10 Tips for a Great Kettlebell Sport Competition

Calling all kettlebell drinker you honorable warriors and wielders of the steel the time has come to raid Join us and fight for honor glory and the spoils of battle sign up today for the Twin Cities kettlebell open on October 22nd in person in little Canada, Minnesota or by video submission from anywhere in the world come Fight for your clan or for glory all your own to be told in your saga claim your spoils and may your name ring out forever in the hall of champions sign up today at Twin Cities kettlebell club dot com Welcome to the platform podcast. We talked coaches athletes experts and real people to learn about their approaches to training nutrition mindset and much more I'm your host Jordan Kunde-Wright founder and head coach of the Twin Cities kettlebell club and I'm on a mission to help others build sustainable healthy lifestyles before we jump into the episode I am pleased to announce that registration will be closing soon for the second annual Twin Cities kettlebell open We are going to compete in a week Saturday, October 22nd post it by our friends at the athlete lab in little Canada and also available by video submission So if you are signed up, I will be Excited to judge your set to watch your set and if you haven't signed up yet check to see if there's still time You depending on when you're listening to this you might still be able to go ahead and sign up. Just go to our website Twin Cities kettlebell club dot com for details. I am very grateful that you listen to this podcast Of course, the best way that you could support me is to sign up for the Twin Cities kettlebell open and maybe tell a friend or two Schooled our website Twin Cities kettlebell club dot com for details and if you haven't already Please be sure to leave a rating and review of the platform podcast in your app of choice and support my work by supporting our sponsors Who's affiliate links you'll find in the episode notes and if you want help reaching your goals without wasting time Please fill out the coaching interest form linked in the show notes I help athletes at all levels using my integrated coaching approach You can follow me on Instagram Facebook and YouTube at Twin Cities kettlebell club or email me at Twin Cities kettlebell club at gmail dot com Now without further ado, let's get into 10 tips for a great kettlebell sport competition All right, welcome into this week's episode of the platform podcast. I'm your host Jordan. Couldn't you write? I Am incredibly excited. We are one week out from the second annual Twin Cities kettlebell open. I Am so stoked. I cannot wait to see all of these Amazing performances that I know are going to happen a lot of people competing by video submission this year We're also going to have some people here in person in the Twin Cities and it is going to be a great great time If you haven't signed up yet Check depending on when you're hearing this You might still have the ability to sign up. I am planning on closing registration on Tuesday So I have a few days to finalize the flight schedule But the price has now gone up to a hundred dollars Because it is late registration now this close to the competition. So It is a hundred dollars for register But we do still have over twenty five hundred dollars in prizes to give away As well as a five hundred dollar purse to the top athletes So incredibly incredibly excited And as such, I thought an appropriate topic would be Ten tips for a great kettlebell sport competition Now last year prior to the first Twin Cities kettlebell open I did an episode on my Five things that I wish I had known before my first competition So there this is going to be similar that'll be some overlap with some of these with some of these things But this is just 10 tips Not in any particular order So I won't give you the big dramatic countdown effect again, but You know, not in any particular order, but I think these are all important For different reasons and I hope it's helpful for you And yeah without further ado Let's start at number 10 number 10 Focus on quality food So this should always be something that we Um adhere to ideally, but Let's be honest that's not always going to be the case and especially when you're traveling and you get together with friends Um for the first time in a while It's very easy to Overindulge or indulge in things that you shouldn't um prior to Athletic performance if you're looking to perform well So and I should say that that all of these all of these tips are predicated on you are trying to have a Great performance on the platform you're looking for your best performance on the platform and having fun is not your highest priority now Having fun can be your highest priority if you're if you're just going to travel and see friends and compete and it's not Important to you how you perform that's not why you're there Totally fine um, you know, then these tips probably aren't going to be for you But if you if you're traveling for competition or you're getting ready for a competition and you want it to be um Well Well performed um then these tips are for you so focusing on quality food especially The the few days before the competition making sure your body is appropriately Supplied with high quality food will help you perform better and it's important When we say quality food that you understand What that means also from a macros perspective kettlebell sport is highly glycolytic So you do need carbohydrates