Becoming an Olympic Weightlifter is like becoming a Samurai. CrossFit is like hunting dinosaurs with a canon. Both are awesome, but in totally different ways! Despite this, the two groups seem to find themselves in bed together quite often. And, increasingly, CrossFit athletes are become ever hungrier for knowledge about how they can train to compete in the sport of Weightlifting (or at least get much better at the snatch and clean and jerk) while staying true to CrossFit.
My CrossFit friends, this is for you.
The Background
In spite of their successful attempts to work together (including the first combo CrossFit/USA Weightlifting competition) Olympic Weightlifters and CrossFitters still have a love-hate relationship.
CrossFitters can find Weightlifters myopic, arrogant, and elitist. Weightlifters can find CrossFitters to be undisciplined, hot-headed, and impatient. And, they both have good reason to feel this way. Their descriptions of one another are surprisingly accurate! They don’t tell the whole story, of course, and they are gross generalizations that don’t apply across the board, but they represent a side of the truth that is correct more often than either of us would like to admit.
Olympic Weightlifters have a long history of believing themselves to be the chosen few. They believe their sport to be comprised of some of the most complex and difficult tasks of any sport on earth. They believe the type of training required to get to the top of the sport to be among the hardest (both physically, and even more so, psychologically) in existence. And they are correct.
Weightlifting is brutal, but in a truly unique way. If you are content with rudimentary skill levels and below average strength, then it is easy! But, to break the near infinite number of glass ceilings that exist in this sport, you have to spend years and years battling with a powerful amount of monotony and mental fatigue.
Combining high levels of technical mastery with huge weights is a stupid idea! But, that’s the sport.
The few people who stick with it, and do well, are a breed in themselves. They share certain odd-ball characteristics that are highly unusual in the general public. Among those traits are determinism and focus combined with patience and a “roll with the punches” attitude toward failure. These characteristics are not often found together. Usually you get someone who is determined but hot-headed and impatient, or you get a patient person who is so lax that they don’t care to try very hard (the classic Beach-Bum type). Olympic lifters need to be the best of both worlds. That is VERY rare.
But the key trait is patience. Unerring, amazing amounts of patience. It takes upwards of 10 years to get to the top in this sport, sometimes 15 or more. And the workouts are often frustrating and mind-numbingly repetitive. If nothing else, a potential weightlifter MUST be patient.
The people who have these traits will find it down-right shocking to see that others don’t. Other people will appear to be much too impatient and emotional in comparison. Weightlifters can, over the years, easily develop a sense of superiority without even realizing it. As nice as most weightlifters are, hearing them talk about other athletes (especially Powerlifters, endurance athletes, and CrossFitters) is telling.
When taken too far, they can become arrogant and elitist which leads to a belief that no other types of training have any value what-so-ever; and that everyone, regardless of their goals, should train like weightlifters to the exclusion of everything else. That is idiotic.
CrossFitters have their own issues. Just as the sport of weightlifting selects for a certain personality type, so does CrossFit.
CrossFit clubs don’t have workouts. They have mini-competitions, everyday! Nearly every “workout” is timed; the workouts are all done in the “endurance-range” (5 minutes for a round is considered short); and, the culture is aggressive. These combine to lure-in the same types of people who otherwise might have become Tri-Athletes: The classic Type-A person. (The pop-psychology term “Type-A” is useful in a conversational sense, but we should be careful not to take it too literally.)
These people have the general belief that more is always better, and that if they push harder good things will happen. Lucky for them, in the world of CrossFit, this belief system turns out to be true! (Especially in the first year or two.) If you are someone who has gone from a life of doing very little physically to full-bore CrossFit for two years, then your body is going to change dramatically, and for the better.
The success CrossFit folk get in the first couple of years is so palpable that it will confirm their initial theory that going all out, all the time, is the right way to live your life. For the same reasons, it isn’t uncommon for CrossFit athletes to be highly successful in their careers and other areas of life. They work hard, all the time, non-stop. You might call this the Uber American personality type.
The downside of such a personality is that they flat-out can’t understand how you can make progress without killing yourself. After all, so much of the success they’ve experienced in all of the areas of their life came through a “nose to the grindstone” form of hard work.
If you aren’t exhausted and dead at the end of a workout, was it really a workout? Did I elicit a training effect? Or, did I waste my time?
These questions are rattling around in the mind of CrossFit athletes every time they come in to see an Olympic lifting coach like me who makes them stick with lighter weights to work technique for an hour and then tells them to go home. WHAT?!!
I’ve always felt like it would have made more intuitive sense to have CrossFit combined with Strongman. CrossFit is really the endurance cousin of Strongman, anyway. In both sports, you take some random heavy crap and then you do a round of lifting with it for a set length of time, distance, or reps. The only real difference is the length of time, distance, or amount of weight that is on the bar/log/car.
In Strongman, the weights are stupid-heavy, the distances are short-ish, and the time over-which you’re asked to lift it is fairly short. (Anything over one minute would be considered long.) In CrossFit, they do similar “workouts”, they just do them with significantly lighter weight, for much longer distances, and for way higher reps. But, the underlying principles are the same.
Grab something with weight on it, do stuff for a while, lay on the ground to recover.
Also, in both sports, there is a wide margin of error when it comes to technique. You don’t have to spend years and years teaching your body the finer details of the log press in Strongman. You just pick the heavy son-of-bitch off the ground and press it! Similarly, kipping pull-ups, in CrossFit, have some technique, but it’s mostly just flailing around a bar as fast as you can.
The key factor in both sports is how hard you are willing to push, and for how long.
Contrast this with Olympic Weightlifting (or any other “skill” sport).
If you are off in your technique for a nanosecond during a heavy attempt, you will miss it. Period. There is no recovering from that (unless it honestly wasn’t heavy enough for you). There is the tiniest margin for error. While every lifter will have maybe one thing they do wrong consistently, they are consistent about it and have found a way to compensate for it. And they compensate in the same way every time.
Consistency is everything because in a contest you MUST do things exactly as you trained to do it. You have no time to recover. An attempt on the snatch takes less than one second from the time it leaves the ground to the time it is overhead. A clean and jerk takes longer, but most of that time is in the mid-position after the clean and before you jerk it … breathing. The actual clean and jerk each take no time at all.
No time. No room for error.
