Meanwhile in Russia.... Russian National Team selected!!

The Russian National Team that'll be competing in the World Championships in Dublin, Ireland has been selected. Some of our favorite lifters will be competing and some that we don't know much about will be there as well. In any case this team is well respected. They have been leading the sport for many years. It'll be a great experience to see them all lift!!

Here is the link Russian Girevoy Sport National Team

photo cred: Sergei Merkulin

The composition of the Russian national team to participate in World Championship
 
Men's Professional Biathlon: 
63kg Johnny Benidze, St. Petersburg 
68kg Vladimir Beavers, Tyumen
73kg Alexander Khvostov, St. Petersburg 
78kg Mikhail Sverdlovsk Kvashnin, St. Petersburg 
85kg Anton Anasenko,  Omsk 
95kg Vladimir Gurov, Kaluga  
+95kg Ivanov Denis, Chelyabinsk 
 
Men's Professional Long Cycle: 
63kg Alex Ryabkov, Tyumen  
68kg Alexander Usoltsev, Tyumen  
73kg Ivan Belyaev, Belgorod region 
78kg Lapshin Nikolai, St. Petersburg 
85kg Denis Vasilyev, St. Petersburg 
95kg Edward Opelender, Omsk  
+95kg Nikolai Kichimaev, St. Petersburg 

Women's Professional  Snatch: 
58kg Olga Yaremenko, Omsk  
63kg Natalya Gorbunova, Omsk  
68kg Xenia (Ksenia) Dedyukhina, Chelyabinsk  
+68kg Anlina Vaskina, Smolensk 

I'm excited to see all the other countries and their participants. Some countries are finishing up their championships to select their athletes. Good Luck to all and see you in Dublin!!

Road to Dublin: Training Update 1

As of right now I'm 5 weeks into my training for World Championships. After having the chance to meet with Ivan Denisov, I have a few things to work on. Biggest thing is to get my numbers up for jerk. So the last few weeks I've been training hard focusing on improving technique and endurance in the lift. The other biggest challenge I face again is the weight loss. I'm going from 165lbs down to 149.6lbs (75kg to 68kg). Its probably the toughest part of my training.
How will I be making the transition from one weight class to another: caloric tracking (intake and usage). I use My Fitness Pal to track calories and Polar Heart Rate monitor to track how much I burn during my workouts and runs. These two applications help make the weight loss easier to handle. I can see exactly what it is I can have and how much food I can eat. Also If I want to have a cheat meal or food I can make sure it works into my daily caloric intake.
As far as training has been going things are working. I'm definitely getting pushed. My technique is getting better in Kettlebell Jerk. Two weeks ago (Sept 26th) I performed some test sets to see where my training is taking me. I was excited with the results. Here is the video:


One big thing in Kettlebell Jerk technique that I'm working on is my balance. I still have a horizontal sway back and forth. It's something I was doing to generate power to get the bells up. What I need to do is remain still until it is time for a rep. Then start the lift without the rocking forward. More on that later.
I'll try to update more often leading up to World Championships. With only 5 weeks left of training until competition things will get more intense.