Jon Pietrolaj's Strongman Training Journal

[jp2004c5]

My name is Jon Pietrolaj. I'm 33 years old and have been lifting weights since I was 15. I have been using At Large Nutrition products exclusively for the past several years and truly believe they are the best supplements you can buy. For the past three and a half years, I've been competing in the sport of Strongman. My first contest was in May 2007 and I have been hooked ever since. My ultimate goal in Strongman is to hopefully win a Heavyweight Pro Card. I feel I'm fairly close to accomplishing this, but there is still a lot of work to do. I was lucky enough last year to compete in the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships. I finished 21st out of 49 guys. I wasn't pleased with the placing seeing as after the second event I was in 8th overall, but it was an amazing experience. This past year I took a break from competing. The main reason being I wanted to try and bring up my static strength. I also had a few minor bumps and bruises that held me back. So now it's 2011 and I'm ready to get back on the horse and start competing again. Some of my bigger goals for the year are:

12" Log Clean and Press - 400lbs
2" Axle Clean and Press - 400lbs
Deadlift (Belt only) - 750lbs
Box Squat (Belt only) - 750lbs
Bench Press - 500lbs (Best All time Bench Press for me is 515lbs Raw)
Yoke Walk - 1,000lbs for 50ft
Farmers Walk - 425's for 50ft

I currently keep a training log on Marunde Muscle and will continue to do so as well as on here. If your interested in some of my training from the past here is a link.

http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/...ad.php?t=17757

Thanks for reading

[jp2004c5]

Sat 2/19/2011 - Event Training

Body felt sore today when I woke up especially my abs and obliques. They were sore as hell. The only thing I can think of is the prowler work I did on Thursday night. That's really the only new thing that was added this past week. I decided I wasn't going to go crazy today and push the body to far.

Frame (80ft)
270X2
450X2
550X1
650X1

Conan's Wheel
270 X 1 Lap
360 X 1 Lap
450 X 1 Lap
630 X 1 Lap - Lower back was screaming after this. Haven't done Conan's probably since last summer so wanted to just get the groove back.

Prowler (100ft, All High Handles)
10 runs X 140lbs + Prowler

[jp2004c5]

Mon 2/21/2011

Came home from work and ended up falling asleep for almost two hours. Just felt really tired all day today. The nap however caused me to get a late start to training. My lower back has been feeling kind of tight all day today so the plan was to do some log pressing first and then depending on how my lower back was feeling do stones or not.

12" Log Clean and Press each rep
195X5
255X5
315X4 - The pressing power is there, but my cardio right now stinks which is to be expected. I have been lazy with it the last few months. Lower back really started getting sore after this so I moved the log into the power rack.

12" Log Press in Rack
285X3
325X1
345X1
365X1
390XFLD
390X1 - PR!!, should of had it on the set before. Flew up and died halfway but I fought it to lockout. After this lower back was on fire. Decided to push stones to later in the week.

Reverse Hypers
230 - 3X12

Pulldown Abs
110,120,120X10 - Supersetted w/ Hypers

[jp2004c5]

Wed 2/23/2011

Trap Bar Deadlifts (Belt and Straps, 13" Pick)
170X5
260X5
350X5
450X5
550X1
650X1
750X7 - Had 2-3 more reps in me, but I didn't want to go to failure. My goal tonight was to get 6-7 reps and stop.

Stones
285 to 58" X1
320 to 58" X1
335 to 58" X1
355 to 58" XFLD 2 Times
395 to 54" X1
355 to 58" XFLD - I knew stones weren't going to go well tonight. The temperature last night dropped into the teens and the old tacky on the stones was just ripping off to the touch. The first miss w/ 355 was b/c I lost my grip on the stone halfway up due to the old tacky ripping off. The second miss I had the stone on my upper chest and was going to try and press it on, but it literally bent me in half. Third miss my lower back had nothing left.

Pulldown Abs
120 - 3X10

GHR
BW - 3X10 - Supersetted w/ Abs. Right knee was feeling good enough to do GHRs pain free.

[jp2004c5]

Thurs 2/24/2011

Speed Overhead Press w/ 2" Axle
205-8X3

Reverse Blue Band CGBP
225X10
315X5
405X5
495X3
550X2 - Was going for 3 reps, but after 2nd rep racked weight. Got pain in right shoulder and pec/delt tie in.