Putting the Odd-Balls Together
Most people believe the reason that there is a split between CrossFit athletes and Olympic weightlifters is because CrossFit is an endurance sport and Olympic Weightlifting is a strength sport. That is the minor reason. The REAL reason is because of the personality type that it takes to be good at one is in direct contrast to the personality type it takes to be good at the other.
Olympic weightlifters fundamentally don’t have the “go go go” attitude that is required to excel in a tough endurance sport like CrossFit or a Triathlon. They don’t even see the point. Why in the Hell would anyone find that fun?
CrossFit athletes don’t understand why Olympic lifters find it fun to go in every damned day and fail over and over again because of the tiniest of finicky details. How is that compelling?
But … here we are.
CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting have decided to hop into bed together. Opposites attract, I guess. And there are a lot of CrossFit athletes who are genuinely interested in competing in the sport of weightlifting.
Sometimes, odd pairings make for the most fun!
Preliminary Advice
I’ve found that when working with someone who does CrossFit, it is best to structure their program around their CrossFit schedule and not the other way around. CrossFit comes first.
The primary reason for this is that I only have control over the weightlifting side! But, just as importantly, CrossFit athletes love CrossFit and when they go in to workout at their CrossFit club, they are going to go all out. It will inevitably be the most recovery-taxing workouts that they do in the week. I can’t give them something equally as taxing on their recovery or I will drive them into the ground. (I know that you CrossFit folk HATE to hear that you have limits … but you do.)
Instead, let’s just assume that you will be doing at minimum 3 CrossFit workouts per week. We have no idea what these will be, so we’ll assume the worst: hard as hell, hitting the entire body, taxing every muscle, and causing substantial fatigue. We are going to have to find a way to keep you progressing in your weightlifting IN SPITE of this. It isn’t easy, but it is possible.
A lot of the training options available to people who do Olympic weightlifting and nothing else are not available to you: Russian-like periodization, Texas Method squatting, ultra high frequency training, etc. They will tap into recovery too much when combined with CrossFit. Instead, I believe the more “Bulgarian” (read: intuitive) your approach to weightlifting, the better. You will do what you can, when you can, and that’s it.
Your focus is on getting in as many good quality singles and doubles as you can, at as high a weight as you can, while keeping your technique as pretty as you can.
Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it isn’t.
Because of the previous days CrossFit workout, your body will not respond like you want it to most of the time. You will rarely have a “good” workout. You have to accept this. It is impossible for your muscles to fire at maximum the day after you beat the crap out of them doing high reps. It doesn’t matter how hard you push, or how determined you are. It isn’t going to happen.
Be cool with that.
The key to being a good weightlifter is motor learning. Your body’s nervous system must be taught a series of highly specific motor patterns via rep after rep of a movement done in exactly the same way every time. And, every time you add weight to the bar, the movement changes just a bit, meaning you have to RELEARN it all over again! This process is frustrating.
Again, you have to be cool with that.
What I’m getting at is that your weightlifting workouts will involve much less physical fatigue than they will mental fatigue. That isn’t to say, though, that there won’t be hard work. It’s just a different kind of hard work.
The biggest physical problem facing someone who comes from an endurance sport background, like CrossFit, is that their body doesn’t know HOW to recruit enough motor units to lift heavy weight. The body’s tendency to only use the minimum number of motor units makes sense for endurance sports where the weights just aren’t that heavy. Using fewer motor units conserves energy. That’s good for endurance, but it’s bad for strength.
A long-time strength athlete, on the other hand, has taught their body to use all (or as many as possible) available motor units at once on demand. If you want to lift more weight, you have to teach your body to do this. That means lots of heavy reps, moved fast, with long rest periods.
The Program
Let’s say you will be able to do at least 2, maybe 3 Olympic weightlifting workouts per week. These are them:
Day 1
Snatch: 10 to 20 Singles
(Optional) Clean and Jerk: 10 Singles
Front Squat: Max Single
Day 2
Clean and Jerk: 10 to 20 singles
(Optional) Snatch: 10 singles
Front Squat: Max Single
You are going to cycle these back and forth either 2 or 3 days per week. Sometimes you can “change it up” by doing a heavy double or triple on the squat. But, remember that part of the point here is to teach your body the skill of motor recruitment. This skill is best developed with low reps. Don’t fall into the bodybuilder habit of trying to “fatigue” the muscle, or “feel the burn”. That has NO place in weightlifting. The squats can be done with reps of 3 just as well as singles, but I have found that CrossFit folk need a good couple month period of heavy singles to break some of their bad habits. It’s a good learning tool. Move the weight fast, keep it heavy, and then move on.
NOTE: Keep in mind that this is a Technical sport. If you don’t have a coach to keep an eye on you when you are lifting, you will almost surely develop bad habits. These habits will come back to haunt you. At the very least, hit up a more experienced training partner to watch your lifts. I know that Olympic lifting coaches are hard to find (and it’s even harder to find ones who know what they are doing), but if you are lucky enough to live in an area with a good one, get on that! In my experience, lifters with a good coach make progress at double the pace of self-taught lifters. That is conservative. (Try learning Kung Fu on your own …)
The 10 to 20 singles of the main lift for the day are NOT all max lifts, for heavens sake!
Some will be heavy, others will be medium. Start counting once the weight is such that you have to really try hard to make it a pretty lift. Increase the weight VERY slowly on each set. If you miss a weight, or if you make it with bad form, count the lift. Then drop the weight by 10 or 20% and start over.
In the beginning, it can be useful to stick with a medium-heavy weight for ALL of your sets, keeping the weight the same trying to perfect that one lift at that one weight. But, after a few months of this, start waving the weight up and down as described above. Doing so teaches you better how to deal with the way real competitions work: You increase weight on every lift.
Take as much rest in between lifts as you can. A tendency among CrossFit lifters is to take VERY short rest periods between attempts. Sitting around for 2 or even 5 minutes between sets will feel wrong to you. It is not wrong, it is right. You are not trying to “tax” yourself, or “workout” in the way that you would be in your CrossFit club. The training here is a totally different animal.
The second Olympic lift of the day is optional. Decide on the day whether you have the energy to handle it, or if it is better to move on to the squat rack. Some days, when the previous days CrossFit workout wasn’t so bad, you’ll be able to get it all in. Other days, you won’t. Don’t feel bad about having to dump it. Learning to chill out about these kinds of things is part of your training.
