Jordan Stolz will leave the Olympics as the most-decorated individual athlete to represent the United States during this current cycle. The 21-year-old speed skater propels himself to victory with massive quad muscles that are just as strong as Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley.
He uses a very specific workout routine to get in shape for the world’s biggest stage.
The running joke of “looks like you skipped leg day” does not apply to Stolz. Rather, it is the exact opposite for the top American athlete at the Olympics. Rarely does he lift upper body!
Jordan Stolz is the American star of the Winter Olympics.
Stolz, a native of Kewaskum, Wisconsin, became one of three U.S. male speedskaters to make their Olympic debut at age 17 during the Beijing Games in 2022. He finished 13th in 500m and 14th in 1,000m.
That was just the beginning of a historic career.
Stolz became a three-time world champion by winning the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m the following year. The ongoing Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina are his first as a legitimate star in the sport.
He reminded the world of his greatness with a gold medal in the 1,000m on Feb. 11 and joined Eric Heiden as the only men ever to win gold medals in the 500m and 1,000m just three days later. He set an Olympic record time of 33.77 in the 500m. It was the first American gold in the event in 20 years.
Stolz also expects to win gold in the 1,500m. Anything short of silver would be shocking. It would be a disaster if he missed out on the podium all together. We’ll see.
Regardless of how things shake out from this moment forward, Jordan Stolz cemented himself as one of the all-time greats for the United States. His quad muscles will not soon be forgotten!
Speed skating requires massive quad muscles and a lot of squats.
Saquon Barkley is known for having tree trunks for legs. Stolz may not share the exact same size but he does share the same lower body strength.
His quad muscles are equally as strong as the All-Pro running back!
Notice the difference in weight. Barkley is 50 pounds heavier than Stolz at the same height.
That is on purpose!
Believe it or not, Jordan Stolz rarely trains his upper body. You will never find him on the bench. You won’t catch him doing bicep curls. He does not do push-ups.
Speed skaters want to be as light up top as possible. Any added muscle that is not propelling them forward can slow them down. Quite literally!
“I’ve done bench press once or twice in the last three years,” Stolz told Men’s Health.
The goal is to be strong from the waist-down and squats are a big part of that. Rather, the biggest part.
Stolz performs single-leg squats for up to 50 reps. And then he adds more weight for sets of 10 reps. That is in addition to his normal double-leg squat routine. NBC said that his workout typically ranges from 15 reps at 400 pounds to 20 reps at 450 pounds. He also incorporates a lot of plyometric moves like squat jumps, jumping lunges, box jumps, single-leg hops and skater jumps. Obviously.
In addition to his work in the weight room, Stolz rides a bike for up to five hours per day for cardio. He tries to get 18 hours on a road bike per week.
To fuel his body, Jordan Stolz almost always eats pizza every day before practice and protein after practice. His pre-race meal consists only of plain white rice to maximize carb intake and ensure easy digestion.