Shaky Hands and Cross Kissing

On my way to the Arnold 2013. On my way to represent the Dark Orchestra and make you all proud. I will smash the American record and bring home the title for you, for us, for the Attitude nation.  I came across this article I wrote sometime ago before nationals.  A year later and I feel the exact same way I do now.  So I just had to re post it.  I find the taper bug very interesting as well.  I have been talking to a few friends on different ways to stay 100 percent clear from the dreaded bug, so far not a whole lot of success.  Its something I want to chat about on my next podcast though.....o by the way is not going live tomorrow at the usual time due to traveling to the Arnold.  BUT, we are putting together a LIVE show at the Arnold grabbing as many guests as we can get that walk on by, Just like we did at the American Open.  Hope to see you their, it would be great to be able to meet you in person.  Salute.

I wasn't going to write again tell after the Arnold, but I just couldn’t stay away from chatting with you. Coffee is just not the same without talking to the Attitude Nation. Writing has become a big part of my life; a big part of the training, a big part of relationships, and most importantly getting to know and understand myself. Writing is my therapy, without it I feel claustrophobic, uptight, and lonely. So I hear I am, back with you one more time before the Arnold.  Lets grab some coffee, put on a Piano guys song, put on our phantom mask's with the dark cape, and let’s sing together in this ever so odd world of the dark symphony - while the world shuns us!

The Taper bug has finally left, thank the Lord. The last week I have been tired, weak, slow, and unmotivated. I have been sleeping like a new born baby, too lazy to even play video games.  Just enough energy to sit in the hot tub and stare at a swaying tree for about 30 minutes. This always happens to me before a big meet, or any meet that is.  I call it the Taper bug. The Taper bug is when you start to back off the training and rest the body. The volume goes way down, the squat workouts get easier, the length of training gets cut in half, and the overall intensity lowers with each workout. You become more sore, achy, slow, and even weaker the more the taper bug enters your body. Why? I have no idea. You would think it would be the exact opposite. It’s like your body finally gets some rest and takes full advantage of it. Your body shuts down, like a bear for the winter, a big Donny shankle bear. Lol, sorry I don’t know why I just said that, but the image is pretty funny. Months and months of hell training, months and months of beating this bloody muscular skinned thing we call our body down.  Time after time of kicking it every time it tries to get up. Now when you let it stand, it doesn’t just jump up and say "let’s go"! but no, the body slowly gets on one knee first, and then the right hand helps support your the left, and after a few days of trying to stand up it does, slowly but surely. But my friends.....It doesn’t just stand...no, it grows 90 feet tall and smashes everything in front of it. "Green Monster” my old blog explains this perfectly.

I have been in depression the last week. The taper bug got to my head a little bit, and the taper cloud over my head really brought me down. A few small injury's and some tweaks in the lower back is the minds worst enemy, and the body's worst optical. Even coffee didn’t help. Weight after weight being missed, twitching legs while a sleep, and low energy levels, haaaa! NO MORE!! I have smashed the bug and grabbed my gun. I have reunited with the Nation and we will attack. Snap out of it Champ, you have a title to defend. Three time Arnold champ has a certain ring to it. You have a medal to send around the world, no time for pity. No time for "what ifs”, no time for the weight to feel heavy, just lift and win....then do to all again.  After they put the medal around our neck, salute the Nation with pride boy.

Yes that all sounds good, but a minute later my hands start to sweat again, my heart rate goes up, and my mind starts playing tricks on me again. The opener keeps me up at night, the opener haunts me. Sometimes I feel like running, running to a small town and hiding in a bar. Forgetting that I am 4 months sober and drinking my worries away night after night. Yes, this sounds great, no more pressure, just a white flag and my vodka. Every sip of that Vodka would warm my soul and make me feel good again. No more pain and hype, no more hateful comments towards me, no more long days training in the gym, no more letting people down if I do bad. But then again I would be letting many people down if I ran away. Then again I would not have you. I would no longer be a part of the Attitude Nation. Being a part of this Nation is everything to me, I take pride in it. Vodka is a nation of destruction and failure. Vodka is a friend who will smile to my face and then stab me in the back.