and it takes 24 to 36 hours for carbohydrates to shuttle Be shuttled to your muscles as glycogen to be able to to be tapped into for athletic performance So it is important that you do eat carbohydrates especially the the couple of days prior to um Lifting so think of it. You know the carb loading that you've probably heard of from you know Cross-country athletes and things like that that does apply for kettlebell sport as well So focus on quality food and getting the right kinds of food into your body Um, to have a good performance Number nine hydrate This is similar Obviously to the previous one, but uh it is very important to hydrate especially if you're traveling If you're flying you know that you're Typically get dehydrated because we don't consume as much fluid when we're when we're traveling. So Make sure that you hydrate it is very important get your fluids in get your electrolytes in Right, so making sure that you are prepared to perform you need to be hydrated you need to have Good electrolyte balance. Okay, so make sure that you hydrate and make sure that you take your electrolytes If you if you don't know Any supplements for electrolytes. I like element salts um, there's also like tabs that you can get um At target, you know, they're you know or Wal-Mart um, they're there are there are hydration Hydration supplement tabs that you can get um gatorade most people are familiar with that um, you know, so Getting your electrolytes in is is going to be an important part as well. Not just the water All right Number eight Get to the venue early Why why get there early To get acclimated to the space you want to know what you're walking into you want to know what kind of weights are available where the warm-up area is um You know, and for me I start getting excited when I when I get to the new space So it's nice to put that up that extra excitation that you're getting on that day as far away from your your competition set as possible so I like to get to the venue early and Check it out if you can get to the venue the day before the competition even better Just so you can Check it out and be mentally prepared when you walk in the next day, right? That's uh Just a personal that's a personal preference of mine. I like getting there early and I find it to be helpful So I think getting there early um Make sure that there's no extra stress on your on your body. It tries to minimize stress as much as possible um Number seven in similar fashion um travel as far in advance as you can um so You have time to Work out any kinks in your body. Um, I know for me traveling can can make me stiff and sore um or Maybe not sore, but just less flexible More more rigid um stiff in the joints pain in the joints sometimes and then you know tight muscles can definitely make me more tight So traveling as far in advances you can allows you time to get uh stretched out allows you to get your sleep Schedule hopefully established um, depending on how many times those you're traveling across that maybe of greater or lesser importance But um get there as soon as you feasibly can realize it's not always easy for people But one of the worst things that you can do for performance is like flying in on the day that you need to go lift or Flying just the day before because if there's any problems or um, you know flight delays You don't get a good night's sleep you end up sleeping in an airport That that happened to Kim Fox um she mentioned that on on her interview right so um I just try and travel as far in advance as I can I think that is a good idea um if you if you can do so all right number six No changes on comp day This was in my this was in my five things I wish I knew um Don't make changes on comp day You don't try new shoes you don't try new chalk you don't You don't make any changes you try and control as many variables as you can you don't have you don't have a new Food for breakfast you don't eat something you've never eaten before right Don't make changes on comp day try and get in your routine as much as possible Be as comfortable as you can Right lift in your shoes your belt right your Use your chalk bring your chalk with you um if you can bring your own bells to the competition even better Right um just try and make as few changes As possible because competition is already a change so don't add to the problem by making more changes Okay number five Get your mind right What do I mean by that? I think it is incredibly important to take time to visualize your sets I think visualization is one of the best tools that we have to have high performance that we do not utilize enough Taking time to visualize and either get yourself excited if you need to get pumped up or calming yourself down I think taking time to visualize and get your head into the game In the way that you need it to be is time well spent I think it is one of the least utilized things that we have in our toolbox and There's no more powerful tool Because this sport is mental as much as it is physical So taking time to train your mind is time well spent if you want to perform well in this sport Keto Bell Dringer the spoils become clear as the time for battle draws nearer Our sponsors this year will be barefoot athletics just giving away six one hundred dollar gift cards pro kettlebell Who's giving away a three hundred dollar gift card a two hundred dollar gift card and a set of magnetic chip weights kettlebell kings is giving away a one hundred and fifty dollar gift card