Straight Bar Lat Pulldowns
200,225X10
250X6

Elbows Out Tricep Extensions
55's, 65's 75's X10 - Supersetted w/ Pulldowns

Chest Supported Rows (Parallel Grip)
110,130X6
150X5

Straight Bar Tricep Pushdowns
110 - 3X10 - Supersetted w/ Rows

[jp2004c5]

Sat 2/26/2011

Beautiful day today for Strongmanin'. Upper 40's, low 50's, sunny, cool breeze. I also slept in today which I really needed. My body was feeling banged up.

Yoke (50ft)
370X2
550X2
730X1
910X1 - Haven't done this much weight in awhile. Felt ok.

Conan's Wheel
270 X 2 Laps
450 X 2 Laps
630 X 1 1/4 Laps, this was my goal today, but I easily had 1 1/2 laps in me. Basically just going to try and improve a 1/4 of a lap a week.

Bigg Dogg Husafelt Stone Carry
300 X 50ft
300 X 50ft - Just did these to keep the groove. Both picks were good even though I haven't done them in two plus weeks.

Prowler (100ft trips, All High Handles)
10 trips X 180lbs + Prowler

GHR
BW - 3X10

[jp2004c5]

Mon 2/28/2011

Wasn't feeling it today. Was feeling lazy. Didn't feel like doing anything. Came home and ended up falling asleep for about an hour. That caused me to get a late start, 8:30pm.

2" Axle Press in Rack
125X10 - Strict Presses
175X5 - Strict Presses
215X3 - Strict Presses
265X3 - Strict Presses
305X3 - Strict Presses
330X1 - Strict Presses
355X1
380X1
405XFLD

Stones
285 to 58" X1
320 to 58" X1
335 to 58" X1
355 to 58" XFLD
355 to 58" X1
395 to 54" X1
435 (22") Lap XFLD - Haven't touched this stone in probably close to 6+ months. Tried lapping a few times, but no go.

After stones it was 10:30pm so I just called it a night.

[jp2004c5]

Wed 3/2/2011

Cambered Bar Box Squat (Shoulder Width Stance, Belt only, Parallel Box)
160X5
250X5
340X5
430X3
520X3
570X1
620X1
645X1
670X1
695X1
720X1 - PR!!, The set w/ 695 and 720 felt the best. I had some knee soreness in the earlier sets and it wasn't going away which was starting to worry me. My form on 720 was kind of terrible, but it went up.

16" Rack Lockouts (Belt and Straps)
225X3
405X3
495X1
585X1
675X1
725X1 - Just wanted to pull something somewhat heavy, but not go to failure.

Reverse Hypers
270 - 3X10

Pulldown Abs
110,120,125X10 - Supersetted w/ Hypers

[jp2004c5]

Sat 3/5/2011

Took Thursday off this week. I needed the extra day. My lower body was sore from the heavy squatting, but my elbows were killing me and I barely did anything in the way of pressing/direct tricep work during the week. I felt they could use some rest.

Farmers Walk
135's X 100ft, turn @ 50ft
225's X 100ft, turn @ 50ft
275's X 50ft
315's X 50ft
365's X 50ft
410's X 30ft - At 30ft farmers handle fell out of my left hand. I'm going back to what has worked for me in the past and that is longer distances. I used to work up to a max farmers at 100ft with a turn then do a max 50ft run. I've gotten lazy with Farmers b/c it has always been a strength and that needs to stop.

Conan's Wheel
270 X 2 Laps
450 X 2 Laps
630 X 1 3/4 Laps - Crappy pick, but I gutted it out. The goal was 1 1/2 laps, but I got there and had more so I just kept going.

Prowler (100ft trips, All High Handles)
10 trips X 140lbs + Prowler

GHR
BW - 3X10

Just want to give a shout out to my boy Mike Jenkins. What a hell of a job he did at the Arnold. I remember about two months ago we were talking in my basement about how much of an honor it is to even get the chance to compete there and a Top 5 finish would be huge. What does he do, goes out and beats the current WSM Big Z and finishes 2nd. Incredible job Big Man. If you don't get invited to WSM this year its a crime.

[jp2004c5]

Mon 3/7/2011

Got a late start tonight, after 8pm. Came home and ended up falling asleep for a little over an hour. Seems like every Monday I do that.

12" Log Clean and Press each rep
195X5
255X7 - 45 secs, 7 was the goal number tonight. Had more reps in me.
315X5 - 59 secs, did the first 4 reps in 30 secs. My wind is pathetic.
345X1
365X1
385X1 - PR!! Went right up. Good clean. Press felt light.
400XFLD - Cleaned, but missed press. After how easy 385 felt I really thought I had 400 tonight, but I got a crappy clean and I think that messed me up.

