I watch the movie the gladiator with russel crow before war takes place on sunday. I watch that movie before battle, to gain courag and strength. I will become maximus on sunday, I will fight like him and I will kill any kilo or competitor that stands in my way. Every kilo I kill will get me closer to victory, respect, my national title, my world team and my olympic team. Every kilo I kill in battle will get me closer to MY gold medal. I will go out fighting like maximus, I will have pride like maximus, I will have heart like maximus, and I will die trying like maximus. The warm up room is where us gladiaters prepare for battle. I am scared for what awaits me on the battle field, but I look around at my california strength gladiaters and we give each other courage. Now I am ready, now I am mad, now nothing can stop me. The chip on my shoulder gets big and loud and fuels me to fight with everythign I have. As the doors open to the battle field I walk with pride and courage. Right in front of your eyes I turn from a slave into a gladitater. I grab the chalk from the battle field. I rub it on my hands to feel what victory will taste like. I stand beside my galdiaters becuase we are a team, becuase we are all fighting for the same thing. Becuase without each other we would fall short. I stand by Donny Shankle, Caleb Ward, and Max Aita lead by my king Dave Spitz and my honorable coach Glenn Pendlay. Men that I would die for, men that I will fight with and smile in victory with. This Gladiator Jon North goes to battle for California Strength.
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25 Sep 2009 / Jon North
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25 Sep 2009 / Donny Shankle
-Snatch max
-Clean&Jerk max
-Front SQ. max(rest 20 min. before SQ)
-Box Jumps 3×6
-2 min. situps
Tags: Workout of the Day
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25 Sep 2009 / Donny Shankle
-SN 20singles in 20 minutes @80%
-Press (OH) 3/5
-Clean w/2sec. pause at knee @ 65% 1×10
-DB side laterals 10×3
-Broomsticks twists 100×3
Tags: Workout of the Day
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25 Sep 2009 / Donny Shankle
-Snatch 95% 1/3 , 90% 1/5 , 85% 1/3
-Jerk from racks max -10k 3/3(*triple should be very difficult)
-Clean to Front SQ @ 85% 0f best Clean
-Front SQ. 95%-100% 1/3
-DB single arm row 10×3
-500 meter row @ 5 intervals w/2min rest between each
-100 leg raises
Tags: Workout of the Day
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25 Sep 2009 / Uncategorized
-Power SN max , -10-15k 2/3
-Power Clean & Jerk max, -10-15k 2/3
-Back Squat w/ 2sec. pause in bottom 85% of best BS 2×5
-Med Ball OH lunges 3 trips P2P (post to post)
-Side to side power twists w/ partner x 100 each side
Tags: Workout of the Day
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25 Sep 2009 / Uncategorized
-Snatch High Pull + Hang SN @ 85-90% 2×5
-Clean & Jerk @95% to max 1×2,-15k 2×3
-Front Squat 3@85% , 2@90, 95% 1×3
-Incline Press 6-8/5
-2000m row for 3 intervals @ 2min. rest between each
-100 situps
Tags: Workout of the Day
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24 Sep 2009 / Caleb Ward
Lately, in preparation for the weightlifting “season” (referring to the consecutive months focused on national events), we have been training so hard that I have found myself falling asleep while trying to put on my weightlifting shoes. This is a problem because I usually only put my shoes on before I practice, although I did wear them to school once (this is not a joke). Then, I have to find a way to motivate myself to do one of these “marathon” work outs that I know are going to put me through some serious pain.
So here is my dilemma: I am constantly questioning myself whether or not this is all worth the tired days and pain.
Of course it is! Who, at this level of training, doesn’t question what they’re doing? If you can’t be honest enough with yourself to question your motivations behind the sport, then you haven’t been pushed hard enough yet. It’s human nature to question your own actions when your limits have been crossed. But why is it all worth it?
Well, everyone should have a different answer. My answer lies in the fact that when I was 6 years old, entering the first grade, eating my Pop-Ice (don’t judge) and sweating the Texas heat, I watched the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and knew I had to do that. I didn’t know why I had to do it, I didn’t know what it would take to get me there, but I didn’t care. What I knew was that I wanted to feel the same way Kerri Strug felt when she landed her vault on a broken ankle for the gold medal (people don’t understand that that is probably the most inspirational feat ever performed… ever) or when Michael Johnson became the first man to win the 200m and 400m races in the same Olympics. Just to experience the same thing that they felt saluting the judges or crossing the finish line has been my main determination every single day for the past 13 years and is still the reason I wake up everyday, put on my weightlifting shoes and work harder than the day before.
