The Durango Barbell Club is back, helping athletes develop overall strength and explosiveness by focusing on the two Olympic weight lifting styles: the clean and jerk and the snatch.
Matt Page and his family moved from Texas to Durango in 2021. They were involved in Olympic weightlifting in Texas, and when they moved here they helped get the club started back up in August after it went away during COVID-19. Page and Nick Jennewein, the owner of CrossFit Durango, dual coach the club. It meets from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at CrossFit Durango on Sawmill Road.
In both the clean and jerk and the snatch, the object is to pick the weight off the ground and press it over head.
“They really are full body lifts,” Jennewein said. “I think that’s the reason why it’s an Olympic sport.”
In the clean and jerk, the motions are divided into two lifts. During the clean, the lifters pick the weight up to their chest. From there, they jerk the weight up, pressing it over head and standing up with their elbows locked.
In the snatch, the athletes lift the weight off the ground and throw it over their head in one motion and then lock their arms.
“The form is very particular,” Jennewein said. “If you bend your elbows, it’s a no-lift.”
The Olympic styles differ from power lifting, which includes the bench press, the squat and the dead lift. Those exercises are included in the club’s work as accessory lifts, Jennewein said, and help with overall strength. He said they focus on the snatch one week and the clean and jerk the next, alternating between the two. He also emphasized that anyone can participate in the lifts.
“There’s no defined body type that makes one person better than another,” Page said about the Olympic styles. “It’s all about power generation and technique. They’re very complicated lifts. A lot of things have to slide into place. As long as someone is willing to work at it and has a desire to get better and stronger, they will progress.”
The club is currently small with only a handful of members, but it’s hoping to grow.
“We have two kids trying to get their overall strength up and the rest of us are adults,” Page said. “The sport itself is great for explosion. It definitely translates to football, basketball …”
Jennewein said he and Taylor Page, 12, compete regularly and a few others in the club have competed, but many members just work out with the group. At the Colorado state championships in November, Jennewein and Taylor both won silver medals in their divisions in all three contested categories: the best snatch weight, the best clean and jerk weight and the best combined total weight from the two lifts. Taylor qualified for the both the U.S. Open and the national championships, for a second time, with his performance. Page said Taylor can snatch 35 kilograms and clean and jerk 45. Page said he can personally clean about 120 kilos.
“Taylor is a stud,” Jennewein said. “Going to nationals two years in a row, that’s a really big deal.”
The national championships will take place in June at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Jennewein said the club is open to everybody of all ages, from younger than 13 to 65 and older. No experience is necessary, and people can try a session for free to see if they like it. CrossFit Durango also has memberships geared specifically toward participating in the club.
“We’re trying to grow it; it would be great to have five to 10 people go to a local competition and compete,” Jennewein said. “It’s a fun, semi-relaxed competitive atmosphere. We use it as primarily a supplemental class to dial in the nuances of each lift.”
“It’s to build strength and confidence, and it does translate to a lot of other things,” Page said. “We’re trying to get people stronger and do it in a safe, unintimidating environment. If people are interested, we’ll see what their goals are and get them there.”