Stones
285 to 58" X1
320 to 58" X1
335 to 58" X1
355 to 58" X1
395 to 54" X1
435 (22") X LAP, got it on 3rd or 4th try.

Pulldown Abs
125 - 3X8

[jp2004c5]

Wed 3/9/2011

Deadlift (Belt and Straps)
135X5
225X5
315X5
410X1
510X1
610X1
660X1
710XFLD - Died at the knees. Was so pissed at myself of missing this. Really thought it was going up tonight. 660 flew up. One of these years I will figure out the Deadlift.

SSB Speed Box Squats (Wide Stance)
340 - 8X2

Cable Side Bends
100 - 3X10 per side

Reverse Hypers
270 - 3X10 - Supersetted w/ Side Bends

GHR
BW - 4X10

[jp2004c5]

Thurs 3/10/2011

Monday and Wednesday's workouts destroyed my body. Felt beat to hell and back today. Decided to stay on schedule and do my upper body assistance workout. Set an hour time limit so whatever I got done, I got done.

Speed Overhead w/ 2" Axle
205 - 8X3

Close Grip Floor Press
135X10
225X5
315X5
375X5

Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
150,170,190X10
210X8 - Supersetted w/ Floor Press

Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extensions
50's, 60's, 70's X10

Chest Supported Rows (Parallel Grip)
105,125,140X6 - Supersetted w/ Tri Exts

[jp2004c5]

Here are a couple of vids I recently posted. Some are new as of this week and last and some are older.

385lb 12" Log Clean and Press
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DooJ90ATwRs

720lb Cambered Bar Box Squat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa3t_o4oX6A

400lb 2" Axle Press in Rack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWYLnBtqIRQ

705lb Deadlift
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HtteLELfa8

950lb Yoke Walk for 60ft
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tQSomXcf7M

[jp2004c5]

Sat 3/12/2011

Was planning on doing a heavy event day on Saturday, but when I woke up my body was feeling terrible. Everything was hurting especially my knees. So I decided to go out and take it one set at a time and see how things went.

Yoke (50ft)
270X2 - Both sets felt AWFUL. Knees were killing me.
410X2 - Still felt awful.
590X2 - Again awful.
770X2 - Took it down 50ft and everything was hurting like hell. Took a little break and decided to bring it back down. Second set actually didn't feel to bad, but I was going to stop here.

1000XPick - Decided after 770 to do a pick at 1000 just to feel it.

950X1 - This was my goal weight for the day. Said F$%K IT!! and went for it. Turned out to be the best run of the day. However, looking back I was such an idiot for doing this. I need to start pulling back instead of going balls to the wall all the time.

Conan's Wheel
360 X 2 Laps - Did something to the middle of my back. When I set the bar down I had this pain that wrapped the whole way around the middle of my back into my serratus muscles. I think the heavy yoke walking was to blame.

630 X 1 Lap - So pissed about this. The goal of the day was 630 for 2 Laps. Because of whatever I did to my mid back it caused me to get a bad pick and the bar was way to far out in front when I started walking which instantly took all my air away.

630 X 1 Lap - Same thing that happened on the set before happened again. However, before this I picked 630 took two steps and some dumbass comes driving his car down the lane of my storage unit where I'm working out. There are 15 freaking lanes in this place and it seems like everyone has to drive down the one I'm working out in So I throw the conans arm down, say some choice words and give this guy a look that would kill. So the guy stops about 10 feet down the lane and I'm thinking "Please get out and say something, PLEASE!!" I wanted nothing more then to Joe Pesci his stupid ass for screwing up my set HAHA!! Turns out he was just looking at a Storage unit. Then during this final set with 630 another dumbass on a motorcycle comes blaring behind me as I'm walking with the appartus. He was so close I could feel the heat of the motorcylce on the back of my legs. I finished my lap and was beyond livid. I went in my storage unit and got one of my Prowler handles and thought to myself if he drives down this way again I'm taking him out Conan the Barbarian style HAHA!! The joys and pains of working out in a Storage Unit complex.

Prowler (100ft, All High Handles)
10 Trips X 140lb + Prowler

[jp2004c5]

Mon 3/14/2011

2" Axle Clean and Press
125X5 - C&P each rep
175X3 - C&P each rep
215X5
265X3
285X3
305X1
325X1
345XFLD
345XFLD - Every rep or every set hurt like hell tonight. You name it by the time I was done it was killing me. Biceps, elbows, knees, lower legs/shins, all hurting. I should of listened to my body and taken the night off. My body felt like crap all day. It was still recovering from Saturday. I called it a night after second miss at 345.