When you get to the squats, the goal is to get stronger and learn how to lift in such a way that you CAN get stronger. Start with an empty bar, and slowly increase the weight on every set until you can’t move the bar fast anymore. You can “grind out” the last rep, but that’s it. All other reps must be moved as fast as you possibly can. You should move so fast that you end up on your toes at the top! I’m serious. Moving lighter weights fast increases your body’s ability to recruit fast twitch muscle fibers. You want to be fast and strong, not weak and slow.
That’s It
Don’t start adding in other things!
I know that from the point of view of a CrossFit athlete the above program looks mighty boring. You do at most 3 lifts, over and over again, every week, in basically the same way, for months on end. Boring!
Well … too bad.
Learning to get good at a lift like the snatch is like learning a good golf swing. It takes a lot of practice paying close attention to detail. Part of your goal is to develop a Zen-like patience and acceptance that the journey is the thing. Channel your inner Yoda.
You can do it!
CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting are wholly different activities. And maybe that is a good thing. A person who can develop the physical and mental skills necessary to do both will possess a remarkably rare combination of skill-sets.
Combining them isn’t easy, but then, if it was easy, you wouldn’t do it.
Great post and advice!
Jack
Thanks Jack.
Great article!!! I’ve played around with Crossfit workouts here and there for fun and to break up the monotony of Olympic weightlifting training. I know what you mean about opposites though as I now workout in a Crossfit facility and when I come in to train, I get stares when I don’t leave in a sweaty heap after a workout!!
LOL. I can imagine! We’re an odd pairing, us and CrossFit, but I think the connection is doing both groups a lot of good.
I always look like I have fall in to the sea after OL practice:S
haha great pice Nick. I found myself nodding my head the whole way through. Those personality types are pretty accurate. If people can swing it time-wise, oly lifting practice is a great warm up before a CrossFit workout. Since snatch practice and a heavy squat single will tax a totally different system than your crossift met con, the two can work really well together if you lift first.
I totally agree. Oly lifting workouts done in the way I outline above are really not all that taxing to your body the way that CrossFit workouts are. Doing 20 to 40 minutes of Olympic work as a lead-in to a tough CrossFit metcon is a great way to get your body going … for people who actually do cardio … It’s been a while for me!
Crossfit really? “Hunting dinosaurs with a canon”???
As a LMT I liken it more to driving a spike with a screwdriver. Washing your face with barbed wire.
Have you read this thread?All of it?
http://www.cathletics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5888
Chris,
I have many of my own reservations about the way CrossFit is done, promoted, and practiced by many. I am particularly critical of HQ and the shananigans at the top.
But, I also have a LOT of experience working with real people who do CrossFit, trainers and owners of CrossFit clubs, etc and my experience has consistently been positive. These are, more often than not, great people who LOVE fitness and exercise. They are determined to do what it takes to get better. And they are never afraid of hard work. Try finding those qualities in the general public …
I still disagree with many of their methods (I’m not sure a kipping pullup is a good idea for someone who can’t even do 1 real pull up). But, so what?
If I only did business and made friends with people I totally agreed with, I’d be broke and alone!
I really like the CrossFit community. The people in it are pretty darned cool. And if they want to learn the Oly lifts, try out competing in our sport, and have some fun, I will always go out of my way to make them feel welcome.
And come on … “Hunting Dinosaurs with a Canon” for 5 rounds combined with Burbee’s does sound like a workout they would have done at the Bedrock CrossFit box!
In my case, I compete in Olympic weightlifting for my university, how do I implement Crossfit training to my routine?
I got the techniques right, and I’m pretty strong, but not much cardio…i can’t even run for 10 mins…i know, it’s a shame
Running for 10 minutes for an O-lifter is LONG
It depends on your goals for Olympic weightlifting. If you are at all serious … DON’T DO CROSSFIT. Don’t do any training other than what will make you a better Olympic lifter. CrossFit is one way, among many, that you can add in some serious conditioning work to your life. But, this is a sport. Conditioning work will make you slower, it will over tax your system, and you will have less time and energy to do more of what you have to do a TON of: Snatch, snatch, snatch, clean and jerk, and squat, squat, squat.
On the other hand. If you are really just a recreational weightlifter, and you have no plans on “getting to the top”, then who cares! Do 2 days a week of CrossFit-style workouts at the end of your Olympic lifting and call it good. Don’t kill yourself at it, just try to make it a form of cardio. Yes, it will slow down your progress as a weightlifter. But, that doesn’t matter if you are just doing it for fun.
I’ve been doing the “high intensity interval” style training that is so prevalent in crossfit (but I actually get a ton of ideas from a guy named Ross Enamait. A Great, great guy) ever since I was a 19 year old sophomore in college (almost 25 now). Been doing the Oly stuff since I was 21. Definitely like the Oly stuff better, and if I had to classify myself as an athlete (which I don’t), I’d say I’m a oly weightlifter and not a “crossfitter.”
I keep the crossfit stuff in the routine to break up monotony, keep me lean, and give myself a chance to really “let loose” when I’m doing a workout (going all out like you stated in the article), but I’d much rather grind out snatches, clean/jerks, and squats six days a week for months and months, than kill myself every few days doing a Crossfit workout that involves running (fucking hate running, and I won’t do it unless I have to).
I Crossfit stuff does have merit, and I do believe that a lot of “strength athletes” don’t give a lot of “crossfit” athltes enough credit, but that works both ways. I’ve met a bunch of Crossfit guys who were more than happy to talk enormous amounts of shit on Oly lifters (“We don’t need a special pair of shoes to work out” was one of the biggest put downs I remember).
Sage Burgener is a terrific example of what kind of athlete can be produced from Oly lifting and Crossfit combo. She’s super strong, flexible, explosive, balanced, and she has a rockin body. She’s more of a lifter because her dad is a big time Oly coach, but Crossfit has done a ton for her as well. So it’s just one example of a successful marriage of Oly and crossfit stuff.
Personally, I can’t live without Oly lifting, and I really enjoy some Crossfit workouts (not the exact WOD’s, but the principles and variable movement patterns), so I’ll probably incorporate a little Crossfit with a lot of Oly stuff, for as long as I’m physically able to do both. That’s my 2 cents
” (fucking hate running, and I won’t do it unless I have to).”
I feel that brother! Actually, it goes for any cardio.
Sage is great, no doubt. But, even her Dad would admit that if she wanted to get to the level in O-lifting that her older brother did, she’d have to drop CrossFit out. All elite sports require massive amounts of specialization. That doesn’t mean that it’s healthy or ideal in other ways … but sports are what they are.
