CrossFit athletes around the world are hungry for quality programming that will give them the support they need to perform well in competition. Mainsite continues to only publish WODs for general CrossFit enthusiasts, so coaches far and wide are popping out of the woodwork with their own approaches to CrossFit competition training. Athletes searching for the next big thing and new secrets flood these coaches’ blogs daily. But one thing is consistent from program to program: Olympic weightlifting is king.

In this article, we’ll investigate why Olympic weightlifting has become so important in CrossFit, and I'll introduce you to a few coaches who are taking it to the next level with their programming. Then we’ll end with a framework for how to add Olympic weightlifting to your personal programming. Strap on your weightlifting shoes, give Fran a call and let her know you're gonna be late to your date; let's rock and roll.

CrossFit Games Individual Events with Olympic Weightlifting Movements

2007
"Hopper"
Row 1000m then
5 RFT:
25 pull-ups
7 push jerks 135#/85#

2008
FT 30 clean & jerks 155#/100#

2009
3 RFT:
30 snatches 75#/45#
30 wall balls #20/14#

1 RM Snatch

"Chipper"
FT:
15 Cleans 155#/105#
30 Toe to Bars
30 Box Jump 24"/20"
15 Muscle-ups
30 Dumbbell Push Presses 40#/35#
30 Double Unders
15 Thrusters 135#/95#
30 Pull-ups
30 Burpees
Overhead Walking Lunge 45#/25#

2010
"Amanda"
9-7-5 RFT:
Muscle Up
Snatch 135#/95#

7 RFT:
3 Clean 205#/135#
4 Ring HSPU

(Part 2 of 3 part workout)
3 RFT:
30 T2B
21 ground to overhead 95#/65#

2011
FT:
5 ascents 15' Rope climb
5 Clean and jerk 145#/115#
4 ascents 15' Rope climb
4 Clean and jerk 165#/125#
3 ascents 15' Rope climb
3 Clean and jerk 185#/135#
2 ascents 15' Rope climb
2 Clean and jerk 205#/145#
1 ascent 15' Rope climb
1 Clean and jerk 225#/155#

1 RM weighted Chest-to-bar pull-up for load in 2 mins
1 rep max Snatch for load in 2 mins
Jug carry for distance in 1 min

2012
3 RFT:
8 Split snatch, alternating legs 115# / 75#
7 Bar muscle-ups
Run 400 meters

1-rep Clean every 30 seconds with progressively heavier barbells
245#--->385#
140#--->235#

For time:
10 Overhead squats 155#/105#
10 Box jump overs 24”/ 20”
10 Fat bar thrusters 135#/ 95#
10 Power cleans 205#/125#
10 T2B
10 Burpee muscle-ups
10 T2B
10 Power cleans 205#/125#
10 Fat bar thrusters 135#/ 95#
10 Box jump overs 24”/20”
10 Overhead squats 155#/105#

"Elizabeth"
21-15-9 RFT:
Clean 135#/ 95#
Ring dips

"Isabel"
FT:
30 Snatch 135#/95#

One need only look over that table for a moment to see that Olympic weightlifting movements are essential in competition. The day is long gone where being "okay" at the snatch is "okay." It's time to become technicians and artists in the lifts, ready to adapt your abilities to any setting, at any intensity, with a whole lot of weight.

Simply showing that CrossFit uses the lifts and their derivatives in competition isn't even the most compelling argument as to why you should prioritize them in your training. For that, we will look to the very heart of Olympic weightlifting.

How Olympic Weightlifting Translates into Everything

It is easy to see how training the snatch and clean and jerk also improves movements that are used in the lifts, namely the deadlift, squat and press. And it is not difficult to continue down this path and see how similar lifts can also be improved, for instance the thruster, box jump and handstand push ups. Let's dive even further by analyzing how the bare essentials of the Olympic lifts improve everything we do in CrossFit. As a foundation to understand the "bare essentials of the Olympic lifts" we will use the list from Greg Everett's seminal article, "Six truths of Olympic Weightlifting Technique."

Truth 1: The lifter and the barbell system must remain balanced over the feet.

