This is our version of a “seminar.” It’s an all-inclusive athlete experience where attendees will spend a weekend learning, training, and living alongside other remarkable athletes and the esteemed brUTE coaching staff, all while enjoying the beautiful surroundings of Lake Tahoe.Over the course of two days, attendees will receive hands-on coaching and guidance directly from members of the brUTE coaching staff, including: Chris Hinshaw, Matt Bruce, Nick Sorrel, Sean Pastuch, and Mike Cazayoux. Attendees will also have the opportunity to train alongside prominent brUTE athletes Tommy Hackenbruck, Adrian Conway, Jacob Hutton, and Brooke Ence, only two weeks removed from their appearances at the 2015 Crossfit™ Games.

In discussing the key technical elements to making a successful snatch or clean, the first pull is rarely considered. That is understandable, as lifts are not made at the beginning of the pull. However, they can certainly be lost because of mistakes within the first four inches of bar movement.

Considering how to best improve your clean and jerk is truly analogous to the saying, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” While there are perhaps a couple dozen reasons to miss a clean & jerk, it comes down to failure in one of three parts: the rack (failure to shoulder the bar), the squat (failure to recover from the bottom position), or the jerk (failure to secure the barbell overhead).

I sat in a cheap motel room in Salt Lake City with my friend Dan. It was June of 2009. I’d been up for a few days smoking crack and shooting heroin. I had isolated myself from my friends and family, and abandoned the support system I had used in recovery. I had lied to my therapists, my AA sponsor, everyone. In spite of my best efforts, I had once again let myself slip into a dangerously depressive state. The shame was a sharp edge, cutting unbearably deeper every day. I figured if I did enough drugs I could forget about it momentarily, or at least dull the pain.

Maybe you’ve heard something along the lines of, “bodybuilders try to look good, while weightlifters try to do good.” Perhaps you’ve heard weightlifters refer to the powerlifts as “half lifts.” Meanwhile, the power lifters refer to the Olympic lifts as the “trick lifts.” Have you heard the snatch referred to as “gymnastics with a barbell”?

Watch this video to hear our tips for Crossfit Open workout 15.5