Rudy Quoting Greg

Hold on to your hats, boys and girls… I’m going to quote Coach (that’s Greg Glassman for those of you who have only been around a year or two):

The missing link in so much mainstream fitness programming, from bodybuilding to monostructural endeavors, is the neuromuscular piece—in particular, the development of coordination, accuracy, agility, and balance. We can sum these elements up as “technique.” Omitting them from one’s training necessarily results in only partial fitness, partial expression of one’s genetic potential, and a decreased threshold of maximal capacity. To increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains (the goal of CrossFit), technique is the crucial connection—whether your goal is to win the game, protect your life, complete the mission, or just be fit for the demands of everyday life at any age.—Greg Glassman

http://theoutlawway.com/doctrine/the-importance-of-olympic-weightlifting-for-the-sport-of-fitness-collection/

At first, the techniques required for the successful lifting of barbells does not look like life, sport or combat.  But over time, all force application looks like powerful hip extension applied through a rigid torso (aka stable midline), and often completed via extension of an arm (or both arms).  This description can be seen in running, jumping, punching, batting, golf-ball-punishing, throwing and in lifting lifting objects from the ground.  Hip flexion adds to many movements, also, such as kipping pull-ups, maximal jumping, muscle ups, legless rope climbs, and etcetera.

Barbells provide a remarkable variety of ways to practice powerful hip extension while maintaining a rigid torso, which is why they are a potent tool for the development of human performance.