I like powerlifting and other barbell and kettlebell lifting, but here are the Top Ten Reasons I Like the Olympic Lifts:

10. The lifts use the entire body in one fluid motion. There is no isolation aspect about them.

9. They look cool, (when they are done correctly)!

8. The names of the lifts themselves are double entendres. You can use the words now in polite company.

7. You don’t look like a bodybuilder or a powerlifter, but you do look damn strong.

6. The speed, power and explosiveness generated transfer well into many sports and activities.

5, People in the gym don’t quite know what to make of you. One guy recently asked me, “Why are you doing high school lifts?”

4. They are very technical and therefore a challenge to learn and master.

3. You pretty much have free access to the proper equipment, at least in my gym, because you don’t have to compete with others on “chest day” or “leg day”.

2. Chicks dig you. (Ok, I made that up, but that’s Curry’s motivation for snatching “a wheel”).

1. When the lift is completed, you get to drop the loaded barbell from over your head and let it bounce around and make a lot of noise. Even a light load is loud.

Go ahead, use the Comments below to add to the list.

Since taking up Crossfit a couple of years ago at age 50, one of the things I got re-introduced to was Olympic weightlifting, which are the snatch and the clean and jerk. I had an interest in them way back in my early high school years and on occasion, on Saturdays, I went to the Eagles’ Club in Milwaukee with my dad and had a chance to do a rudimentary form of the C & J (a nice way to say no form at all) with dedicated lifters. There was just no opportunity to go any further with the lifts. Our high school gym consisted of a chrome multi-station Universal machine, one of the early progenitors of The Rise of the Machines in gyms all across America.

I have received a small amount of group instruction time from Mike Burgener in a Crossfit certification, but the only hands-on, eyes-on training came with the instruction of Stephane Rochet, now the strength and conditioning coach at University of San Diego. That was good fundamental training from Stephane that furthered my interest in learning the lifts.

More recently at my gym, two other guys share my interest in the lifts,  Jon Curry and Mike Covert. Jon and I train and share a goal of doing a good looking 135 lb snatch while Mike has great athleticism and ability with a knack for good technique. It is a lot of fun to train with these guys, but I have been wanting to get coached for a while at this.

Last weekend, after Val’s Santa Monica race, we went to Gold’s Gym and met Danny Henry as he was coaching a lifter. After a brief conversation and a phone call this week, I trained with Danny for the first time Thursday afternoon at Gold’s.

Danny took me through some warm-ups while talking about the lifts in general. Danny is a very enthusiastic student of the weight game and definitely was excited at the prospect of training me. (He must like the challenge of training a stubborn, over-the-hill wannabee weightlifter)!! As we progressed through various drills from the muscle snatch, front squats, RDL, bar positioning, etc., I was impressed by his attention to detail. He would make sure tell me what worked and what didn’t after each lift and explain what needs to happen. I could tell he was forming a baseline for me. That baseline will continue next week as he will put me through sub-maximal lifts to better see where I am in all this and how he will structure my training.

My first session went for 90 minutes and his fee was very reasonable considering what training can go for in southern California. I definitely got value for my money which is nice for a change when I consider what I spent and what I got out of a weekend certification not all that long ago.