She made a life-choice to combine them because she really likes them both. I think most people can relate to that. Hell, since most people don’t have the genes, youth, time, etc to get to the “top” anyway, it doesn’t really matter. Having fun is the most important thing.
CrossFit is a much better way to get cardio than running/jogging for most people who don’t have the classic runners body. And it is varied and fun. I can see why so many people really like it.
Oh, and Ross is bad ass. I have all his books, read his blog, etc. Really a cool guy.
Nick,
Very good article. I am one of those purist Weightlifters who have bashed Crossfit’s system for reasons you eloquently outlined.
I have read many of your articles as well as discussion input in websites other than your own. I believe the first time I ‘saw’ you was regarding a discussion on ‘triple extension’ versus ‘catapult.’ My first impression of you when I first read your feedback was that you were a good man, a great coach, and an outstanding diplomat. This article confirmed my impression of you to be true.
You are one heck of a writer, Nick. And to top it off, you do an outstanding job respecting differing beliefs and systems. My hats off to you. I wish I had your gift.
At any rate, this article made me open-minded enough to introduce some crossfit stuff into my regular routine. I’m getting bored with my traditional Oly-style routine so I will give your program a try!!
Keep up the great work, Nick! As always, I look forward to your future blogs.
Wow, thanks Joel!
Doing CrossFit, or CrossFit-like, work is a great way to break the incessant monotony of Weightlifting. Time to have some fun!
I am a CrossFit trainer and athlete who is also an Oly lifter. CrossFit brought me to the Olympic Lifts. This article is good, very general, but good.
I do CrossFit 5 days a week and Oly work combined with some Powerlifts 2-3 days a week. I have seen nothing but consistent progress in both(all) arenas! This type of training regime that I and my top athletes endure is very taxing and “not for the faint of heart”. It takes a very humble and wise approach that requires you to listen to your body ALL THE TIME and well regimented programming and rest, without avoidint the constantly varied approach of CrossFit.
There are many out there who are doing this exact thing I’m describing. They are very few in comparison to the masses, but they are training hard! It is possible to do this and see continual success while training wisely and purposefully.
Sounds like you have a great program going, Lance. Right on!
You’re right, the two CAN be combined very well. While it’s true that for the die-hard young weightlifter who wants to be a national champion the focus has to be on the sport itself, and the CrossFit (or bodybuilding, or whatever other training they are into) has to be either minimized or dumped all together to make the fastest progress … that doesn’t mean that you can’t make solid and consistent gains doing both. You can! You and your crew, and a number of my crew are showing that every day.
“Sage is great, no doubt. But, even her Dad would admit that if she wanted to get to the level in O-lifting that her older brother did, she’d have to drop CrossFit out.”
Yeah, she actually discusses this very subject on her blog.
http://sageolylifting.blogspot.com/2010/10/least-updated-blog-eva.html
Thanks for the link!
Yesterday in my o-lift class at my crossfit gym, my friend hated the class because he didn’t get a workout of it. I told him the goal of some olift class is to LEARN SOMETHING and not to get your heart rate soaring workout.
This is the second time I read this piece and I love what you have to say. I wanted to read what you said is the key…PATIENTS!
I suck with my lifts, so thanks for the advice and the great piece of writing.
Jack
thats why OL attract slackers:/
Thanks, Jack!
I know what you mean. Oly lifting is a bit like mathematics. It’s hard to understand, and that frustrates the hell out of people. Most will quit because they aren’t able to chill out and be patient.
maybe I have both good and bad patience, because when it goes good I kinda over do it for a while and burn out and then when Im burned out I stick with it.
I do a combination of crossfit and weightlifting. I’ve decided I will do snatch on Mondays, cleans on Tuesdays (no jerks unless they’re light due to lack of access to bumper plates) and squats and deadlifts on Wednesdays (sometimes I’ll throw some bench and rows in, too). I also add some heavy single squats to my snatch and clean workouts. Then on Thursday and Friday, I crossfit and rest Saturday and Sunday (sometimes some single snatches/cleans on Sundays). I used to try to do it in the same day, but never had time. So, now I’m basing it around the recommended program you posted. Thanks!
I don’t go “all out” on my crossfit workouts anymore, since I started doing the O-lifting. I’m trying to focus on gaining strength, so I don’t want to be tired or sore when I do my heavy lifting, but I still want to get some cardio training in. I’m going to have to suck it up and buy some used bumper plates soon, though. Cleans are getting to the point (100kg) where I probably shouldn’t just be letting them back to the hang and setting them down. Unfortunately, those plates or a membership to a gym that actually has them is so damn expensive.
Yep, the bumpers can be a bit spendy. But, they’re worth it! Mainly because you’ll save your joints in the long run.
[...] and this recent article he wrote on the troublesome combination of Olympic Lifting and CrossFit, “The Odd Couple: How To Combine CrossFit with Olympic Weightlifting.” (Anyone who hasn’t noticed that CrossFitters and Olympic Lifters tend to have problems [...]
[...] Interesting viewpoint on combining CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting [...]
Fantastic article, well thought out and very diplomatic. I loved the comparison with Strongman, which makes a lot of sense.
Wonder why Crossfitters get curious about the O lifts but the O lifters never want to try Crossfit? Is there a plan for people who want to do that? On second thoughts, I’m not fussed.
/olysnob
I think the answer is that most people who are into CrossFit like that it’s a “jack of all trades” activity. You get better than average at a lot of things.
But, you don’t master anything. Oly lifting is one more “trade” they can become a “jack” in. It’s something they find fun, but it’s one thing among many.
People who go all in for Weightlifting are the opposite. They want to become masters at ONE thing, even if that means not being very good at other things. They will sacrifice a lot to stay focused, and they will do so year after year after year. Doing CrossFit would set them back in their quest. So, any interest in CrossFit is usually superficial at best.
Again, there are many exceptions to this rule, but I think it’s fairly accurate.
Plus … let’s face it. Weightlifters HATE cardio. CrossFit is cardio. ‘nough said
Thanks for taking the time to reply Nick.
Another thought that came about from reading your article – there’s no doubt weightlifting needs more participation the world over. Perhaps the governing bodies need to start appealing to the personality types that are suited to the sport, in the same way CrossFit created its alpha male culture.
I once ran for the bus to make sure I got a decent platform. Does that count as cardio?