Truth 2: The barbell and the lifter must remain in close proximity to each other.

Technique: No barbell movements are more highly technical than the snatch and the clean and jerk. Period. Athletes spend their entire lives perfecting just these two movements. CrossFit athletes have a huge library of movements they wish to be competent in, and it is impossible to practice every single one and ever see growth in all of them. By choosing to focus on primarily the Olympic lifts, however, we can see progress across the board. Use the Olympic lifts and basic strength lifts to get stronger and better, use everything else to be ready for the unknown and unknowable.

Truth 3: There must be no time wasted at the top of the pull.

Truth 4: The relocation under the bar is an active movement.

Power: The Olympic lifts are the most powerful lifts in the book. Nothing is going to teach you to move large loads long distance quickly (in relation to a barbell) better than these lifts. This "need for speed" teaches you how to move as a power athlete. Is there anything better than being strong and fast?

Truth 5: The receiving position must be strong and stable.

Confidence: When you are comfortable and confident in the snatch, a sumo deadlift high pull just ain't that frightening. When you have the clean and jerk in the bag, learning to do an atlas stone clean is fun. Coming into CrossFit, I had two years of experience in the snatch and clean and jerk. I watched myself progress much quicker than my peers because the barbell was my friend--nothing was scary, stupid or weird. Get to know the Olympic lifts; they're great friends, with benefits.

Truth 6: Consistency is more important than technical style.

Practice: If you want to be the best CrossFit athlete you can be, don't do it just like Annie Thorrisdottir, do it just like you. Learn from Rich, Coach and every fire breather in a 100-mile radius, then make it your own. No one can create a program for everyone; no one can devise a game day strategy for the masses. Best practices are awesome, helpful hints are cool, buy learning by trial and error is the key to unlocking your true potential.

Coaches Prioritizing Olympic Weightlifting:

If you want a specific Olympic weightlifting / CrossFit program, here are some coaches who are publishing workouts daily that you can follow. Note: follow one coach. One. These guys/gals are smart, they're big goal/picture kinda people who don't promise results from one day of ass kicking. They promise results by consistency, dedication, ass kicking/TLC and hard fucking work- so give it to them.

CJ Martin CJ Martin has a big brain in his bald head and his programming will not dissappoint. A big plus at his website is the Fitness/Performance/Competition breakdown for programming. Maybe you're a new box owner who wants to use some reliable programming while you perfect your game, or you're a novice athlete who needs a ramp up to elite level programming- here's everything you need on one website.

Aaron Landes "Lando," of CrossFit Southie, is new on my radar but his program has potential. I gotta give respect to any coach who publishes their workouts with the "why" and a request for feedback. Give it a shot for a few cycles, let me/him know if you get better at CrossFitting.

Greg Everett Greg is not a CrossFit coach, Greg does not program for CrossFit athletes. He is an Olympic weightlifting master level ninja warrior with the light sabers to prove it, so if you want to take a few months in your programming to truly focus on the lifts, there is no one better to turn to.

Basic Olympic Weightlifting Framework for CrossFit Competition Training

Instead of prescribing a specific program for Olympic weightlifting, let me suggest some foundational ideas from which you can build your own program. Of course, these are not ideas on which every program is/should be built;, this is simply a place to start. As you experiment as a coach/athlete, tailor these ideas to optimize your growth.

Note: I’m assuming you are able to perform a full snatch and clean and jerk. If you are not at this point, then this framework is not geared towards you. Check out this program instead. These ideas are for coaches or athletes writing their own programming. Some of the ideas are for a strength cycle; when it's time to shift your focus to other areas of your fitness, take what's helpful and leave what's not.

1. Learn the lifts correctly.
This is obvious but worth saying out loud. Trying to mimic what you see the great or competent do can be very helpful, but you may miss out on delicate and essential actions like not shooting your hips up prematurely from the floor or the need to actively pull yourself under the bar during the third pull. Imagine training for a year and then taking a great seminar like the one offered at Catalyst Athletics and having to exclaim, "Shit! My feet are supposed to start where?!"

