World Championships 2015 Dublin, Ireland: Re-cap

It's been a little over two week from the World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. Over 36 countries and 560+ athletes. The USA team brought over 50 athletes to compete this year. Almost all professional weight classes were filled up and there were more than 2 lifters in certain weight classes for the amateurs. Some even went against each other in flights. That helped to make things more exciting for the USA team. The competition went on for 4 full days (26th-29th). These were long days as amateurs started the day and the professionals finished it. The schedule for the competition: 26th Nov, Biathlon and Women's Snatch- Men- 63kg, 68kg, 73kg and 78kg, Women- 58kg and 63kg; 27th Nov, Biathlon and Women's Snatch- Men- 85kg, 95kg, +95kg, Women- 68kg and +68kg; 28th Nov, Long Cycle- All weight classes- Amateur, Professional and Veterans, 29th Nov, Veterans Men's Biathlon and Women's Snatch.

First part of the trip and competition was a bit hard but not difficult. It was the task of registering and weighing in. Since we had a lot of members it took longer than we thought. Thank you to Judi and Rhonda for doing their best to keep this part organized and running smoothly. i was a bit frustrating seeing other teams go in, pay and weigh in before we had a chance to even start. Eventually we finally got to weigh in. I weighed in at 67.3kg (148.06 lbs) which was 1.54 lbs under my weight class. It felt good to come in strong and feeling good (although a bit dehydrated from the 3 hour wait). I had till the following day to rehydrate and eat a hardy meal.

Competition day: I got there early with some of the team. Amateurs were up first so it gave the professional lifters some time to relax and enjoy the amateur lifters put up some great performances. Eric Hayes and Carter Berry both had some great performances; Eric 117 reps in Jerk, Carter 156 reps in Jerk. The rest of the team also put up some really good numbers stepping up on the international platform. Some of the judging was strict and some of it wasn't. It's all subjective to the judge(s) watching the lifters.
I came up around 3pm Ireland time. First up was Jerk. Not my best lift but it was something I had worked on for the last 3 months to improve. Here is my set.

I thought I felt good but nerves probably got the best of me. I got stopped after my 32nd rep for a shoulder infraction. I though I was okay resetting my rack position but it was viewed as illegal rest. There is nothing I could do after putting the bells down. Now I know what I can't do and will have that as a focus during my training going forward. Next up was Snatch.


Snatch is my stronger of the two lifts because there is no real rest position besides the lockout. I hit a personal best of 85 reps (5 better than in Aug). I'm proud to represent the USA in World competition and I hope to do it again. Thank you to all who supported me during this journey!!

Please check out some of the other great lifters from the USA: Juan Pellot and Rick Martins in Long cycle, Chris Doenlen, Aaron Guyett, JT Netterville, John Lesko, and some women Melissa Swanson (141 reps in Snatch!!), Brittany VS, Erin Mercadante, Ryle Reeves and can't forget my FL sister Cayla and Teri!!

When I made the decision to lift at the 68kg weight class I knew what could happen with regards to strength and endurance. My improvement to my endurance was definitely noticeable as I hit new PRs when I ran long distances. It also effected my strength possibly more than I thought. Going forward I will stay at the 73kg weight class but keep my weight around 70-72kg. During the weight loss process when I reached this area I felt really good.

Now back to the basics to really work on my technique and find what works best for me. It's kind of what everyone says when you experience something bad. It was an eye opener but this time around there is more work to do. I have plenty of more reps and great sets ahead of me. More competitions to come and another World Championship in the future. I'm back up to 163lbs and ready to get back to work.
Time to lift and lose some pounds ;) Excited for the road ahead!!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

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.

Congratulations Team USA Members 2015

In case you missed it, today was the final announcement of all the Team USA Kettlebell Sport athlete who will be competing in Dublin, Ireland this November. Congratulations to all. I wish you all the best in training leading up to the event! It will be the first time for me traveling across the Atlantic for competition. I'm excited for the experience!!

A look back to 2014 IUKL World Championships in Hamburg, Germany

In last year's competition at the IUKL World Championships, the 68kg weight class had 4 professional lifters. If you have never seen a Kettlebell Sport competition there are 1- 6 lifters in a weight class going at the same time. Each country is allowed to have 1 lifter per weight class in the professional division. Men lift 32kg kettlebells and women lift 24kg kettlebells. The competition is to get as many reps as possible in 10 minutes with out setting the bells down. I will be competing in Biathlon which involves two lifts, Jerk with two kettlebells and Snatch with one. Here is what last years competition looked like in my weight class.

68kg (149.6lbs) Men's Professional Biathlon Jerk



As you can see a lot of great lifters! Next up is snatch.

68kg Men's Professional Biathlon Snatch



Snatch is where I am confident where as Jerk is what I need to work the most on. The flexibility of my hip, back and hamstrings needs to improve so I can maintain straight legs to rest my quads in rack position. Its a never ending battle but by November I should see much improvement when working with the 32kg kettlebells.