Enjoyed the article. I started out doing crossfit to work myself back into shape, but got out of crossfit because I realized that I couldn’t really learn how to do O-lifts well. So, I appreciate crossfit for introducing me to something that will probably be a lifelong pursuit.
However, the real reason I am posting is to to ask when we are getting the next article or mash-up of links. You actually have steady readers who expect you to give us something new at least once a week. Two or three times a week would be even better.
Thanks,
Sam
I think CrossFit has done a lot of great things for the sport of weightlifting by introducing so many people to it, and popularizing the hell out of it. I LOVE CrossFit for that!
OH, and yes, I opened a new gym about a month ago and got busy as all hell. But, don’t worry, the articles are coming!
Glad to hear that you’re looking forward to them.
Thanks for the article, I am just getting into Cross fit and having read this have a completely different view of Olympic lifters. They are definately a different animal.
I know a few Olympic lifters so I will dedicate a bit of time to learning some form from them.
That’s a great idea. Most oly lifters are excited to help out someone who’s interested!
I have had a lifelong fascination of different schools of thought on exercise and sport. I grew up around sports and so all of my exercise was sports-conditioning oriented until I got to college. Once I wasn’t a full time competitive athlete, it was all on me to come up with my own program for keeping fit. I was an epic fail at first, but then started a combo of heavy lifting (based in powerlifting) and running, which got easier to manage once I got into club lacrosse. It was about that timeframe (2003) that I started flirting with Oly lifting and learning the techniques associated. I then enlisted into the Army and didn’t really get back into the weight room like that until I was in Iraq last year. Even then, I was so focused on running distance (1/2 marathon style) that I didn’t hit the weights as hard anyway.
Then enter CrossFit. I got into a huge rut after I graduated OCS last fall that I took time off from everything and basically let my body heal after the pounding I put on it there. My biggest weakness in CrossFit is the gymnastics related movements – particularly the advanced ones. My body fell in love with the lifting we do. Already having a background in Oly lifts, I am finding the CrossFit programming to be fascinating since a lot of it is metcon style or at least approaching it…and doing Oly lifts in that style tweaked my brain at first! But for my Army life, it makes a lot of sense. I will probably never focus solely on Oly lifts, but will have to budget in time to work on form and technique. I love that the lifts are so complex – they look so simple to people, but are the most complicated movements we do in CrossFit.
It blows my mind that people think it’s not a ‘workout’…I understand why they think that way, but I think people get really really caught up in the ‘CrossFit only or die’ mentality. I tend to be more of a rensaissance chick when it comes to fitness. At our box, we at least spend time each day doing skillwork, although I wish we could focus some more time on snatching (other than power snatches). We just have too many new people floating in and out and jumping right into that movement is treacherous for people who can’t even squat yet.
I guess my conundrum is the fact that I love love love Oly lifting, but my focus in life is my career as an Army officer. CrossFit suits my needs there, and I make sweat angels on the floor every day. I liked this article because it made me realize that it’s okay not to do every single thing on the damn planet and I also CAN’T focus on both 100%. I am already adding in running days, I do CrossFit 5 days a week, and if I add 2 days in of Oly lifts I know I’ll be hitting my limit. One girl I know is a competitive weightlifter and also does CrossFit…she had adrenal fatigue and has to back off a bit. It’s tough having the mentality of wanting to do more of everything, and also not finding the repetition and patience associated with weightlifting to be boring. I love both serious communities, and am glad that it bleeds over into one another. My ultimate would be finding people who love both, who also run moderate distances =) THAT is going to be nearly impossible =P But if you meet any, send them my way!
You make good points, Candace.
I think the reason CrossFit has become so popular with Military, Police, and Fire Fighters is because the training is truly useful to these folks. Being in the Military is NOT like doing a sport. It’s real life.
The training for MOST sports is not what makes sense for real life situations. Most sports are power sports of some type or another. There may be some endurance component, but that’s always the easy part. Power is the hard part. And this is why most Strength and Conditioning coaches (rightly) consider CrossFit a bad idea for a dedicated athlete in a particular sport.
Developing the required over-the-top amount of explosive power required to be good at the majority of sports takes years of dedicated work, and all that metcon stuff is going to hold them back and make them even more “slow twitch” than they already are.
The funny part, however, is that this only applies to sports. Once you move into the “real” world, you don’t need to be all that explosive and strong to do your job, go hiking, rock climbing, have fun, etc. Having that medium strength you get from CrossFit is plenty. But, the endurance is a high priority in life. Being above average at lots of things, but not really bad-ass at anything is horrible for an athlete in a sport … but it’s GREAT for real people living in the real world.
As for finding people who like Oly lifting, CrossFit, AND mid-distance running, there are more than you think (I train a few!). But, the focus will be on the endurance stuff: CrossFit and Running. Oly lifting is a truly different animal. It’ll be done for fun, but not all that seriously. And that is OK.
I think CrossFit folk should learn to be cool with the fact that they will never be that good at Oly lifting (compared to Oly lifters). We only have so much time to dedicate to different things in our lives. You CAN’T be great at everything. It is impossible. And that has to accepted.
Of course, CrossFitters will get better at the lifts over time, they will have fun, and they will improve.
But, for a male to snatch over bodyweight, or for a female to clean and jerk well over her bodyweight is something that most people will never do. And, metcon style workouts just won’t get you there.
To get good fast on the Oly lifts requires you to get “boring”, focus 90% of your exercise time to it, work skill like it’s your job, and avoid cardio like the plague.
Not good (or healthy) advice for most people.
Oly lifters will only do this because they love it and DON’T find it boring. Everyone else should just have fun and be cool and relaxed about it all.
No one should feel bad that they aren’t as good at snatching as an Oly lifter (of the same age/weight class, time training, etc). That would be like an Oly lifter feeling bad that they suck at Running! Trust me, they don’t care.
Do it for fun. Get better tomorrow than you were today. This exercise thing is all about improving ourselves and improving our lives. Not about proving something to anyone.
Completely. And I think the main stuff I read on the ‘anti-CrossFit’ threads and such, all revolve around fitness vs. athletics, and the sport specific training vs. generalities (and then all the stuff about sketchy people at HQ etc but I don’t want to get into that topic on this page). It all depends on what someone values and what their goals are. When people ask me about CrossFit, I explain to them what I do, and when they ask if they should try it, I ask what their goals are. Most of the time, they should try it, because they just want overall better preparation for being winners at life.
