Here comes a real power woman. You should avoid thoughtless comments with her if you don't want to be on the mat in a split second. Because our Phantom athlete is ready to climb to the top of the world wrestling sport. After an extremely successful time in the youth sector, she continued her triumphs in the U23 sector and tirelessly pursues her big goal: the Olympics. But now: ring free, for Martina Kuenz!!!
Not only is wrestling a less popular and widespread sport than other sports, it is also not the typical “women’s sport”. How did you come to this?
Martina Kuenz: I started wrestling at the age of 11. At that time, various sports were introduced in elementary school physical education classes, with the opportunity to try them out, including wrestling. In the fighting games there I even won against most of the boys, which is why everyone said I had to come to the club for training. And I've stuck with it ever since.
What happened from there?
Martina Kuenz: At some point I had my first beginners tournaments, then in 2009 my first appearance in the youth national team, and in 2010 I was able to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games. In the following years there were further successes, including various European and World Cup medals, the vice-European title in 2016, and 5th place at the 2017 World Cup in Paris.
What was the sporting support like for you during this time?
Martina Kuenz: In order to be able to really concentrate fully on my training and sport, I decided to go to sports school. This meant I was able to optimally combine education and training. Afterwards I was in the army's sports support group for four years. I have been in the police sports group since September 1st.
Given this high time commitment, what about other hobbies?
Martina Kuenz: This is of course difficult because the training workload is actually very high. However, that doesn't particularly bother me, I'm passionate about my sport.
What does a typical training week look like for you?
Martina Kuenz: That always depends on the time, whether the competition period is coming up or whether it is pre-season or post-season. At the moment I train on the mat every day, especially technique, as supplementary strength training twice a week, and endurance in the form of HIT sets on 3 days.
How is your regeneration going under this high level of stress?
Saturday is my recovery day, where I try to wind down a bit and catch up on sleep, or just do nothing.
How do you motivate yourself?
Martina Kuenz: When wrestling it is extremely important to always be 100% focused. If you have a bad day in other sports, it's usually not that bad, just slow down a little. Here, however, you immediately get hit as soon as you lose your focus. So I can't be unmotivated.
Everything is a bit stressful at the moment because I've recently started playing professional league matches for a Polish club and of course I'm striving to win and give my best there. However, I am very happy about it. Otherwise, the off-season in recent years has always been a time during which I had to recover from various injuries. For the first time in a long time, I can train effectively during this phase. In addition, the fights in the Polish league offer me the opportunity to gain experience.
Your biggest success so far?
Martina Kuenz: For me those were definitely the U23 titles and 5th place in Paris. All the successes in the junior sector were nice, but that was all still in the youth sector.
And your biggest defeat, your biggest low?
Martina Kuenz: Even though I was constantly struggling with injuries, I was very successful in the cadet field and won title after title. Last year in this class I had to have cruciate ligament surgery at the end of the season. Although I was back on the mat quickly afterwards, I was unable to build on my previous successes during the 3-year junior phase. That was extremely hard and aroused massive self-doubt in me; I questioned myself and my abilities. There were real fears about the futures.
How were you able to overcome this time?
Martina Kuenz: Of course, I continued nonetheless and as soon as I left the junior level, things went great again and the successes started again.
Is there anything you learned from it?
Martina Kuenz: From a purely winning perspective, these periods may have been “empty years”, but I see them more as “apprenticeship years”. As a result, I was able to achieve extreme development, including in the strength area. We analyzed a lot and placed an increased focus on strength training and implemented it straight away on the mat. This also enabled me to improve in all other areas.
I was able to gain a lot of experience dealing with pressure. I often had too much respect for my opponents, which inhibited me and was a hindrance. Often I was in a fight and was almost waiting for her to come out with all her strength and bring me to the mat. But nothing came. This made me able to trust myself right from the start, because I know that anyone can be beaten. I don't need to have any fearful opponents. I did what was possible and what was necessary, so why should she be any better?
Does this also correspond to your attitude to life?
Martina Kuenz: As a matter of fact. I'm a competitive type, I need the challenge and I grow from it.
How did you find out about the Phantom training mask?
Martina Kuenz: My colleague on the national team, Michael Wagner, had been in contact with Phantom Athletics for a long time and trained with them. I was very interested and so asked them if I could test it out.
What were your first thoughts when you held it in your hands?
Martina Kuenz: I have to try these out immediately.
How do you remember your first training session?
Martina Kuenz: I had already completed my regular training that day, so I went running with it. Back then, intensity 1 was enough for me (laughs).
How did you proceed then?
Martina Kuenz: As a result, I planned together with my trainer how I could best integrate them “intelligently” into my training.
How many times a week do you train with her and what type of training?
Martina Kuenz: I currently use them 2-3 times a week, mainly for HIT training, with or without equipment, specific to wrestling, etc. However, I would soon like to test how I can benefit from wearing them during the breaks in rounds in training matches and thus the afterload as a result of the combat round.
What I also really like to use them for is when I still have the energy left after training to really push myself again while climbing or jumping rope.
What was your most “extreme” experience with the Phantom training mask?
Martina Kuenz: That was recently during HIT training with equipment. Especially in later rounds and at high intensities, things get pretty intense quite quickly.
Do you also notice mental improvements?
Martina Kuenz: In any case. By getting used to performing even under difficult conditions, you learn to persevere even better when things get tough. Often, when things get tough in training, I think to myself: “Come on, step on the gas. Be glad you don’t have a mask on now.”
It also gives me a real self-confidence boost. It's like taping before a boxing match. When I put on the Phantom training mask, close the Velcro, adjust everything again, it's like a signal that I'm giving my body. Then he knows that from now on it’s called “Beastmode”.
The Phantom training mask mask is for me...?
Martina Kuenz: ... a great tool to work on myself even more and achieve success.
Your message to everyone who doubts its effectiveness?
Martina Kuenz: I know from my own experience how well it works, as well as from contacts with numerous other top athletes. At some point, no matter how hard you train, each of us will reach a plateau. Then the Phantom training mask is an effective and easy way to set new training stimuli and make progress again.
The “best” comment you’ve heard regarding the Phantom training mask?
Martina Kuenz: Darth Vader. But I know what it brings me.
The new colors make it even more interesting. I immediately put together my own, with a bright pink sleeve and neon body, I like it colorful.
Although I thought it was extremely cool in black and it was a real eye-catcher, now people are looking even more. Especially for us girls, the opportunity to put together our own mask with PHANTOMiD is really great.
Have you already set your sights on your next big goal?
Martina Kuenz: There are still a few fights coming up in the Polish league, from which I want to emerge undefeated, also to create a good reputation for myself for the next few years. In the foreground, however, I look at the big international tournaments and of course the Olympics are still at the top.
If you, like Martina, want to improve your physical and mental abilities to push your body to peak sporting performance, you should take a look at our Phantom training mask!
Contact
Do you have any questions about the Phantom training mask? You can contact us at any time here:
- email: info@phantom-athletics.com
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–> we are happy to help!