Fuck, this blog is all over the place, I am sorry, this is why I haven’t wrote in a few days, I knew this would happen. I am glad I wrote this blog today, I feel its centering me and putting me back in a place of comfort and confidence. So thank you.

Someone call the small town bar and tell them I won’t be making it in, I have a title to defend. Tell Vodka I am sorry for no showing, and not to wait up for me. Remind him that I am with the Nation still, and I will never leave them.

Smash the Taper bug and Win The Arnold 2013

Smash Sir Vodka and keep marching with the Nation 2013

Last fridays max out video.  The last max out day tell Arnold.  Plus i walked into coaches office at a perfect time. 

Calm before the storm 2016

Serenity

Quiet before the storm. 

2012

Road Trip

The green jungle is bright green this afternoon.  There are animals everywhere grazing in the sun.  I am under a tree that is giving me partial shade, while the rest are small spots of sun hitting me like a high School dance.  O boy she looks good today, and she tastes even better.  She is light brown from the sun, and her ice is like a turning disco ball that takes me back to my very first slow dance in middle school.  She is extra strong today from the two shots that were injected in her.  If coffee was a sport, than she would test positive for steroids.  Before I started writing I was in a great people watching zone.  It’s such a beautiful day to sit back, take kisses from your coffee, and watch all the different kind of people out walking around.  Smell is everything, the smell that is floating around puts you in a good mood.  It takes you back to playing basketball back in your hometown during the summer.  It makes you think of all the old friends you have lost over the years....I wonder how they are all doing.  A hot day but a perfect day because of the small gusts of wind that hit you every once and a while.....it’s like ranch with your pizza, it makes a world of difference. 

I want to say thank you to all of you who e mailed me about the Gold Medal Tour.  I have read and keep reading every single e mail you have wrote me.  I have written down all of your names, addresses and phone numbers.  I have received over 100 e mails so far!  And they are still coming!  I can’t wait to get this started and watch all the cool places the medal will go.  I can’t thank all of you enough, it means the world to me.

 My blog views have gone through the roof lately, wow, this nation is growing.  It’s like fight club with a weightlifting twist.  I think it’s because of the technique talk and videos I have been putting out lately.  Well here I go again; back to talking about God knows what, and more coffee talk, meaning the views will probably go back down.  I really do feel that getting away from weightlifting and training helps an athlete’s mind and body recover from the mental game that takes a toll on a weightlifter.  Stepping away and finding something to do is a great way to hit a PR the next day.  I choose writing to you, what do you guys do?  It’s funny, I don’t know one weightlifter that has a hobby, or an activity he or she likes to do when not performing the art of weightlifting.  It’s like we are all obsessed, we are chasing our own tails, we are hungry dogs that only want one thing, and this is to kill and eat.  This is what makes us champions; this is what makes us...well, us.  This is the hardest sport in the world, so we must be the hardest people in the world.  We are one of a kind, we are truly warriors. We get a high when we make a lift, and when we miss.  Missing only means one thing, and that is to make it.  Make it, miss it, make it and hopefully make it again. This is our high, this is how we gamble, and this is what we do on the weekends.  Pretty much this is really all we talk about.  This is our Las Vegas.

After this year’s Olympics I am planning a Cal Strength/Attitude tour.  I am buying a bus camper thing, whatever you call them, and I am going to travel to every state and train with you guys.  It’s still a few months away, but it’s going to happen.  I will stay in touch with you about this American tour.  It’s time to stop talking through this blog, it’s time to stop watching videos, and time to train together in person.  If you want me to stop by your gym and get a workout in or even do a seminar let me know, and I will be there.  It’s going to be called the Attitude Nation tour, and I am going to paint that on the side of the bus so everyone can see it.  Our medal will be traveling the world and I will be traveling the United Sates.  This is happening, this is real, and I am pumped out of my mind.  We together are going to take weightlifting to a whole other level; it’s going to be bigger than boxing.  We are the future.  While USA weightlifting sits on their ass and tells just a few lifters that they are God (I won’t mention any names) we will take over.  If they are not going to grow this sport then fuck em, we will.  They raise their nose to us; they could care less about you and me.  If you are not an 18 year kid who has a coach that is connected with some old guy in the weightlifting organization than you are nobody.  I will stop at that....I need to go train now before I get to worked up.  talk to you tomorrow!  Salute!  

