, not training lifts. Accordingly, there shouldn’t be any legitimate weight on the bar, and most clients will be using light technique bars for many of the drills. Obviously drills like snatch and clean deadlifts and certain press variations can be done will more weight, but again, it should be only enough weight to allow the drill to be performed accurately—not as strength work. Each day has about 50-60 total reps—this is a pretty good amount, so rest intervals will need to be kept short to ensure the work doesn’t get dragged out unnecessarily. No more than 30 seconds rest should be needed for even the harder drills. However, your clients should be taking a break between sets to ensure higher quality execution. At this pace, the work should be done in about 15 minutes.

The progression drills can be posted somewhere in the gym, or better, you can laminate several copies that clients can grab to keep with them during the workout for easy reference. The drills page in the article is designed for exactly this purpose—print a few copies and laminate them.

What About Advanced Clients?

So now the question becomes, What are advanced clients doing during these practice periods? There are a number of options; which are used will depend largely on how the gym operates. The most obvious is to prescribe more advanced Olympic lift technique drills and complexes to these clients, such as 2 and 3-position lifts, snatch balances, power jerk + split jerks, power clean/snatch + clean/snatch, etc. This is an easy way to keep your clients working as a group; it also improves everyone’s training because clients are able to watch and hear your corrections of other clients, which will often be applicable to their own lifting.

Another possibility is allowing your more advanced clients to use this time for the practice of skills they’re currently developing, whether related to weightlifting or not. Typically such clients are very self-directed and for such matters are less in need of coaching than simple experimentation and practice.

The Big Picture

Often it’s assumed that because of Catalyst Athletics’ reputation as a weightlifting gym, our CrossFitters perform the Olympic lifts extremely frequently and have impeccable technique. The fact is, our CrossFit program is completely independent of our weightlifting program, and while, since it is run by me, it does have somewhat more of an emphasis on the lifts and strength/power work than many CrossFit programs, it remains a program intended to develop a breadth of fitness capacities. This being the case, our clients are exposed to the Olympic lifts to an appropriate degree, and are by no means experts in their execution.

In my opinion, the generalist can and should emphasize technique development as much as the specialist—the difference is the amount of time dedicated to each element. That is, while the weightlifter is continuously improving snatch and clean & jerk technique, the generalist will be continuously improving lift technique along with an expansive collection of other skills. Developing an array of skills doesn’t mean technical excellence is less important; it simply means that the process of technique development for each skill will occur over a much longer period of time, as it will be continually interrupted by periods of other emphasis.

This is how we arrive at such a program. We intend to teach and coach the Olympic lifts to the greatest extent allowed by the circumstances, expecting a longer process than we would in the type of circumstances surrounding a competitive weightlifter.

Try the program as-is, or modify the template to better suit your application. Commit the time and energy to instructing your clients in the lifts, and they will benefit greatly.