[StLRPh]

Nice work Jon, when is your next contest?

edit: just checked some of your vids at Marunde, huge work in there. Definitely on pace for your pro card soon. BTW, looks like you're training in a dungeon

[jp2004c5]

Nice work Jon, when is your next contest?

edit: just checked some of your vids at Marunde, huge work in there. Definitely on pace for your pro card soon. BTW, looks like you're training in a dungeon

Thanks. I appreciate it. My next contest may be next weekend, but I have to decide if I'm doing it or not. Its a NON-NAS Sanctioned show so I'm trying to determine if it's worth doing. I'd like to get my invite to NAS Nationals quickly so I can sit back and relax till then. Also, depending on if there is another Plat Plus contest before Nats and its doable financially I'd like to do that as well.

HAHA!! I actually train in my basement or as my friend Lou calls it "The Basement of Destiny". The lighting down there sucks so it does kind of look like a dungeon.

[jp2004c5]

Wed 3/16/2011

Frame Carry (80ft)
270X2
450X1
650X1

Prowler (100ft, All High Handles)
10 runs X 140lb + Prowler

Stones
285 to 60" X1
320 to 58" X1 - Got on 3rd try, stones very dusty tonight.
335 to 58" X1
355 to 54" X1 - Got on 2nd try
395 to 54" X1

Pulldown Abs
110,120,125X10

Reverse Hypers
270 - 3X10 - Supersetted w/ Abs

Decided to compete next weekend in Barry Perkins Capital Strongman Classic. Honestly I'm kind of nervous. I haven't competed in a little over a year. The Arnold Am World Championships was my last contest. Kind of want to see where I'm at physically and see if doing this show gets the competitive juices flowing again. The main goal however is to come out of it in one piece. Next week I will be taking it easy. Probably won't do much at all as far as training goes. My body right now is really beat up and is in desperate need of rest.

[jp2004c5]

Thurs 3/17/2011

Speed Overhead w/ 12" Log
205 - 8X3

Bench Press
135X10
225X5
315X5
365X1
415X1
435X1
455X1 - Stopped here. All the reps were slow and 455 felt terrible. Knew I wasn't going to get much more than this.

Parallel Grip Lat Pulldowns
200,220,230X10

Elbows Out Tricep Extensions
50's, 60's, 70's X12 - Supersetted w/ Pulldowns

Chest Supported Rows (Straight Bar Grip)
100,110,120X8

V-Bar Tricep Pushdowns
100,110,120X10 - Supersetted w/ Rows

This will probably be my last workout before I start deloading for the contest next Saturday. If I get up on this Saturday and feel like it, I will do the ME Lower Body workout I would of done on Wednesday. If I don't feel like it I'm not going to worry about it. My body is so wrecked right now. I need all the rest I can get.

[StLRPh]

Good luck at the contest. Do you know events and weights yet?

edit: nevermind, just found the website. Looks like fun

[jp2004c5]

Good luck at the contest. Do you know events and weights yet?

edit: nevermind, just found the website. Looks like fun

Thanks. Just looking to come out of it in one piece HAHA!!

[jp2004c5]

Mon 3/21/2011

Cardio - 30 minutes walking on treadmill - just wanted to get the blood flowing

[jp2004c5]

Wed 3/23/2011

Last light workout before the contest on Saturday.

Reverse Hypers
180 - 3X10

Pulldown Abs
110 - 3X10

Cable Side Bends
90 - 3X10 per side

Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press (Palms facing in like a log press)
50's - 3X12

Straight Bar Lat Pulldowns
160 - 3X10

Straight Bar Tricep Pushdowns
100 - 3X10

Dumbbell Hammer Curls
25's - 3X15

[jp2004c5]

Sat 3/26/2011

Competed in Barry Perkins Capital Classic Strongman contest yesterday down in Reston, VA. First off I want to say congrats to Barry for putting on a great first contest. There were I think 40 competitors overall and the crowd watching was huge. I think Barry said around 300 people standing room only. Great sponsors as well. Also a big thanks to all the judges and especially the loaders. Those guys were busting ass all day. They should of just competed. This was the first contest I have competed in in over a year. The last contest I did was the Arnold Am World Championship back in March 2010. This looked like a fun show and I finally got talked into it by someone who was supposed to compete, but didn't and shall remain nameless (Lou Costa HAHA!!). About 10 minutes away from the venue I will admit I started getting very nervous.