What’s your opinion of the different offshoots like CrossFit Endurance, CF Football, etc?
For me, and I think for a lot of people with an athletic background, CF works in more than one way because of the competitive atmosphere. Every day is a competition…against yourself, and even against others in some way (even though at the end of the day you know it doesn’t matter who came in first, but it’s enough to make you push harder while you’re doing it). That inkling of competition triggers something in my brain, because I’m a very competitive person and miss playing sports full time. It makes me feel good and satisfies that part of me that solo workouts and track work just can’t do. Every day is a chance to set a new PR in something, and I like that as well.
I just talked to a guy that does strongman stuff yesterday about all this. And he wants to try CF, but has had bad timing with coming to try it when he doesn’t have a competition coming up. And that comes #1. I think self awareness is important and understanding that some things will need to be sacrificed in order to focus on what is most important to you. I know I need to remember that =) Because I always try to do everything. I subscribe to the ‘you only live once, so do it with balls’ mentality and sometimes that stretches me pretty thin, but it’s generally gotten me pretty far!
I know realistically I will never be a weightlifter first and foremost. But I know the benefits that learning it and doing it will bring me, and that’s plenty good enough. Even if I never C&J more than my bodyweight, whatever I end up doing is going to make me more powerful than I was before. And that’s pretty awesome.
Good stuff. As for CrossFit Endurance or CrossFit Football … well …
CrossFit IS Endurance, so that is a natural fit. But, CrossFit Football is just silly. Football, of all the team sports, is the most like a strength sport. The average play in football is 5 seconds! Endurance just isn’t an issue. But, being the biggest, strongest, and most powerful dude on the field is.
If you are a 240 pound football player who can’t even power clean 250, can’t deadlift 500, and can’t squat 400 … you aren’t really a football player. You’re either overweight or a bodybuilder.
The randomness of CrossFit works great for training endurance, but it is horrible at getting people truly strong.
Another problem I have is this: If CrossFit football, or some future “CrossFit Strength” stops using metcon workouts, and stops being randomized … then it isn’t even CrossFit anymore. You can’t put people on a Texas method squat program, and a Russian style periodized clean program and then call it CrossFit.
CrossFit is something specific: randomized circuit training with weights. It is done almost exclusively for time. And the workouts are really mini-competitions. The farther your workouts get from that model, the LESS CrossFit those workouts are.
If we allow for anything and everything to be called CrossFit simply because it’s done by people wearing CrossFit sports-bras then the word CrossFit will lose all meaning. That’s pointless. And it devalues the good things about CrossFit.
CrossFit is what it is. It is endurance training with weights.
Football players should avoid it completely, learn how to snatch and clean HUGE weights, and get as big and tough as they can. Focusing on burpees, max rep thrusters, and pull ups for time will make them great runners … who will get killed on a football field.
You know, I want to make a clarification here.
I actually think that if I had a football player, or strength athlete, who really wanted to do some kind of CrossFit-like training. I’d feel better having them do CrossFit Football than regular CrossFit. At least CrossFit football is more mellow on the all-out-crazy-cardio end of the spectrum (meaning it will screw less with their training). Fewer rounds, less reps, etc.
Now … you could also just do normal CrossFit with less intensity. That would give you the same effect. But, that seems hard to ask people to do!
I honk you’ve got the wrong impression of Crossfit, sure we use circuits sometimes, but we also have days that are just strength days , or just gymnastic skill days or even just sprinting days.
The original idea of having the anaerobic endurance of a 400m runner, the upper body strength of a gymnast and the lower body explosiveness of a weightlifter, although unrealistic is the ideal behind Crossfit.
I think a lot of cross fitter have gotten away from this but I believe that working on the skills separately if fundamental to Crossfit as much as mixing them together is. I don’t know any good crossfitters that don’t do designated strength sessions.
Thanks for the comment James.
I certainly don’t want to speak for ALL CrossFitters. But, I work with a ton of them, all from different clubs, and there are some pretty clear similarities among most (not all) of the types of training that is being done.
The original ideal of CrossFit is not being applied at the low-level beginner phases in most clubs. It’s just cardio circuits with weightlifting exercises – that’s about it. That’s 80%+ of what the work is. Having a “skill day” once every few weeks just ain’t gonna cut it with something like snatches. The same goes with strength work. Strength and Skill must be trained as the majority of your work if those are your goals. Cardio comes last.
Most CrossFit clubs switch this backwards.
That’s great if you sell it that way. But most don’t, and it can be a bit misleading to the uninitiated. To honestly get the upper body of the gymnast and the explosiveness of a weightlifter, you need to dramatically dial down the cardio stuff. A LOT.
Gymnasts and lifters don’t do circuits …
Without a doubt, the best CrossFit competitors understand this and they do a ton of skill and strength work. But they are the exceptions that prove the rule.
Hi,
Thanks for the comment.
At my affiliate the WOD is just the icing on the cake. It very rarely lasts more than 12 mins and is a couplet/ triplet.
We start every session with a general warm up then spend 10-15 minutes on a gymnastic skill. For advanced guys this might be something like muscle ups or HSPU. For new comers I’m pretty strict and insist that they master the humble pushup and supine row before moving onto anything more exotic. It’s great because I have new people practicing pushups at least twice a week and they get stronger phenomenally quickly.
Then we do 15 minutes working on Olympic lifting. Advanced guys will work up to a daily max on the snatch, clean and jerk or front squat. Beginners work on technique with a PCV pipe or back squat. Sure the rest between sets isn’t ideal but at least we practice the lifts every day.
When all that is done we usually only have 20-30 mins left so we do a couplet/ triplet for 5-15 mins hard and fast and still have time for athlete specific mobility work at the end.
I’m really old school with my ideal of crossfit but I started on my own and wish I’d had a coach to get me up to par. I guess I ask myself if I’m giving my members what I would have wanted when I was starting out.
To me circuits isn’t CrossFit. Doing what needs to be done to become the most well balanced athlete you can be (working on your weaknesses) is CrossFit.
Hope this helps clear things up.
James
Wow, you DO have an advanced CrossFit club! That’s awesome. Rare as hell, but you’re lucky to be in such a kick-ass place.
That’s the way the ideal of CrossFit was, and should be. Right on!
[...] about 3 or 4 times a week and doing her normal CrossFit work on the other days. (See my article on combining Oly lifting and CrossFit here.) She was training every day (like she usually does), but not always on Oly lifts. For [...]
