Jump and Land

This article appeared in our newsletter previously, but we wanted to post it again because it reiterates the importance of Olympic lifting and how much it can help us with our fitness.

Written By Jenika Gordon

Jump and Land – yea, you know who I’m talking about! And if you don’t, you will soon enough. Coach Mike Burgener, Olympic Weightlifting Coach and Crossfit Coach to all, tells us here at Crossfit Westside in Vancouver a little about himself, how he got into O-lifting, and why he is a big contributor to the Crossfit Community.

 
"My passion for weightlifting started at a young age,” Burgener explains. He adds, “I always wanted to do it, but my dad thought body building was a waste of time.” So, Burgener didn’t weightlift until his football coach at university told him he needed to gain 20lbs. At that time, Burgener was playing defensive cornerback at Notre Dame (that’s right, Notre Dame – anyone remember Rudy?) and getting his degree in economics. To help him out, his football coach introduced him to catholic priest, Father BHB Lange.

Father Lange was the team’s strength coach. Right away, he had Burgener doing “cleans and snatches” every week. This is where he rediscovered his passion for weightlifting. "It worked. I saw improvements in my game and over time I also found I had more of an interest in strength and conditioning than football," he explains.

Despite being drafted by the CFL (Canadian Football League), Burgener instead chose to compete in weightlifting and continue his duties as a Marine. He’d joined the Marine Corps in 1964 while still a student at Notre Dame. He served 10 years as a captain and company commander and explains, “My whole teaching career is based on the Marine Corps.” When Burgener’s old Notre Dame football coach, John Rae, called him to ask if he’d like to be the first strength and conditioning coach for Kentucky University, he says he jumped at the opportunity.

During his time at Kentucky University, Burgener used his Marine training to develop his own teaching and coaching style. He also got his masters in exercise physiology and competed nationally.

“I wanted to be a national lifter. I liked the competition and it was fun,” he explains. He competed until 1972, when they eliminated “the press,” his strongest lift, from national competition. For those of you who don’t know, there were three lifts then: “the snatch”, “the clean and jerk”, and “the press”. Coach B still holds Junior records in “the press”.

In 1976, when Coach B got married, he decided to get out of the Marine Corps. His wife’s father was a high school superintendent and offered him a job as a high school football and strength and conditioning coach in Fallrock, California.

Although Burgener and his wife decided not to have kids, in Coach B’s own words, “I guess the good Lord wanted us to have them.” Casey Burgener, Mike’s oldest son, is currently the number one ranked male lifter in the United States. In addition, he’s a Junior American record holder in both the snatch and the clean and jerk. This guy can clean and jerk 192.5 kg and snatch 162.5 kg. And Mike’s only daughter Sage has been demonstrating and coaching O-lifts to all us Crossfitters at the Certifications for years.

Burgener got involved in Crossfit when Greg Glassman, CrossFit founder, called to ask him if his
trainers could take the USA Weightlifting Certification course he was giving in early 2000. Burgener agreed and the rest, as they say, is history. Two to three months later Glassman called up Coach B asking him if he would be interested in teaching O-lifts at a Crossfit clinic in Colorado. He agreed and has been teaching Olympic lifting to the Crossfit community ever since.

Coach B also began incorporating Crossfit into his own training programs soon after. He says this is because of Glassman’s explanation of the black box.

“I started incorporating Crossfit into my PE classes and as part of the football program,” he says. “The kids all loved it and the football program became more successful.”

Burgener also explains that he was "really attracted to the time component and interval aspect in Crossfit." He found it very motivating and it reminded him of his training in the Marine Corp.

Burgener says he gives “credit to the Glassman’s and the Crossfit community” for the improvements to football because Crossfit and O-lifiting have really heightened the training in schools.

The results of Crossfit training are incredible and Coach B says he is never surprised by the huge strides people make because it just makes sense! He wasn’t surprised when he saw Crossfit Coaches, like Annie and Nicole, pumping out 30 to 40 kipping pull ups. He explains that his youngest son, Cody, at age 6 was betting kids money that he could do 25 kipping pull ups. And he was – and making some money, too!!

 
Burgener explains Olympic lifting contributes to the Crossfit philosophy because “the Olympic lifts are great functional movement patterns that will aid anyone in better conditioning.” He and Coach Glassman like these athletic patterns because they help everyone, including the elderly. “Everyone needs to be able to squat, pick up items, and press overhead. They help with functional fitness patterns as well as athletic conditioning,” Burgener explains.

Coach B continues to work with the Crossfit Community because he says it’s an opportunity to share his expertise and gift. He wants to be able to teach and motivate people the way Father Lange and the Marine Corp influenced him. He goes on to say, “My gift is to teach lifts in a certain manner, it is not the only way, but it is a good way. And the Glassman’s have given me this opportunity to share my gift with others. I see Greg and Lauren as pioneers. They have a vision and a dream and I continue to work with them to share this dream with others because I see its benefits. I respect the hell out of them and consider them my mentors.”

Olympic lifting is key in the Crossfit program and helps us get better and faster in sport and in life, which is why at CFWS, we’ve been incorporating these elements more frequently into our classes. A clean and jerk is simply lifting something from the ground to your shoulders and then safely over your head. The snatch teaches us coordination, accuracy, balance, speed and power.

posted: 5 Oct 09   ·   Category: NewslettersNo Comments

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