In 2007, I saw the movie “300” and like so many other college dudes asked, “How do I get a six pack like those fellas?” A Google search unearthed Gym Jones and subsequently, CrossFit. I printed off a WOD and headed to a small gym on my university’s campus.

I asked the coach if I could use his equipment to do this CrossFit thing and he said sure. The WOD that day included virtual shoveling- remember those ol’ things? During this time CrossFit was testing the boundaries of “functional fitness” by imitating real life chores. To shovel virtually, you load one side of a barbell with a 45 pound plate, then lift the heavy end over a box again and again until the “hole was dug.”

I spent an hour fiddling with the equipment and setting up, only to look like a complete idiot for 10 minutes. As the rest of the athletes headed to class the coach approached me and said, “I have no idea what you’re doing. Please don’t hurt my equipment. I don’t know what CrossFit is. It looks stupid. I coach Olympic weightlifting, would you like to give that a shot?” I didn’t know what Olympic weightlifting was, but I said sure. It seemed like a good way to get strong as I focused on my theatre degree.

Over the next three years I trained with a competitive Olympic weightlifting team, though I never competed myself. I wasn’t terribly invested; I had a lot of acting and drinking to do. But the years I spent lifting in my hiking boots (never even considering buying lifting shoes) were great and I got halfway decent at the snatch and clean and jerk despite my best efforts to remain mediocre.

That experience carried over as I moved to New York City and stumbled upon CrossFit again, eventually becoming a coach. I’m not built for the sport of fitness at 6’4”, 245 pounds, but I seemed to be keeping up with my peers because, gosh, they really sucked at lifting. It took becoming a coach and watching hundreds of people try to become proficient at CrossFit to discover why everyone sucked so bad- the whiteboard.

Why do I blame their mediocrity on the whiteboard? Because the WOD reads “Snatch 1-1-1” and everyone thinks they know what that means- load the bar up with a few wheels and do whatever it takes to get that sucker overhead and a big number up on the whiteboard. It’s cool the first time you pull it off, but gosh darn it why can’t I move any more weight? Because in your efforts to put a big number on the whiteboard, you forgot to actually get good at weightlifting.

Weightlifting as a sport requires as much grace as it does strength and power, and it can be difficult to convince PR hungry CrossFitters to slow down and learn why the roses smell so good. With classes of up to 24 people, like we run routinely at CrossFit NYC, how do you coach in a way that nurtures the beginners and challenges the advanced athletes? One method is to lead the class through complexes that force them to hone their technique and push them to heavier weights and new PRs.

Here’s how it goes. “Welcome to class, let me get your name up on the whiteboard.” (Scribble, scribble, scribble...) “Grab a jump rope, break a sweat for me then we’ll stretch and get started.” (They do what you told them to do; after all, it’s what they’re paying for.) “Everyone feeling good?” (A couple nods.) “Please partner up and grab a PVC pipe and a bar.” (They do.)

All right, there’s the script. Everyone is anxiously standing in front of you in pairs with a PVC pipe and a bar. Run them through the motions of that day’s lift with the PVC pipe, then instruct them, “I am going to introduce a complex, letting you know what common faults to avoid, then I’ll run through it with each of you once. I’ll let you know if you can add weight and how many sets to do. You’ll alternate sets with your partner. We’ll come back together as a group to introduce the next complex and we’ll go from there. Warning: don’t be the last group to finish. If you are, I’ll pretend like you’re not working anymore and move on so as not to hold up the group. Any questions?”

Below are all the complexes you could do with the group for a snatch, clean, and clean and jerk workouts. The entire shebang should take less than one hour. The complexes leading up to the “working complex” are not meant to be exhausting; the weights listed can be added for that complex but should not be “heavy” for that pair of lifters until the working complex (some will go heavier than others, that’s the point.) Priority here is moving well so as to ingrain the all-important technique for beginner and experienced lifters.

SNATCH
3x3+5 muscle snatch + overhead squat 45/33
3x5 drop snatch
3x3+3 hang power snatch + hang snatch 75/53
3x10 snatch Romanian deadlift 95/63
3x3 snatch deadlift
3x1+3 snatch + overhead squat
Working Complex: Work up to a heavy single snatch

CLEAN
3x3+5 muscle cleans from hang + front squats 45/33
3x2+2 hang power cleans + hang squat cleans 95/63
3x10 Evil Wheels
3x10 clean grip Romanian deadlifts
3x2+1 clean deadlifts + power clean 135/95
3x1 clean with 3 second pause in the bottom
Working complex: Work up to a heavy set of 2 cleans

CLEAN AND JERK
3x5 per leg reverse overhead lunge 45/33
3x 3+3 Hang power clean + press 75/53
3x3 behind the neck split jerk
3x10 good morning 95/73
3x10 Bent over row
3x5+3 Front squat + push press 135/95
Working Complex: Work up to a heavy single Clean and Jerk

Once you get the hang of coaching this type of class, feel free to experiment with new complexes and weights. I wouldn’t write all the complexes on the board, as you may have to improvise and you don’t want any athletes to think they’ve missed out on anything.

Here are a few reasons I enjoy running this method in large group classes, some of which I’ve already mentioned:

1. A beginner can use a PVC pipe throughout the complexes and an expert can go above the prescribed weights. The beginner learns from repetition and the expert learns from manipulating the weight on the bar…and you coached them both simultaneously, amazing!

2. Athletes (especially of the CrossFit variety) get nervous when they see posted on the blog only “Snatch 1-1-1,” for instance. Once they understand the new routine of multiple complexes, they can rest assured they have a kick ass workout on the way, and they may just get better at CrossFit, too!

3. Getting good at the Olympic lifts involves a lot of repetition, which can get pretty boring for a regular Joe. Providing variety in a productive and efficient fashion is good for the athlete and the coach.

4. Teaching a class in this fashion is sustainable as a coach. You won’t get bored, tired or stressed by leading this routine for an hour, so you can do it regularly over the course of a cycle.

5. The athletes are performing the lifts enough over the course of a class that a coach can make his or her rounds and provide specific advice to each athlete while still providing general thoughts when the group comes back together to learn the next complex.

6. Evil wheels? Bent over row? Where did those come from? Feel free to throw in some supplementary movements that complement the working complexes to fortify the castle.

During and after class you may get some questions from your athletes who don’t exactly understand what you’re throwing down. Let’s address some of those now:

What was up with that really long warm-up?

It wasn’t a warm-up. It was an opportunity to practice your technique.

Okay, but I was so tired by the time we got to the single clean that I didn’t even hit a PR today.

That’s okay. All of the technique practice you did today is laying a foundation that will later help you lift even heavier weights than you may have hit today. Save your PR for a testing day, not a training day.

Can I go heavier next time?

As long as you move perfectly, you may, but only by 10-20 pounds. If you struggle with or miss a lift, you’ve gone way too heavy.

But don’t you have to go heavier to get stronger?

Moving a weight more efficiently is also getting stronger.

Are we doing any conditioning today?

Strictly speaking, no. Today is about strength and technique gains. But I bet some of these complexes had you breathing hard, and may even leave you a little sore tomorrow.

Hopefully this gets you and your athletes excited about improving your Olympic weightlifting. Remember to teach your athletes how they are manipulating the bar, not just what the lift looks like. Only with a deeper understanding of the lifts can an athlete progress to the next level of strength, power and grace.