Episode #072: Jake Pudenz

Jake Pudenz is the Owner and Head Coach of Jake Pudenz Strength & Power. Primarily located in Des Moines, Iowa, Pudenz works with all types of strength athletes both in person as well as remotely. Prior to starting his own business in 2020, he was the head strength & conditioning coach for the Denison Community District from 2011-2020 which consisted of working with ten different varsity/JV high school teams, several out-of-season programs, and non-athletes in the area. Pudenz got his start coaching as an intern at Got Strength Gym in Iowa City where he worked and trained for three years until interning at Mike Boyle Strength & Conditioning in the summer of 2011.

Pudenz is an avid strength athlete and has trained and competed in multiple team, combat, and strength sports throughout his career. Following high school football and wrestling he began training in MMA from 2006-2009 taking on multiple amateur and then professional fights. He soon after shifted to strongman where he competed in various competitions before picking up competitive weightlifting in 2011. He was a full-time weightlifter and member of the California Strength National Team from 2012-2019 amassing multiple top 5 national finishes including being the 2019 109kg National Champion, as well as finishing 2nd and 3rd at the American Open in 2019 and 2019 respectively. Since then he’s been training in jiu-jitsu more frequently but continues to actively train in weightlifting setting his sights on Master-level competition in the future.