Event 1 - 12" Log C&P each rep - 260lbs - 1st Place
I got lucky enough to go last (thanks Gavin) and when it was my turn the number to beat was 3 reps. I came out and hit 4 reps for the win and stopped. Then I got some ribbing for stopping at 4 so I went out and did another rep. Overhead pressing is my thing and I will be honest for me 260 is light. I was planning on having to do 10, but thank god I didn't. It was all about conserving energy on this day with 6 events.

Event 2 - Conan's Wheel - 650lbs - 3rd Place
With all the competitors there was a significant time gap from when we completed the log till it was finally time to do the Conan's Wheel. I would say a good hour and twenty minutes. Add on top of that the fact I suck at Conan's Wheel, I wasn't expecting a good performance. When it was my turn to go 3 laps was the number to beat. I knew I wasn't getting that. Second place was 2 laps. Honestly I didn't think I could get that either. I ended up going 1 and 1/2 laps for 3rd place which on this particular wheel was a PR for me. On this same wheel at PA's Strongest Man in 2008 I did a little over 1 lap. I was happy with 3rd on this.

Event 3 - Car Deadlift - 770-780 in hands - 1st Place
This is one event I was looking forward to. I have only done a car deadlift once and I wanted to get some practice on it. Seems like every major show has a heavy car deadlift so I wanted to see if doing heavy trap bar deadlifts in training had good carryover. Again there was a huge amount of time between events. We ended up using the lightweights weight for a warm up. This is when I got scared. All the guys were having a hell of a time pulling this car for a rep and for us they were adding another 100lbs in the trunk. When I took my warmup I hit an easy single and all the butterflies went away. When it was my turn to go, 4 reps was the number to beat. I went up and hit 5 easy reps for the win and stopped. I was thinking about going for as many as I could, but with three events still to go I decided not to. I really think I could of done 15+ reps. I don't know if the weight was 770-780. I think it was probably a good 700-725 in the hands.

Event 4 - Frame Carry - 675lbs for 80 feet - 1st Place
The frame gave all the heavyweights problems. The farthest anyone got was 40ft. I took the frame the full 80 feet in 11 seconds. I started loosing my grip on the frame about 10 feet from the finish, but was able to hang on. There was a ton of chalk on it from the 30+ guys who went before me which made the handles a little slick.

Event 5 - Sled Drag/Tire Flip - 450lb Chain/Sled Drag for 50 feet, then 1000lb Tire for 3 flips - 1st Place
After we finished the frame, it was going on 4:30pm. The contest started at 11am. I will admit I was tired and ready to go home. This event scared me the most because I have been having really bad bicep pain for the last several months and a 1000lb tire flip is not the best thing for sore biceps. A lot of bicep tears happen on tire flips. When it was my turn to go the winning number was the full chain drag and one filp of the tire. I dragged the chain for 50ft and got to the tire and flipped it twice for the win. I could of done the third rep, but didn't want to put any more stress on my biceps.

Event 6 - Stones - 250,280,300,330,350 - 1st Place
The first four stones went up on a 51-52" platform and the 5th stone went on a 48-49" platform. When it was my turn 4 stones was the winning number. I knew I would load all 5 stones. My goal was to get the 407lb bonus stone to the 48-49" platform. I went through and did all 5 stones in around 36 seconds I think for the win. The 350lb stone didn't feel that great when I loaded it. I think competing for almost 8 hours by this point took its toll on my body, but I decided to give the bonus stone a shot anyway. I have a 395lb stone at my house I normally load to a 54" platform with no problems so I figured the Bonus stone was well within my reach. On my first try I bobbled the pick. I was lazy and didn't get my hands around the bottom of the stone. So I stepped back took a breath and on the second try lapped it. Got my arms around it, squeezed and about halfway up the tacky ripped off and I lost the stone. Barry gave me another shot at it. Again I stepped back, put more tacky on and went back and lapped the stone. This time I could feel I had a really good grip on it. The stone came out of my lap quickly and I really thought I had it this time. It felt like I had the stone on the lip, but when I did this I tilted the stone platform backwards a bit. The spotters pushed back on the platform which kind of rocked me a tad backwards and I lost the stone. It was no ones fault, but my own. No excuses. I should of loaded that stone easily.

Overall I ended up in 1st place in the Heavyweights which is a nice way to start off after a year away from competing. The contest was a lot of fun and it was nice to see some people I haven't seen in awhile. It was a LONG day. The contest started at 11am and we were doing awards at 8pm. There was a good hour plus wait in between events too which can be draining. Overall though it was a great day and a well run show. Congrats again to Barry. Thanks for reading.

[StLRPh]

6 events and 5 1st places is pretty awesome.

Great job Jon, you definitely did better than "just coming out of it in one piece"