Max Reps:
2:00 min Air Squats
2:00 min Pull Ups
1:30 min Air Squats
1:30 min Pull Ups
1:00 min Air Squats
1:00 min Pull Ups
:30 sec Air Squats
:30 sec Pull Ups
Movement Proficiency Test #4 from CrossFit East Sac on Vimeo.
The Olympic lifts, the snatch, the clean, and the jerk, are the most technically challenging movements we must learn to become proficient CrossFitters. These movements have been described as gymnastics with a barbell. Olympic lifters spend their entire lifetime continually trying to improve their technique on these lifts. The good news is that learning to perform these exercises unlocks limitless physical potential. Nearly every elite athlete uses the Olympic lifts in their training.
The Burgener warmup was developed by Coach Mike Burgener, who has successfully taught the lifts to everyone from elite lifters, to CrossFitters, to high school students, to grandmothers. This sequence of drills is designed to introduce the movements of the snatch in a way that builds muscle memory and correct movement patterns. Mastering each element of this sequence will help you master the most important elements of the lift. It will teach you to use your hips forcefully, to follow your hip extension with an aggressive pull on the bar, and to learn proper foot work for receiving the bar overhead. Learning to lift the weight with your hips and not with your arms is probably the most important thing this movement sequence will teach you.
The Burgener warmup is performed with a sequence of snatch drills, but these drills will transfer directly to the clean. The clean has the same body mechanics as the snatch. The only difference is that the bar is only moved to shoulder height in the clean vs. overhead in the snatch. If you can learn to snatch then you will know how to clean. If you know how to snatch and clean, then the jerk just becomes just plain fun.
Watch this video over and over. Get a broomstick out of your closet and practice each movement over and over until you can do them perfectly. Once you have mastered the elements of each movement, perform the entire sequence with 3 reps of each movement. Learn this, master it, and use it daily in your warmups to help engrain proper movement. Mastery of the Burgener warmup will help you become a proficient weightlifter, and get you ready to learn more advanced lifting techniques.
Burgener Warmup–
3x Down and Up
3x Elbows High and Outside
3x Muscle Snatch
3x Snatch Land
3x Hang Power Snatch
Movements and Requirements:
Down and Up- (Learn to open your hips forcefully)
-Dip down
-Hips open and shoulders shrug (jump)
-Arms remain straight
Elbows High and Outside- (Learn to follow the hip opening with the arm pull)
-Starts with the down and up
-Arms pull the bar upward AFTER hips finish opening
-Elbows pull straight upward keeping the bar close to the body
Muscle Snatch- (Learn how the barbell moves into the overhead position)
-Starts with the down and up
-Arms pull the bar upward AFTER hips finish opening
-Elbows pull straight upward keeping the bar close to the body
-When elbows reach maximal height, the bar is turned over and pressed overhead
*After the hips open, re-dipping or re-bending of the knees is not allowed. You must remain tall throughout the finish of the movement.
Snatch Land- (Learn to move feet from jumping to landing position)
-Feet start hip width
-Aggressively pick up the feet and move them to a squat stance
-Stop the downward movement aggressively, no sinking after landing
Hang Power Snatch- (Learn to put it all together)
-Start with the down and up (arms straight until full hip extension)
-Pull the bar overhead using the motion from the muscle snatch
-Land in the same position as snatch land
Test Demo @ 7:07
For a written description of the Burgener warmup exercises and avideo with Sage Burgener performing the warmup routine see,
http://crossfiteastsac.typepad.com/crossfit_east_sacramento/2009/07/homework-read-carefully-and-memorize.html