2. Perform heavy snatches and clean and jerks regularly.
As a beginner, there is a lot of ground to be gained by doing light technique work with the Olympic lifts. But eventually you will reach a point where you're not going to get any stronger in the lifts or hone your technique any further without getting under some serious weight. As an example, "pulling under the bar" is mostly hypothetical when the weight is light; you're strong enough to pull the thing over your head, there's really no reason to get underneath it. But when the weight is heavy, you actually have to pull yourself underneath the bar in order to finish the lift, and in order to have any idea how to do that for real, you have to have to do it for real.

3. Use derivatives of the lifts to fix holes in your game.
There are an infinite number of derivatives of the lifts that include adjectives like hang and pause, qualifiers like from-the-knee and while-drinking-beer. Later in your weightlifting career, you may use these lifts for strength and variety, but as you begin to prioritize the Olympic lifts in your CrossFit training, let's only use them to attack very specific problems. What do I mean? Use the snatch and clean and jerk to get better at the snatch and clean and jerk. When you notice that you could use more speed getting underneath the bar in the snatch, use a hang snatch. When time after time the bar is too far away from you at the knees during the clean, start with the bar on boxes at your knees. With a coach's watchful eye, you should be able to translate these techniques back into the full lifts. Because no derivative of the Olympic lifts perfectly recreates what's going on during the full lifts, let's use them with intention.

4. Use power versions of the lifts to emphasize speed and to recover.
I find taking a day off from the full lifts by doing the power versions to be rejuvenating, invigorating and fun (but I'm a nerd.) In order for the power versions to be helpful in developing the full lifts, they must be fast and precise. Sorry, 2012 CrossFit Games Regional competitors, your hang power cleans aren't going to make you better at the clean because your technique has gone to shit. When you catch your power snatch at a thigh position above parallel, can you ride it the rest of the way down into a proper overhead squat? Good for you, you're doing it right.

5. Squat. All the time.
This instruction does not read “Deadlift. All the time,” and there's a reason for that. A traditional deadlift is not identical to its relative equivalent in the Olympic lifts. In a traditional deadlift, your hips are set too high from the start and the movement is often executed too slowly. A traditional squat (high bar back squat or front squat,) when performed correctly, builds very useful strength for the Olympic lifts. How much strength do you need? I'll let Greg tell you about that.

6. Start your training day with the Olympic lifts.
Much like Coach Rutherford's Max Effort Black Box template, putting Olympic weightlifting training at the beginning of your day allows for maximum focus, attention, effort and time. You don't want to be tuckered out, mentally or physically, before practicing the Olympic lifts as that will not allow you to perform at levels that will benefit you in the larger picture.

7. Don't use the Olympic lifts in your metcons until you are an artist and a technician.
This is probably the most controversial idea listed here and I also think it's one of the most important. Watch video of the early CrossFit Games and you’ll see that lots of competitors lost all semblance of correct technique when intensity was layered on. Compare that to video of Rich Froning completing 12.2 from the 2012 Open.

12.2
Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
75# Snatch, 30 reps
135# Snatch, 30 reps
165# Snatch, 30 reps
210# Snatch, as many reps as possible

The Fittest Man in the World is arguably also the most efficient and technically proficient man in the world. So I have to wait until I'm Rich Froning until I can do the Olympic lifts in metcons? No, that's a dumb question. Just do yourself a favor and wait until you are so comfortable in your traditional Olympic lifting technique that learning how to handle the lifts in a metcon setting isn't going to waste all the time and effort you've spent learning them the right way. If there's a competition coming up and you think you'll need to use them in a metcon setting then practice them, but don't lose focus on the larger and more important goal: being the best Olympic weightlifter you can possibly be.

Chalk Up

Opinions aren't worth any more than the beers they're drank over and this is just one man's opinion on how to program for Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit. There are one million ways to do this and half of them are right, the other half would be right too if they would allow themselves to adapt and learn. As a coach, programmer and athlete, I hope to learn every day by discussing, arguing and reading. But at the end of the day, none of that matters if you don't pick up a barbell.

You know what to do.