Photo is from a CrossFit Olympic Lifting Certification conducted by Mike Burgerner.
In the Olympic Lifts good technique is what moves the bar, and in this series of classes you will learn the correct movement patterns with a broomstick before we ever move on to even light weights.
Starting Wednesday, January 23 at 7 PM, and continuing every Wednesday evening we will host introductory classes in Olympic Lifting. The class is free to unlimited monthly members, and $20 per session to everyone else. Other times are available by appointment, email Dan or Chandler to make arrangements.
The Olympic Lifts are a vital component of CrossFit programming. Here's what Coach Glassman says about them in the "Foundations" article
"The Olympic Lifts, a.k.a., Weightlifting
There are two Olympic lifts, the clean and jerk and the snatch. Mastery of these lifts develops the squat, deadlift, powerclean, and split jerk while integrating them into a single movement of unequaled value in all of strength and conditioning. The Olympic lifters are without a doubt the world’s strongest athletes.
These lifts train athletes to effectively activate more muscle fibers more rapidly than through any other modality of training. The explosiveness that results from this training is of vital necessity to every sport. Practicing the Olympic lifts teaches one to apply force to muscle groups in proper sequence, i.e., from the center of the body to its extremities (core to extremity). Learning this vital technical lesson benefits all athletes who need to impart force to another person or object as is commonly required in nearly all sports.
In addition to learning to impart explosive forces, the clean and jerk and snatch condition the body to receive such forces from another moving body both safely and effectively.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the Olympic lifts unique capacity to develop strength, muscle, power, speed, coordination, vertical leap, muscular endurance, bone strength, and the physical capacity to withstand stress. It is also worth mentioning that the Olympic lifts are the only lifts shown to increase maximum oxygen uptake, the most important marker for cardiovascular fitness.
Sadly, the Olympic lifts are seldom seen in the commercial fitness community because of their inherently complex and technical nature. CrossFit makes them available to anyone with the patience and persistence to learn."
To which I add the following observation: the Olympic lifts require and develop 8 of the 10 elements of fitness described in the "What Is Fitness?" article, namely: strength, flexibility, speed, power, coordination, balance, accuracy, and agility. When done with lighter weights and high repetitions, you can add cardio/respiratory endurance and stamina to the list, so that with CrossFit workouts involving high rep O-lifts you can work all 10 elements of fitness in one workout.
Coaches will include:
Chandler Alford, an Atlanta native, a student at Ga Tech, a competitive weightlifter who has competed in and won a number of national and international junior competitions, and who has been an athlete in residence at the Olympic Training Center.
Chandler Alford
Jason Bourgeois , a member of the Ga. Tech Swim Team who has trained extensively with Olympic lifts for several years.
Dan MacDougald, owner of CrossFit Atlanta,. Dan holds coaching certificates from USA Weightlifting, Mike Burgener's CrossFit Olympic Lifting Certification, and Mark Rippetoe's CrossFit Basic Barbell Training Certification, and is a Level 3 CrossFit trainer.
Mike Giardina. Mike is a former Navy fitness instructor, a Level 2 CrossFit trainer, and a world class CrossFit athlete who boasts a "Fran" time of 2:36