Training with Glenn, Donny, Max and Jon every day and pushing myself to these mental and physical limits has led me to be somewhat inspirational myself. While I’m trying to motivate myself, I’m also trying to be a fearless leader and motivate my troops. I have found myself thinking up my own, original quotes that sound like they came from my own hero’s. Each time I come up with one of these quotes it pushes me through my workout and makes me forget that I’m lifting heavy weights and remember that I’m training towards the goals that have made me come the determined athlete I am today.
Some may say that training solely to go to the Olympics is detrimental, because it is so hard to peak at the right time, and if you don’t, you will have disappointed yourself. Well here is my rebuttal to that: “The Olympics don’t just happen every 4 years, they happen every day in the gym. Every 4 years is simply a celebration of achievement.” I would love nothing more than to celebrate my achievements at the Olympics in London and 4 years later (hopefully in Chicago), but it is not the sole factor that determines my own personal satisfaction or success. Every day that I work harder than the day before is my own personal Olympics. Every day that I make a heavier lift stands for the Olympics. Every day that I wake up and pick up the bar, means just as much to me as going to the Olympics, and that makes it worth every single time.
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20 Sep 2009 / Caleb Ward
Alright, I’m finally joining the cool kids and writing a blog for this site.
A little bit about me as an introduction for this blog:
I just moved from Texas to train with better lifters and lift in a more competitive atmosphere. I was not poached, I’m capable of making my own decisions, and for those who care, Glenn chose to move to California after I made my choice. Glenn, as previously mentioned, is my slightly overgrown, hairy, one of a kind coach. Glenn is the best coach for me because he works just as hard as I do in and outside of the gym to help me achieve my goals, which is the most humble, altruistic thing anyone has ever done for me. I compete in the 1-0-fatty-plus class, yes I know I’m fat, Mark Rippetoe, but so was Chemerkin, Steiner, Reza and most other Olympic Champions in that class and at least I’m better than anyone you ever “coached.” I set high goals for myself and work harder to make those goals old news. Although 2009 has been my worst year in weightlifting, I’m finally healthy and looking forward to 2010. Weightlifting is business for me; I’m not looking for a good time… and besides who likes waking up in the morning after a hard, joint grinding workout? I think that this helps me be a better weightlifter than I would be if I were in it for fun because my focus in the gym each day is to make all lifts successful like my life depends on it (missing lifts is not acceptable on my platform).
I trained by myself every day for so long, that now, training with 3 great lifters is like having 3 new brothers. I look to them to push me every day.
Donny- If you don’t know who Donny Shankle is then you need to make a trip on over to Cal Strength and meet this guy. Donny is one of the strongest guys I’ve ever met and training with Donny is like playing against the computer in a video game. It’s like the odds are always on his side and no matter how well I am training that day, he always pushes a little harder and beats me. One day I’ll have Donny shedding tears, but for now this is my biggest help in training.
Jon- I’ve watched Jon North at 2 competitions before and made fun of him so much that I was almost embarrassed to meet him. This kid has some energy, and some amazing potential for this sport. I think most people have overlooked how hard it is to work to the numbers, in clean/untainted fashion, as he has, and not to mention his “needs-improvement-technique.” Now that Glenn has changed around a few things, I may have to watch my back from 2 weight classes down for Jon North.
Max- Max Aita is great to have around in the gym. Before I visited California I had never heard of him, but now that I do, I feel like everyone should get to know him. Max is one dedicated individual to the sport of weightlifting. Max can easily be not only a great American Weightlifter, but one of the next great coaches for the Untied States. He lives, breathes and eats weightlifting every day. His knowledge of weightlifting and technical eye are such an advantage for the lifters at Cal Strength that everyone should sign up for a session with THE Max Montana Aita.
-Caleb Ward
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18 Sep 2009 / Uncategorized
rest day
Tags: Workout of the Day
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18 Sep 2009 / Uncategorized
-Jump Rope 5min.
-KB Snatches 12-16/2 *each arm
-Plyo-metric lunges 16/2
-Push Press 16/2 *choose a challenging weight
-Single leg SQ. 16/2 *each leg
-Footwork drill (3 rounds post to post)
- side to side step
- crossover step
- back peddle
- sprint
- crawl
-30 Sandbag getups
-2000m row
“The harder it is to surrender the harder it is to fail.” Coach B
Tags: Workout of the Day