living dot fit giving away four fifty dollar gift cards Sorenson strong giving away a pair of 1.5 pound Indian clubs with the event logo engraved CK mace works is giving away two custom plate loadable maces or clubs Elevator is giving away two fifty percent off discount codes for a custom lifting belt In addition, there will be a five hundred dollar cash prize for the best lifters in the event Sign up today at twin cities kettlebell club dot com number four Make sure you warm up Give yourself enough time to warm up I would say at least 10 to 15 minutes before each lift I personally take 30 minutes to warm up typically And on comp day, I usually add a little bit to that I'll add an extra five minutes or so just so I have enough time and I account for the fact that I'm in a new space um Yeah, so I try and and that I personally oh need to I need to calm down I need to calm myself down So part of my time that I allocate for for warming up is visualization Right so Taking time to to cool yourself off a little bit is is very important At least for me So I think Making sure that you give yourself enough time to warm up warm up Is Going to be incredibly important for The mental component of it but also the physical component of it Warm muscles perform much much better And warm joints are much less likely to get injured Um, you know, so we know a dynamic warm up is going to be the best way To have high performance you don't want to be doing a ton of static stretching That's for after your sets Because That's when you want to restore the working length of the muscles But prior to lifting you want to make sure that you have Blood flow your heart rate is approaching the zones that you need it to to perform in Um and that your joints and ligaments and tendons are all Warm and prepared Right, so you want to start general and get more specific with your warm up So Hopefully you have a warm up routine that you've already built for Your practice sessions Because you definitely want to have a routine that you can then replicate on comp day That will improve your performance both mentally and physically. It's by it's it's By directional and it's uh comb combinatorial So I think it's I think it's incredibly incredibly important to Get a good warm up in Number of three and this is for people that are doing multiple lifts um You want Simple carbs with low food volume between lifts um So what do I mean by that um I mean Things that are small But high in simple carbohydrate rates So for me that is gummy bears gummy bears are like the perfect thing because um You know A handful of gummy bears is going to be about 25 grams of carbohydrates and Between lifts you want between 25 to 50 grams depending on how big you are Um, you know what your carb concentration typically is how many carbs you need to perform um But you know between 20 to 50 grams of simple carbohydrates between Between lifts is is important um So I personally like gummy bears There's also like dried pineapple Is another one that the Brenna Thompson just pointed out to me um That's what she that's what she had um in a biathlon test day um You know so Simple carbohydrates and I say between 20 to 50 grams typically is what most people need between between lifts So you know if that's only that's only two handfuls of gummy bears So that's you're not going to have this huge um This huge chunk of food sitting in your stomach. I also prefer that over drinking carbohydrates between because That can sometimes lead to gastric distress um I also don't like the feeling of a ton of water sloshing around in my stomach So depending how much time you have between lifts um I don't like liquid. So I find simple things like Candies Honestly to be great because they're they're light and volume But high in simple carbohydrates. So um those are Those are my favorite um Between set carbs um I'm curious what I'm curious what your guys are um should let me know But I love I love me some gummy bears between sets so get your carbs in between your sets And this actually this is actually also true um if you're only doing one set Post your set. It's still good to get simple carbohydrates In quickly because that will help get you into rest and digest and recovery mode faster So simple carbohydrates post lift is is great If you're only doing one lift then I do like liquid carbohydrates particularly highly Highly branch cyclic dextrin is one of my favorite supplements for that um but You know That's if you're only doing one lift if you're doing multiple lifts Then I like to stick with uh light food. So All right number two Have a strategy for the competition And what do I mean by that is um know what you're targeting coming in if if you're coming in trying to achieve rank You should know how many reps you need to get um To Achieve that and if you're doing multiple lifts You need to have a plan for managing that so that's that's the making sure that you know when you need to start warming up You know when your lift times are you know how you know how much time you have between your two lifts or three lifts So you have a plan for staying warm like getting warmed up staying warm Getting nutrition in between your sets um and Making sure that you perform Well across all of your lifts and you think about it holistically that you don't over index on any one lift That is especially important in triathlon um I also think it's important in biathlon if you're doing a single lift obviously that doesn't apply But have a