"One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is how to integrate Olympic weightlifting with CrossFit training. This may strike many as an unnecessary inquiry considering the lifts are regularly programmed into the CrossFit WOD. At times, their appearance in this fashion will be inadequate or unsatisfactory for a particular athlete. In addition, I’ll be arguing here for learning of the lifts outside the WOD until a reasonable level of proficiency is reached.

Greg Glassman once (at least) commented that the Olympic lifts are not remarkably complex movements, making the comparison to a litany of gymnastic movements that far surpass the snatch and clean & jerk in technical complexity. There is no reasonable argument that the Olympic lifts are equal in terms of difficulty to the expansive collection of advanced gymnastics movements; but that comparison notwithstanding—because, while tapping into the gymnastics realm, CrossFit’s use of gymnastics movements remains confined to the extremely elementary—the lifts remain technically difficult relative to any other movement found in the CrossFit program. Understand that this is considering the development of what I would consider excellent technique, not just moving a barbell from the floor to overhead in any fashion (any CrossFitter can accomplish that day one). That being the case, the snatch, clean & jerk and their derivative lifts deserve their due in terms of technique development in order to deliver the expected training effects.

The CrossFit community is not short on athletes who quickly enough develop passable technique—passable meaning adequate to get them through the workout of the day without injury, death or irreconcilable embarrassment (at least among other CrossFitters). This, to many, is wholly sufficient, and no more consideration is given to the subject. This in fact is not sufficient, and I don’t say that simply because I have a particular affinity for the beauty of the lift’s technical precision at the elite level. Instead, my argument is based entirely on the intention of improving the potential training effects of the movements within the CrossFit framework. And before we proceed any further, consider one of Glassman’s oldest and truest maxims: The magic is in the movements. When and where in the CrossFit world has adequate ever been acceptable? It’s not a stretch to say, in fact, that the entire program arose from an unwillingness to accept the adequate as satisfactory."

-Greg Everett-
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Catalyst Athletics