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HI Nick,
I love your brutal honesty. I (and I’m sure many strength coaches would as well) agree with everything you said 100% regarding CF and its place in fitness and sports. It’s great that ‘having fun’ is one of your ingredients to success. You clearly understand that CF has its place, but it’s not the ultimate ‘be all end all’ , one-size-fits-all system in the world. You understand science, and that is what makes you a great coach (among other things). I respect the fact that you are open-minded and most importantly, you DID NOT drink the CF corporate kool-aid. Kudos. It’s awesome that CF at the ‘tactical level’ has great camaraderie, but it’s also a great shame that CF HQ at the ‘strategic level’ (Glassman, Castro specifically) don’t have an open-mind like you do. I mean, they have basically severed relationships with well-known strength coaches such as Coach Rip, Greg Everett, and a number of others, simply because of the sheer arrogance of Glassman. And in doing so, CF HQ committed the ultimate douchebaggery in the history of fitness. I guess this relationship between the policy makers at the top and the boots-on-the-ground is akin to how the federal government does not necessarily represent the views of the American people. At any rate, keep up the great work, Nick!! As always, I look forward to your upcoming blogs.
Thanks Joel, I appreciate that!
I always try and make sure that totally differentiate between CF HQ and the real people in the real world who actually do CrossFit (Glassman clearly doesn’t …)
I have made a lot of really great friends in the CrossFit community. And I can say, without being hyperbolic at all, that I LOVE what CrossFit has done for so many people, for the popularization of the sport of weightlifting, and in spreading the good word of functional training in this country.
Most of the clubs are wonderfully positive places to train with good coaches who really care about their clients. YES, there are exceptions.
The fact that, as a franchise, CrossFit doesn’t have many rules that they impose on their affiliates means that the worst affiliates are often quite bad. But, it also means that the best are some of the best places to train in the country. I really like the open-source, libertarian-esque nature of CrossFit’s affiliate system. It has allowed for a lot of innovation on the part of CrossFit clubs that make what is happening in the best clubs WAY better than the BS spewed out by HQ.
I love CrossFit. I’d never do it … I’m way too lazy! But, I love it. It makes exercise fun for people. It gets them doing all kinds of good things like squatting and push ups … you know, shit that’s good for you!
That doesn’t mean I don’t see it’s obviously flaws. And, I reckognize that it isn’t good for everything. But, it is a good thing. I’m glad it is here. More people should do it (think about how few people in this country exercise at all). And I will continue to promote its merits.
I’ve been doing Crossfit for about 3 months now. Before that, I’ve been a typical bodybuilding type weightlifter…no powerlifting, just strict bench, shoulder press, dips, bicep curls, etc.
I joined with excitement for two reasons:
1) to lose some fat
2) to get some much needed cardio improvement
In 3 months I have dropped a good 8-10 lbs, and an even more noticeable change in appearance. I work out an average of 5 days a week doing CrossFit, when before I never did more than 3.
My cardio has improved as well, although I still don’t think I am where I want to be. Sure, my mile time has improved and I can run longer, but I don’t feel like I was at 17 where I can play basketball or football (flag) at the same level.
I weighed a puny 120-125 when I started college, and now I’m at a way more muscular and stronger 165-170 (I’m 5’6) at age 31. There are certain things I can obviously do better, but I gotta tell ya the old me could cut on people and break them on the open field….or go plain deep on them. The current me can barely do those things, and I would say that I’m probably worse overall than I was before.
You can be “powerful” but if you cannot shake people, I don’t think you’re effective at football. That’s why I disagree with this anti-crossfit for football (or basketball) mentality.
Let me give you a quick example of what we did last weekend at a competition called “New Primal Games” here in south carolina, featuring a battle of mostly crossfit gyms:
Event 1:
800 meter run followed by 25 sandbag lifts (35 lbs for guys). Then approximately another 800-1000 meter run sprinkled with 2 high jumps over hay, a 20 yard crawl under some ropes, topped off with two wall jumps (5′ & 6′), and then 40 meters to the end.
This is typical crossfit. The next two events were far more power oriented.
Event 2:
Weighted tire (50 lbs for men) rope pull for about 20-30 meters, followed by a drag of the tire to reset it to the original position. Run/jog back to start line, and repeat for as many rounds as possible in 3 minutes.
Never felt so ashamed of the power I didn’t have. Would oly lifting have made me super strong in this area?
Event 3:
90 lb atlas stone. Pick up to about 5 feet, and drop it over a side wall. 6′ wall climb (jump), go around back, pick up the ball again and run around to starting line and do as many rounds as possible in 5 minutes.
Another frustrating event power wise….I was able to get 12 rounds in 5 minutes, but dropped the stone a few times or just took awhile to get it up.
The best guys there were crossfit guys who did about double what I did, and never dropped the stone!!
I guess you could call this typical Strongman stuff.
Bottom line is crossfit does everything BUT weightlifting stuff of the bodybuilding type. Bodybuilding is pure aesthetics, and there are guys who couldn’t bench or curl what I do who whipped in me this event.
As an all around athlete, I don’t think anything is better for the average to above average person. For $100-200 /month, it’s far cheaper than personal training, and maybe as effective or more effective.
Lastly, even if it’s not the most significant olympic lifting gym…..they do get on your a*** for improper oly lifting technique….squats, deadlifts, etc. I promise you most guys who were to join CrossFit would find out that their true squat or deadlift is 50-100 lbs less than it really should be.
I’ll continue to mix up the 3….crossfit, power lifting, and bodybuilding….I appreciate a flat stomach but cannot tolerate a “flat chest”.
You make some great points, FG.
I think for the all-around athlete, CrossFit is about as good as it gets.
Another thing that Crossfit and Olympic Weightlifting have in common is that they both involve the olympic lifts.
I once wanted to try out crossfit, but two things detered me – the first was that many people, me included, hate on the idea over-pushing yourself to the extent that you compromise your form and the second is the kipping pull-ups.
That’s why I’d rather go into olympic lifting, powerlifting or strongman training than crossfit. If only they’d scrap the kipping pullups! I’m all for pushing yourself, but not to the extent that you wind up hurting yourself.
Nick,
Have you read the article on Mikes Gym by Louie Simmons “What if I were an Oly lifting coach?” I’d like your thoughts on applying Westside training to O lifting.