PS:  Hey USA weightlifting what ever happened to my interview after I won Nationals last year?  Every other weight class winner got one.  What happened to my pictures and story line after the 2011 Pan Am Games?  What ever happened to my 2010 Pan Am championships videos?  I guess I was left out of that one as well.  I lift for this great Country, Cal Strength, Attitude Nation, myself, my family, my wife and my coach….NOT YOU. 

American tour 2012   coming soon

Traveling Medal

Over and over the opener flashes in my head, keeping my eyes wide open at night as I stare at the ceiling fan.  The "what-ifs" are thrown around the room with each turn of the fan, and they bounce off the walls and hit me directly in my gut while I lay half-asleep like a zombie.  Questions that I don't know the answer to turn me into a mad scientist trying to figure them out.  The drool drips form my mouth as I rock back and forth in my favorite wooden chair.  I keep staring at the empty table like I am trying to figure out the winning word in scrabble.  I can hear the talk outside my door - the bets, the who will win, opinions, cold remarks, and the positive motivation from the people in my corner.  Letting the nation down is my biggest fear.  The pressure is heavy, much heavier than the bar.  I want to win for the kid who trains in his garage.  I want to win for the unspoken for, the hidden soldiers that train just as hard or harder than I do.  The kid who gets bullied, the young kid who is crying outside his math class because he is to scared to enter the room.  I want to win for you, my second family, the family of the dark orchestra.  The family who visits me here in a world of black buttons and white screens.  You keep me going. I am glad I have you to talk to, so the least I can do is win, and bring us home the gold.  Most importantly my coach, Coach Pendlay is the man I want to see smile after I win; the happiness that one smile alone would bring me is something I can't express through this key board.  


Adrenaline please be in my corner.  I sometimes miss my openers because I don't finish enough.  The reason for this is because the pull feels so light from the adrenaline rushing through my body that I get under too early.  The Arched Angel needs to be with me in my opener; I need her to guide me to victory.  I keep telling myself over and over to finish like someone has a gun to my mom's head, no matter how light the super man pull is. Fucking finish Jon, and then stand the fuck up.  Fight for your life and your family's life as well.  Fight for the Attitude Nation. Fight and win. 


 I am going into Nationals like it's another training day.  This is the mindset I have decided to take going into battle.  There is nothing different besides the lights, the people and the stage...just lift.  


I rub my hands together after I take a drink from her dark brown body, realizing that I have training soon.  Its very hard to train right now, just because I am so focused on competing at nationals.  I am ready now, there is no more time for training... lets get this show on the road already.  Do you have this same problem? My body and mind have their shields, war paint, and swords ready for kill time, ready for gold medal time, and bar slamming in the faces of many time.  The people who hate me out there are going to hate me more when I win.  What a great way to give someone the middle finger.  Evert time I smile it must destroy them. Every time you root for me, they must lose sleep. Good!   Let's kill 'em with kindness by winning!!!  


Please give me your address, I want to send OUR gold medal to every Attitude soldier all over the world.  Wear it for a few days, take a picture and share it with the Nation, and then send it off to someone else.  I am dead serious.  I want the world to see that big gold medal.  I want the haters to see it it everywhere they go.  THE HATER CAN RUN, BUT HE CAN'T HIDE!    Please e-mail me at jnorth@californiastrength.com  with your name, address and phone number.  When you are done wearing it for two days, then send it off to another person.  I know all the Attitude soldiers can afford shipping because we are all motivated hustlers.  The goal is to have the medal travel the world for one year and then back to me.  Let's do this every year.  Please e-mail me, please.....let's take over the world.  


