Kettlebell Meet!

Yesterday I lifted at Cyrus Peterson’s ATC Throwdown meet in Charlotte.  It was the first time he’s done this meet, and he said he would like to make it an annual event.  Count me in!

I’ve had a night to sleep on it and reflect on the experience of the day, and offer my thoughts below.  First, I have to talk about the people.  People are really more important than kettlebells.  The day started early at our house, as the other three members of team Mathews were running a 5k.  So what if the high would be 103, with a heat index of 111?  Dawn did the 5k with the kids, and is signed up for another one next month.  I’m so proud of how she is continuing to work hard on her weight loss and active lifestyle.  Her friend Susan is visiting from Georgia, and did it with her.  Susan is one of the nicest people I have met, and it’s great to have her here.

John Beamon was at the meet, and lifted 42(?) reps in the long cycle with two 20k kettlebells, at a bodyweight of about 154 pounds.  Pound for pound, that’s like me lifting the 24k’s for equal reps.  I can’t do it.  John lifts with a lot of heart, and made a 4 rep PR.  I saw a young lady named Erin who weighed in the 120’s clean and jerk a 62 pound kettlebell 16 times per arm to make rank in the strongman event.  To be as strong as her, pound for pound, I’d have to do the same thing with the 88 pound kettlebell.  Anyone who can clean and jerk half bodyweight 16 times per arm has done something incredible!  Very cool to watch that happen.  Sean Hogue, a lifter who is as strong as he looks, got 17/18 clean and jerks with the 40k kettlebell in the strongman event.  I got to meet Dave Fernandez, with whom I had corresponded by email.  He’s a great guy, and did well, almost making rank in strongman with the 32k.  Doug Bridges, one of my competitors, put up huge numbers in the biathlon with 24k kettlebells, and ripped both hands in the snatch event.  Fifteen minutes later, he was back on the platform with the 36k/79 pound kettlebell, and put up 13 clean and jerks per arm.  They had to clean his blood off the bell before I could lift it.  That’s pure heart, and it’s great to meet and compete against such people.

My first event was the double jerk. Because I’m not ranked in the biathlon through the World Kettlebell Club, I had to start with the 16k/36 pound kettlebells.  I was hoping for 80 reps in the double jerk, and kept my 8 rpm pace until the ninth minute, when it was clear that I had enough strength to finish. I sprinted my last minute and got 13 reps, for a total count of 85.  I was on the platform with Doug Bridges lifting 24’s, and Mike Sherman lifting 28’s.  I had the lightest bells, and there was no way I would put them down!  Eighty-five reps is a new record for me.  When I can consistently hit 100, I’ll move up to the 20k kettlebells in training.

My next event was the snatch.  Cyrus saved my numbers just before the flight started by pointing out that I had grabbed an 18k, rather than a 16k, kettlebell.  That four pounds might have really made a difference!  Thanks, Cyrus!  My goal was 80 reps per arm, and I got 80 on the left, just a little past 5 minutes.  I got 78 on the right, and dropped the bell at 9:53.  I had the time and pace to get 80, but not the grip.  I might have gotten 80 actually- watching the video, there seems to be a two rep difference between the number of snatches I did, and the number on the board behind me.  Unless they were no counts.  My official numbers in the biathlon were 85 jerks, and 78 snatches (they count the lower hand as the score). EDIT: I counted the reps, and indeed, there was a counting error in the first few snatches of my right hand.  My actual count is 2 higher than the board indicates, and I got 80 reps per arm.  No problem- it does not affect the outcome.  Judging is tough, and these things happen.  I'm just glad I reached the goal I set for myself!

About 20 minutes after the snatch ended, I was up for strongman long cycle.  I had to clean and jerk a 79 pound kettlebell, and all I wanted to do was lie down!  I thought that my competitor in the event was Doug Bridges (more on scoring in a moment), since he was the only other lifter using the 36k kettlebell.  His hands were torn, so I had a brief, fleeting vision in my mind of him doing one or two reps per arm, and then I’d just have to do three or four to win.  Wrong.  Doug is all heart, and put out an incredible 13 reps per arm!  When it was my turn, I told John Beamon that there was no way I could match it.  As it turns out, I did, getting 13 left and 14 right.  John told me that I could have made rank with 16/16 if I had paced myself.  Watching the video, he was right.  I hit 13 reps at a 1:30, and had time to get three more with the left, then do it again with the right.  Kettlebell lifting is a lot like life- don’t rush it, or you will regret it.

Cyrus scored this event a little differently than we all expected.  Because there were so many different bodyweight categories and bell weights used, almost everyone would have gone home with gold because they were the only lifters in their weight class.  I’ve got a few of those medals in my box.  They don’t mean as much as the ones you get by really beating a qualified competitor.  So Cyrus used a coefficient involving the bell weight, number of reps, and the lifter’s bodyweight.  It made sense when he explained it, but I can’t reproduce it here.  In short, it measured work output (bell weight and reps) in relation to bodyweight.  The guy who did the most work per pound of bodyweight won gold.  As it turns out, that was me!  In the biathlon, I won gold, Doug Bridges won silver, and Mike Sherman took bronze.  I’ll admit that it seems strange to win gold with the lightest kettlebells on the platform (I was also the lightest lifter), but I don’t make the rules.  In strongman, I won silver, after Sean Hogue’s gold with the 40k kettlebell, and I believe Doug Bridges took bronze.  Everyone seemed to be alright with the way Cyrus scored the meet, but I heard several people comment that it would have been nice to know in advance.

Cyrus put on a great meet, and it was nice to finally shake his hand and come to his gym.  He has trained a very competitive group of lifters, including Deb Dozier, who is knocking on the door of Candidate for Master of Sport in her forties, and Doug Bridges, who throws around 24k kettlebells like nothing, and won’t quit lifting even when his hands are torn.  Having taught Taekwondo for years, I know that determination and guts like this are often learned from the coach. Cyrus’ lifters reflected very well on him in their conduct, their welcoming attitude, and their numbers on the platform. 

If you have read this far, the reward is to watch the videos!  I have posted them below.  Other lifters on screen with me are Dave Fernandez in the middle during the one arm clean and jerk (I did not catch the name of the third lifter), Mike Sherman in the biathlon with the orange kettlebells, and Doug Bridges on the far end.