Competitive Eating Training

The other day I was asked a question about Gal Sone and I really didn’t know who this person was, so I actually looked it up and I thought it was a pretty interesting story. I know that when you think of competitive eating you have certain images that come to mind. Well, I found a much different story than what I was expecting.

Natsuko “Gal” Sone is a competitive eater and a singer from Japan. Definitely an odd combination of career choices. You can see her in the image to the right dressed in a skort, which I think is a tennis skort. But I don’t stay that up to date on female fashions. So I’m not really sure and it is beside the point.

Gal’s big break came in 2005 when she was on a show in Tokyo called “Gluttonous King”. She ended up beating out Miyuki Iwata, who just happened to be considered the best female competitive eater in Japan.

Her singing career also started in the same way since whe ended up on some Karaoke shows on television and eventually formed a group with two other ladies. They actually released their first single, which was called “Boom Boom Meccha Maccho!” Though a member of the group left, they still do singing.

I was pretty surprised when I saw this because there aren’t too many competitive eaters and musicial singers. I know in North America we don’t exactly hear this music, but it is something that you’ll find more popular over in Japan. And like any singer , they have to say up on their fashion and wear things like skorts, skirts and whatever.

Yeah, I’m just trying to break the stereo type people have with competitive eaters since most assume they’re just hillbillies that couldn’t accomplish anything and this is why they go to eating competitions.

I was actually was looking for a movie to watch at a local video store when I came across this: Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating. I thought it was an odd item to find in a movie store, but being a competitive eating fan I had to really get and see what it was like. I have to say that it was actually quite funny and interesting. I think it gives you a bit of a look into the world of eating competitions and what you have to do if you plan to get involved.

I guess the real question is who is this “Crazy Legs Conti”? Well, he is described as a window washer, nude model, sperm donor and a huge fan of hot dog eating competitions. But basically this movie follows Crazy Legs around as he decides to dedicate himself to this fine sport. He actually travels across the country talking to people and other competitors about it. He works on his competitive eating techniques to make sure that he’s at the top of his game. Basically he’s trying to get the Zen like focus that you need to beat the Japanese super power Takeru Kobayashi. Hence the name of the movie “Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating”.

It really contains all the important parts of competitive eating that you’re going to see. And that includes all the funny stuff, the training, the eating and the people you’re going up against. I thought this movie gave a pretty fair look into this world and I knew my readers would probably get a kick out of it too. Just click on the link below to learn more about this great movie.

Click here for the Crazy Legs Conti Movie

This is a great 10 minute video from Pat Bertoletti on his training methods for a waffle eating competition. Here is what I want you to take from this… he says it’s mental. That’s the truth. Everything in life is mental. Enjoy the video.

I wanted to share with you the top 5 reasons competitive eating is a sport. I hear a lot of negative things from people about competitive eating. I hear people say that it is not a sport and that we should consider it nothing more than a freak show. I heard another person say that it was an abomination of the Western world’s wealth compared to the rest of the world. I want to tell you why I think it is a sport and you should view it that way too.

1. You have to train to be good

All the other sports out there require you to train and practice over and over again if you want to be successful at it. There is absolutely no difference when it comes to competitive eating because you have to train hard to eat.

2. There is Technique

Every sport has some sort of technique or specialty move that helps people surpass the competition. It’s just the life of the technique. Most players will follow the the same techniques, but there are signature players that have their own special techniques that help them win.

3. You Have Competition

You can’t be in a sport if you don’t have competition to mop the floor with.

4. There Are Winners and Losers

Someone has to win and someone has to lose. It is our desire to achieve and succeed that drives us to push ourselves to new heights. That is what makes this such a great sport.

5. Huge Fan Base

What sport wouldn’t be complete with the people that come out to watch the events both in person and on television. Someone has to be enjoying the competition for it to be a sport or it just wouldn’t exist.

I thought I could do a little investigating for you and show you what are the top 10 competitive eating contests out there. So here you go…

1. World Hot Dog-Eating Championship

This is actually the Nathan’s Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest and it has been going on for almost a century. That makes it the oldest one around. Takeru Kobayashi has dominated it for a long time, but Joey Chestnut one it recently.

2. Krystal Square Off

Krystal runs the World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga, TN. It’s an exciting event because amateurs seem to always take down the professionals. That’s what is great about this sport.

3. Buffalo Wing Festival

Buffalo, New York actually hosts the Buffalo Wing Festival, which has two competitive eating competitions; US Chicken Wing Eating Championship and Buffalo Buffet Bowl.

4. Best In the West Nugget World Rib Eating Championships

The Best in the West Nugget Championships happens in Sparks, Nevada for who can eat the most ribs. It’s interesting to note that Rich LeFevre broke his front tooth while in this competition and kept going (believed to have swallowed the tooth).

5. Myrtle Beach World BBQ Eating Championship

Welcome to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where they have their BBQ sandwich contest. A lot of records have been set as this particular contest.

6. World Kolache Eating Championship

In the Kolache Factory in Houston you’ll find the contest at the Minute Maid Park, which you’ll find all sorts of big names like Joey Chestnut.