strategy for the for the competition from a macro perspective I think that is I think that is very very important And then the number one uh remaining tip for having a great kettlebell sport competition is having a pacing strategy for every lift And I think that's I think that's really important because This game is all about controlling your energy output and And having a plan for where to maximize So if you're doing triathlon, it's important that you understand that long cycle reps are The most points per rep Right, but typically long cycle is also at the end of the competition So you have the you'll have the least energy for that You'll have the least available energy for that lift and so it's uh Then thinking about how do you holistically look at Output across the three lifts and they're timing So having a pacing strategy For each lift becomes crucial You might want to Slow down your jerk pacing a little bit And slow down your snatch pacing a little bit So that you have more reps available more energy Available to hold a higher pace in long cycle that might That might be worthwhile Right, but understanding what you're capable of within each of those lifts And then what you're targeting and having a plan for for getting there um I find Both long cycle and jerk it's very important typically to come out a little bit slower than you want to But that's just to planning for your general excitation level to be higher And knowing that you can always go faster later So long as you don't come out too hot right very important that you don't come out too hot if you come out too hot in jerk or Long cycle especially You're gonna bonk you're not gonna finish Snatch you can get away with it a little bit more because you have You have the hand switch and you can always Calm yourself down So I feel like I feel like you you get kind of two five minute sets actually in a snatch set so I Find that you can get away with coming out coming out faster in snatch But that's part of having an individualized plan for each lift It's very important that you have that because The way you manage pacing Changes for the different lifts as well on jerk and Long cycle I typically have athletes start slower come out their first two minutes slower check in at two minutes Move to our target RPM for minutes three four and five check in at halftime to see how they're feeling and then can they hold that pace four minutes six seven and eight And if they feel they can hold that pace for minutes six seven and eight then we then we move then we stay at that pace if they can't we we back off Or they have permission to go a little bit faster if they feel they can go faster right so we check in at halftime decide Do we want to sustain go up or go down until two minutes left Because that's our final that's our final check in is is two with two minutes remaining We check in to see Can we can we hold or can we sprint right making sure that we Survive the set and give and give what we can now again depending on What the strategy is for for The competition and how you want to manage your pacing across all of the lifts that you're doing there may be a different decision being made at minute at minute eight So for example in jerk if I'm doing a triathlon where it's jerk snatch and then long cycle and we start with jerk if at minute eight I could sprint For the final two minutes or I could go faster for the next minute and then sprint the final minute I could make that decision or The strategy might be we're going to conserve energy on on jerk so we have more in the tank for long cycles So you might then say okay, I'm gonna sustain This pace for minute eight and not minute eight to nine and then nine to ten you you might do a slight sprint at the end Or you might just decide you're just going to hold pace for the final two minutes Right, that's where having a plan for each lift Is also part of the having a strategy for the competition in total So I think it's very important that you have a pacing strategy for each lift You have a strategy for the competition that you're trying to execute and making sure that those things are thought about ahead of time The more you can plan ahead of time The better your chances for success I think that is Very very important So I hope that you found this helpful To recap It's focus on quality food hydrate Get to the venue early if you can Travel as far in advance as you can Don't make any changes on comp day Get your mind right visualize your success Make sure you warm up Take in simple carbohydrates with low volume foods between lifts on on multiple lift days Have a strategy for the competition And have a pacing strategy for each lift Those are my 10 tips for a great kettlebell sport competition. I hope you find them helpful If you do let me know if you think there's something I left off of the list That should be on there hit me up with that too You can send me a DM and Instagram or on Facebook. You can email me I would be interested to hear what you guys think so thanks for Tune in and I will catch you next time After the Twin Cities kettlebell open on the platform podcast Peace Thank you for listening to this episode of the platform podcast We'll be back with a new episode soon Please be sure to leave a rating and review of the platform podcast and your app of choice Support our work by supporting our affiliates And of course if you have questions or you want help reaching your goals reach out to me Till next time. Thanks for listening