Thanks, Bill
Hi Bill,
Yes I have. I think a version of that appeared in MILO at one point? Either way, he went through a period where he talked about it quite a bit.
My own inclination is to say that we can’t know until his methods have had a chance to be tried on a wide variety of people. So far, they haven’t.
However, we do know a few things that don’t bode well for his theories on the subject. First, Olympic weightlifting is a technical sport – not just a strength sport. There are a TON of 400 pound squatters out there. The number of them who can also clean 300 pounds is low. The number of those that can do both at a low bodyweight is even more rare.
(I chose those numbers because they are doable for a “regular” male athlete – I have a 31 year old 77k who has them, 8 pounds under the 300 clean, actually. What the pro’s are doing is FAR more, as you know, at even lighter bodyweights which would make the point even greater.)
Gaining strength and explosive power is tough. But, gaining the expertise on the Oly lifts required to translate that strength and power into a big total is WAY harder. The reason is the 10,000 hours rule. You have to put in a ton of time practicing the lifts themselves with heavy weights or you can’t be great at this sport. Practicing with light weights is worthless after the beginner stage. snatching 60% is NOT the same as snatching 90%+ … not even close. The technique is different, the requirements on your psychological ability to STICK TO the technique when the weights get heavy is huge.
But, putting in all this work on technique at heavy weights leaves open the same problem for us that Sprinters have – you are too damned exhausted after all this practice to do much “general” strength work. Thankfully, like Sprinting, weightlifting is it’s own version of strength training, so it isn’t that bad.
Sprinters largely just sprint, and then do a few exercises in the gym like Deads and squats. But, 90% of their time is spent sprinting. Sprinting is basically a heavy lower body exercise. So, they’re fine.
Weightlifters spend 80%+ of their time on the full snatch and clean and jerk, and the rest of the time squatting and a few other things. But, since the work on the Oly lifts is so damned heavy and explosive, the amount of outside strength work that you NEED is low.
Louie’s ideas are worth a shot. I think anyone with a theory on how to make a weightlifter better should be given the chance to see if their ideas are going to pan out. I’m NOT saying that he’s out of his mind, or anything. I AM saying that I am skeptical of his theory on the merits, given what we currently (think we) know about the requirements of the sport, etc.
Great topic!!
Many thanks for this article! It is just the kind of program I have been looking to incorporate into my own training. Would you recommend this done on a separate day to a CrossFit style workout or as part of a CrossFit workout, either before or afterwards?
I would recommend doing this as often as you can! And, always before a CrossFit WOD if you do it on days you Crossfit. Remember that snatching is as much about technical performance than anything. So, being “fresh” when you do it is important. Then afterwards, you can kill yourself with a CrossFit WOD
Hi Nick,
Many thanks for your quick reply. I will be implementing the routine you suggested before my CrossFit WODs. I am assuming that every day or most days would be too much but I thinking of performing the routine every other day (if possible). Would this be considered too much? Or is a days rest in between this routine enough recovery? Thanks for all your help.
Actually, everyday is NOT too much! When I say you should be “fresh” I just mean you shouldn’t be dripping sweat and panting from your CrossFit WOD already, LOL.
If you can snatch and squat everyday, then do it. It will do you a world of good.
Hi Nick
I am 36 year old Male from India , I used to lifts weight in college(body building stuff) but after Job , marriage and Kids and some extra cream and white bread later I am a type – 2 diabetic .
In order to control my sugar level .. I started lifting weights again but this time my emphasis is on overhead lifting .. and yes Olympic lifting is like Maths .. I learn every time I lift .. and its more like something more spiritual to me the time I am pulling and coming under the weights
no matter how hard I try I am not able to capture that moment .. In order to capture it makes my mind into Vacume .. its only for some millisecond but its true and beautiful ..
C&J is what I do more often and muscle snatch .. pure snatch is what I have to start..
I also do involve behind the neck , bent overs and some amount of push ups actually all kind of pushups and pullups
right now my C&J is at 85K .. I want to take it at 100 at least in next 2 months .. I hope if its is possible ?
Sounds like you’re working hard! That’s great. Taking your clean and jerk from 85k to 100k is certainly possible. It’s just a matter of putting in the time and effort … which it looks like you are!
Hi Nick
Thanks For the encouragement
[...] that make them fit? Does increasing your Fran Time make you fit? (See my article about Combining Olympic Weightlifting with CrossFit to get a feel for the answer for that one – well, my [...]
Hi Nick, great article! I’ve been crossfitting for 2.5 years and just started taking an Oly class with a great coach to improve my technique. I love it! Here is the conflict I’m having: When doing CrossFit, do you think there’s an “acceptable” percentage of ideal technique that you should strive for in your Oly lifts? Obviously, in CrossFit, we’re going for speed all the time, and the faster we do heavy lifts (at high reps) the more form breaks down. By that 5th round, technique is absolutely horrible. Would you recommend slowing down the lifts so that you can at least achieve, say, 85% of ideal technique? Or something along those lines…
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Absolutely. The number one reason you should use good technique is so that you don’t end up injuring yourself. The Oly lifts are safe … but ONLY if you do them correctly. Do them wrong, too fast, and with abandon and you WILL get hurt. It is only a matter of time.
But, the other reason is because you will actually improve your times if you use proper technique. The Oly lifts do move fast, faster than anything in CrossFit when done right. Yes, it is slow off the floor, but at the hip, there’s nothing faster.
If you do the lifts correctly, you will be FAR more efficient and your CF times will be much better, you won’t tire as fast, and you’ll be able to do it all with heavier weights.
The people who are the best CrossFitters at the games use the best technique on everything all the time. There are only a few rare exceptions to that. Mark my words, the quality of form at the major CrossFit competitions will improve dramatically over the next few years because the competition is getting steeper.
Good form is always better than bad form on the Oly lifts – for both health AND performance. There are no exceptions to that.
It is a misconception that breaking form during a WOD will help you. That is only true for rank beginners who haven’t yet ingrained good form enough to do it correctly at high speeds.
Hope that helps!
Nick, thanks, that’s very helpful.
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Glad you dug it, Ben!
[...] popular one was my article, How to Combine CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting. A great many of the lifters in my gym are members of one of the local CrossFit clubs. I’ve [...]
pretty lift and CrossFit don’t go together.
Thanks for the mini program you put up. Not being an Olympic lifter it is nice to see how to add it into other programs