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!!
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!!
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.
A few weeks after the USA Nationals, a small group of us had a chance to work with Ivan while on his way back from Mexico. Thank you Chris and Yuri for setting that up for us!! The group consisted of Duffey, Aaron L, Cara, Judi and myself. All disciplines of lifting were there, so we were in for some good information.
I won't give everything away but if you get a chance to work with him you'll find out a lot about yourself and where you are. Some of the key points that I will mention, that you have access to, which Ivan went over was being balanced during all movements in jerk and long cycle, and learning to be relaxed in all lifts. He told me some specifics to improve my numbers in Jerk. Kettlebell Jerk is one area where a lot of people know is not my strong lift compared to Kettlebell Snatch. Ivan was able to change the way we thought about the lifts. Same principles just a different thought of how to execute the them correctly.
I wrote notes and videoed a lot which is something you need to do because there is a lot to go over and over once you are done.
Big key points- Use your legs not your arms to lift the bells, be relaxed, be balanced and breath. It was a fun afternoon and very informative. Thank you Ivan, Chris and Yuri.
I will begin to post my Road to Dublin training updates this week. So far re-learning these techniques has been a bit rough but I like where its going!!
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!!
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.
I usually don't ask for help but Kettlebell Sport is a passion of mine. I am asking for any help to make my dream a reality. Please read the description and I appreciate any support you can donate. Thank you for your love and support!! Go Fund Me- Jason's Road to Worlds
First I'd like to thank Yuri and Alex and the rest of the American Kettlebell Alliance for hosting a great competition. It was a long day for us lifters and longer for the judges and those helping out. Thank you to Cyrus and Vulcan Strength Training Systems for providing the kettlebells and making sure no one had any issues with the bells. Also thank you to all the sponsors who helped make the event possible of happening.
This competition was going to be different for me as I would not be competing in my normal 73kg weight class. I would drop down to 68kg for this competition to occupy an open weight class. I used to compete at 147-152lbs in college boxing. So I knew I would be able to get down to that weight. It took some time; reducing calories, increasing cardio, and more visits to the sauna, but I was able to make it down. It took me close to 3 weeks to drop down to 67.4kg (148lbs). I got stuck at 155lbs and then again at 150lbs. I had to fast the last day to make the weight. That was one of the longest days leading up to the competition.
This event was one of the biggest of the year. It was set up so that those lifting in the professional level would go first and then all amateurs would lift second. Similar to world championships there was only 2 minutes between sets to prepare your bell so you needed a team to help make sure you are set up for your set. There were some advantages to this being there weren't many biathlon lifters and we also lifted first and last. Enough time to get the bells and prepare the handles. The bells we all used were the new Vulcan Absolute Competition Kettlebell (check them out here )
They were different from what a lot of us were use to. Some of us had access to the fist version of Vulcan Bells and others had kettlebells with 35mm handles. So it was time for some adjustments to the plan. The goal was 50 reps in Jerk and 50/50 reps in Snatch but being there would be an adjustment needed for the unfamiliarity of the bells I looked at doing 40 reps in Jerk and 40/40 in Snatch. The plan was to go 6rpm in jerk and 15 rpm in snatch. That's the pace at which I feel most comfortable at. The men's professional line up was a good one. Some of the best in country came out and participated in the event to help make a strong Team USA for World Championships in November. Here are my two sets from USA Nationals
32+32kg Kettlebell Jerk
And 32kg Kettlebell Snatch
Both weren't my best sets but I felt I put up good numbers for being in the 68kg weight class. Next time I'll be better prepared when dropping down again to that weight class. Other lifters that did well to make Team USA is John Lesko MS, John "Wild" Buckley, Chris Doenlen, Marty Farrell MS, Aaron Guyett and myself who will round off the Professional Biathlon Lifters. The rest of the professional team includes Juan Pellot, Brittany VS, Melissa Swanson, Erin Moraites, Rick Martins, Will Haas, Svitlana K, Ryle Reeves (junior Pro), Bill Esch and Nocona J. This will be a good showing for Team USA as we are growing in the Professional level.
If you missed the event you can check out everyone who lifted or your favorite lifters on the American Kettlebell Alliance YouTube page.
Over the next 3 months I'll be preparing for Worlds as this will be my first time going overseas to compete as well traveling to Dublin as I have never been there.
I will train hard, train smart and hope to do my best lifting in Dublin!!