Now its time to train.  I will do everything in my power to get you that medal.  We will win. We will concur. Slam your bars and turn your AC up with the windows down during a hot day.  Salute my friends. Now go lift!   


Gold Medal Tour 2012 and forever  

14 Days Out

Getting ready for Nationals the Attitude Nation way !!   Compete, compete, compete, fight, fight, fight, win, win, win   and then slam the bar!    (Repeat)  

Weightlifter Rich

Some call it Hood Rich, I call it Weightlifter Rich.  Here are the top ten reasons that make you Weightlifter Rich.

1.  Everything is in your Parents name. 

2.  Zero dollars in your bank account - Four Thousand dollars rolled in a rubber band under the spare tire of your trunk. 

3.  Car payment is more than house payment. 

4.  New black on black Audi with the gas light on 24-7.  When you do get gas you only put in ten bucks at a time. 

5.  You live in the nicest apartment in your city with no furniture.  Only a blow up matteress in the bedroom and the PlayStation in the living room. 

6.  The only plastic in your wallet are Starbuck cards. 

7.  Late on rent because you just bought the newest weightlifting shoe. 

8.  Your sponsor put you up at the Super 8 Motel for Nationals. 

9.  You go to a five star restaurant and ask for the Dollar menu. 

10.  Reebok sponsors CrossFit.......LA Gear sponsors Weightlifting. 

 Training never sleeps 2012

Freak

Socially not eccepted, outcasts that reak of freak.  Our home is the gym, the world has shuned us.  We dont bench press so we cant be strong.  If we are not powerlifters than we are not weightlifters.  No curls no girls.  We are the red head step child who eats in the adich.  We are the miss understood.  The suits and ties give me change as a wait for my coffee with my ripped up cloths and chalky hands.  Teachers say "he could have really been something....only if he applied himself".  Too bad he became a gym rat.  Too bad he didnt follow in his fathers foot steps.  No money.....so why do you do this sport?   You should go back to school, you should figure out your life plan.  What are you going to do after weight....power training..? 

The NFL guys watch us like we are a half time show. They smile, shrug there shoulders, give a little clap and then go back to there grown up table.  They lift weights, they run on the track, they play football.  The weightlifter stays in one place as the bar grins with complete power.

We are freaks with tree trunk legs, over sized asses, pot belly's, long sharp traps like a rino with his horn, used for protection and survial from joe next door.  You dont understand us, good... then leave us alone. We dont understand you eaither.  Throw your rocks, thats fine, we are strong, we can take it.  Trust me joe, if you can be a weightlifter you can be anything.  Consist missed lifts and bomb outs is only the start of what I weightlifter can endur.  Trust me joe, your rocks dont hurt.  Hey Joe, dont move, I am just going to pick up this really big rock and drop it straight on your head.  Actually no I am not, I will take the high road, I am in battle everyday, I dont have the energy to battle with you.  Go back to your desk job as I bleed 5 colorfull rings.  

Weightlifting is dark, but beautifull.  A place full of purple cats and tea party's.  The cold bar is our warm fire, a nation of crying eyes and smiling faces.  screw the rest of the world outside the gym, we are family, we can do anything with eachother.  But even though this palace can get cold at night, and sometimes no one can hear you yelling "anybody home"?  Training is always there for you, and will always respond by saying "yes sweetie, how was your day"?   Everything seems to be ok when training.  Weightlifting seems to make everything else in life fall in place.  No matter what stresses or plroblems you are having in life, you know for sure that training starts at two.  Training loves you. Its a great feeling knowing that when the world gets cold, training is always there ready to hold you in her arms and sing you hush little baby.

I know you think we are all freaks Joe, but fuck you, the Attitude Nation is family, weightlifting is family, and all we need is eachother.  

Freak 2012