Posts by Cal Strength Staff Admin

library of daily gym logs, athlete updates, and strength programming published by Cal Strength Staff Admin at California Strength Academy.

• Jon North at Redwood Empire Championships
• Kelly Starrett Mobility Session
• Nationals Closing In

1. Inside the California Strength Operations & Media Production Desk

Managed by the San Ramon administrative and facility operations staff under founder Dave Spitz, the Cal Strength Staff Admin library chronicles the day-to-day logistics required to run an elite multi-discipline training center. Between 2008 and 2012, our facility hosted simultaneous training blocks for the resident USAW Olympic Weightlifting Team, the NFL Draft Combine preparation class, collegiate off-season football linemen, and regional USAW national qualifiers.

Maintaining eight heavy-duty wooden Olympic lifting platforms subjected to hundreds of daily barbell drops from overhead demanded rigorous equipment engineering. Every week, the facility staff inspected needle-bearing rotation on our Rogue, Eleiko, and Pendlay competition bars, rotated high-density crumb-rubber and calibrated urethane bumper plates, and leveled maple center boards to ensure lifters attempting 160+ kg snatches and 200+ kg clean and jerks had completely uniform footing.

San Ramon Facility Weekly Schedule & Platform Allocation Matrix (2010–2011)

2. Filming & Archiving the "Cal Strength Golden Era" Video Logs

Before smartphone clips became ubiquitous, the Cal Strength Admin media team captured, edited, and published hundreds of high-definition training sessions from the San Ramon floor. Every Tuesday and Friday afternoon, tripods were positioned at 45-degree diagnostic angles off Platform 1 and Platform 2 to record bar-path trajectory, bottom-hole knee tracking, and split-jerk foot timing for Jon North, Donny Shankle, David Garcia, and the developmental squad.

These video logs served a dual purpose: first, they provided Coach Glenn Pendlay with immediate frame-by-frame feedback between warm-up jumps; second, they built a global community of strength coaches and lifters who followed the team's weekly progression toward the American Open, Senior Nationals, and the Pan-American Championships.

3. Athlete Nutrition, Supplementation & Facility Standards

Supporting athletes who burned upwards of 4,500 kilocalories per day across double sessions required structured nutritional logistics inside the San Ramon athletes' lounge. Post-session recovery shakes, bulk rice cookers, electrolyte stations, and soft-tissue mobilization tools were stocked continuously so lifters could begin glycogen replenishment within fifteen minutes of racking their final front squat.

Facility Rules & Operational Standards Enforceable on All Platforms

• Respect the Platform Perimeter: Never walk across an active maple platform or step in front of a lifter's line of sight once their hands touch the barbell knurling.
• Needle-Bearing Bar Care: Competition 28 mm needle-bearing bars are reserved strictly for full Snatches, Cleans, and Jerks; all rack pulls, pin jerks, and heavy partial squats must use dedicated power or beater bars to prevent sleeve warping.
• Mandatory Training Log Bookkeeping: Every resident team member records daily morning bodyweight, sleep hours, warm-up bar speed notes, and top working sets in the facility library.
• Friday Afternoon Max-Out Etiquette: During Friday 3:30 PM heavy testing, music volume goes up, developmental lifters load plates for the senior squad, and every personal record attempt receives the full support of the room.