Coach Burgener

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S4EP3: COACH BURGENER
Thee Geezer

Mike Burgener is known by most as Coach B. After excelling at multiple sports in high school, Coach B headed to Notre Dame to play football. This is where he began what would be the most influential relationship of his life, weightlifting with Father Lange. He went on to get an MS degree from the University of Kentucky and was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. But Coach B’s passion for Olympic Weightlifting is what he has focused on for over 50 years as an athlete, coach, and mentor. He is a Level 5 Senior International Weightlifting Coach, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, and got involved with CrossFit early on as their weightlifting SME. He runs Mike’s Gym, the 5th CrossFit affiliate, out of his garage with a special emphasis on training “The Geezers”. He has been named coach of the year by United States Weightlifting but maybe more importantly is considered family by the athletes he coaches.

For more info on Coach B, check out his website here, or follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

People, Organizations, and References in the episode:
[03:40]  Olympic Lifting
[05:24]  Norte Dame Football Coach, Ara Parseghian
[05:37]  Father Lange
[05:52]  Clean and Press, Snatch, Clean and Jerk
[06:32]  40 time
[09:46]  Jim Schmitz, Olympic Lifting Shoes
[10:16]  Greg Glassman
[10:30]  Frans Bosch
[10:56]  Front Squat
[11:35]  USA Weightlifting
[13:54]  Coach B’s CrossFit origin story
[15:14]  Greg Amundson, Eva T, Nicole Caroll, Tony Budding, Josh Everett
[15:45]  Fran
[18:50]  Coach B becomes a CrossFit SME
[19:30]  Dave Werner, CrossFit North
[19:58]  Mike’s Gym become the 5th (later changed to 6th) affiliate
[21:18]  Coach B describes Mike’s Gym
[23:31]  The Geezers
[33:05]  Skull Crusher Coffee, Mike Rutherford, Eva T
[34:39]  Coach B’s warmup and workout
[40:52]  American Gladiators, Turbo
[45:39]  Greg Glassman’s Black Box Theory