7. La Costena “Feel the Heat” Jalapeno Eating Challenge

This is Chicago, Illnois own “Feel the Heat” Jalapeno contest which sees if competitors have the stomach to handle such an event. Last year too many were ate and they ran out.

8. Wienerschnitzel World Chili Cheese Fries Eating Championship

This is Long Beach’s big eating contest for Chili cheese fries. A lot of big names show up for this and the events are very memorable in nature.

9. World Pig’s Feet Eating Championship

Mmmm, delicious pork. This is hosted by New Jersey State Fair and this is one of the most challenging events that you’ll find sanctioned by the IFCE.

10. Three Brothers Pizza World Pizza Eating Championship

This is the World Pizza Eating Championship that is held in Greenbelt, Maryland.

So I thought I should do a post on food eating competitions for you to understand what is going on. I haven’t done anything like this in a while, so you can get involved.

Niko Niko’s Gyro-Eating World Championship – 05/16/2009

Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest – 05/16/2009

Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest – 05/17/2009

King’s Dominion Funnel Cake Eating Championship – 05/23/2009

Peter’s Clam Bar Clam Eating Contest – 05/25/2009

I think, or at least hope, that everyone recognizes that flow (with eating) is probably about the most important part of competitive eating. The concept here is that you’re shoving more food in your mouth just as the space becomes available. That means there needs to be a consistent flow of food coming into your mouth, chewed and swallowed. This is an art that is very hard to perfect and it changes with the food you inevitably end up eating.

Here is the only way:

Practice

I wish I could tell you that there is a method that you can follow that will break everything down into a step-by-step manner, but there isn’t. Everyone is different; you eat different, you chew different, you even swallow different. The only way to figure out how to get flow with your eating patterns is practice.

There are a few things that I can tell you that should help you out though.

You Should Be Counting

The last thing you want on your mind is that you’re eating. You want to get into a flow, so everything needs to be performing up to a specific standard (IE: speed). I have found that everything basically comes down to your chewing speed. Obviously you can’t chew over 20 times for this competition, but counting your chewing is the pace.

A drummer will tape his sticks together to set the pace and so will your chewing…

“1… 2… 3… 4… 5…” *insert hotdog* “1… 2… 3… 4… 5…” *insert hotdog*

This is how a pace is created and you do it through your chewing patterns. In the above example you take five chomps, swallow and insert more food in. You’re no thinking about what you’re eating or how much you got in. All you’re doing is counting. “1… 2… 3… 4… 5…”

All of you know that I take my training very seriously, if you want to win that is. Sometimes I feel that people go overboard with the whole thing. It’s important to note that a lot of competitive eating training isn’t exactly the most natural thing you could do to your body.

I think a lot about training methods can be learn by simply observing the work ethic of a bodybuilder. Their training methods are in the busness of destroying their muscles, so their body rebuilds it with larger fiber. That is how they put on muscle.

Bodybuilders recognize the fact that you can’t just beat up on your body endlessly and expect good results.

There are two reasons why you should be taking a 7 day break:

1. Recovery

2. Energize

There is a point where your body has to recover from the training methods you implement for a competition. If you go into the competition without giving yourself the time to recover from what you’re doing, you’ll go in with a much lower state.

Other people, like me, just lose a lot of our amibition when we’re training. It isn’t enjoyable and you’ll find that there is a point where you’re not progressing anymore. When you take a break, you’ll come back with much more energy and a fire to win.

Take a break sometimes, it helps.

I thought it was about time that I shared with you the top 5 reasons that you will fail at a competitive eating competition. I like to orient informationlike this because it can really help you understand the fundamentals of successful eating.

1. You Think Liking To Eat = Good At Eating Competitions

I think this is the biggest mistake people make when it comes to competitive eating. I know this is about eating food, but liking to eat food doesn’t mean you’re going to be any good at it. It has been proven over and over again that skinny people tend to do far better in the competitions.

This is more about your ability to eat a huge sum of food in a very short period of time. That requires methods of fast consumption and maximum storing capacity.

2. You Don’t Treat This As A Serious Sport

I know that it can be very easy to view this as just some event that you would do at a carnival for fun, but the competitors you face are training. Just because you aren’t lifting weights are doing laps around the track doesn’t mean this isn’t a sport that requires training.

3. You Don’t Train Properly

The only way you can properly train for any event, you have to identify exactly what you’re eating. If you’re going into a hotdog competition, than you just can’t grab any hotdog from the store and start practicing with it. You need the exact size and the exact weight of hotdogs to train.

Typically events will be sponsored by the very food you’ll be eating, so it shouldn’t be hard to track down exactly what you’re expected to eat.

4. You Lack Mental Toughness

You’re going to feel things that you know you have to ignore. You just have to tell yourself that you’re going to keep going and that is all there is to it.

5. You’re Not Systematic

If you look at all the successful competitors out there for any competition, they’re all systematic. That means that they eat in a very continuous fashion. They’re putting food into their mouth, just as they finish swallowing some. Basically their comsumption of food is consistent. You can’t rush at the start and slow down. You have to consistently do the entire competition, just as a marathon runner goes consistently.