Back in February 2010 when I decided to attempt my very first eating challenge with my friend, the first thing I did after making the decision was to Google search “how to become a competitive eater” so that I could find out what I needed to do to make myself and my stomach ready for the big 28″ team pizza challenge. I was in the middle of a very important body transformation contest at the time, and I was easily able to find hundreds of articles about how to train for a bodybuilding contest so that I could optimize the look of my final photos. No matter how hard I searched though, I could not find any reasonably accurate articles about how to train for a food challenge or competitive eating contest. It was absolutely stunning at the time, and it is even more stunning that still no other professional eaters have tried to help “beginning” eaters learn what they need to do to prepare for eating challenges and contests. After over 4 long years and winning over 170 food challenges, I have learned A LOT about all of the different aspects of what it takes to conquer food challenges and eating competitions. That information is passed on throughout all of the articles featured on FoodChallenges.oom. The best part is that I am 200% sure that I don’t know everything there is to know yet, so there will constantly be more articles written as time goes on and as more people ask questions that I have never even thought of before. FoodChallenges.com is everything that I wish was available 4 years ago when I first began my journey. To start though so you don’t make the same mistakes I did, here is the article I wish was available when I first searched “how to become a competitive eater” that very first time:
Do these things to become a successful competitive eater:
(I would put FIND first, but you have already found this website with everything you need to know.)
LEARN – There are over 100 articles throughout the TIPS and STRATEGIES sections that contain information about almost everything you can want to know about training for eating competitions along with what to do before, during, and after your challenge. There is even a TIPS section dedicated to advice for eating contests too. There are 28 different types of food challenges that you can attempt, and the STRATEGIES section covers how to beat each and every one of them. When it comes to food challenges, you can never know too much, and you should learn as much as you can beforehand so that you can train safely and smarter, & not just harder.
FIND – Now that you have studied all of the tips & advice articles and you have a pretty good idea of what it takes to win food challenges and eating contests, now you need to find and select which challenge or contest you want to try first. Since food challenges only involve you and nobody else, I suggest trying a food challenge first so that you can accurately gauge your current abilities. There are not always eating contests available around you each month because contests are typically held only once per year, but challenges are available every business day or once per week at the very least. Perform a Map Search or List Search to find which food challenges are available around you. Select which challenge you feel most comfortable attempting based on size, type, and the time limit. Now you know what you need to train for, and you can set the challenge up when you want to and when you are ready for it, rather than adapting to fit somebody else’s schedule. Dominate your challenge, and then you will be more confident during your first contest. Make sure to start slow & safely!!
TRAIN – Put what you learned by reading and watching videos into practice and start training your body so that you can prepare yourself for your upcoming competition. As mentioned above, please start slow and build up gradually. You won’t start out being able to beat seasoned professionals, and every big journey starts out with a few small steps, just like mine. As you continue to train, you will figure out what works for you and what does not, and you will quickly be able to decide which training methods work best for your body and stomach.
CONNECT – Every single “eater” that is a part of the FoodChallenges.com community joined because he or she enjoys attempting food challenges and/or competing in eating contests. We are also committed to helping to #feedthemovement and expanding the FoodChallenges.com “brand” which also means helping beginners and amateurs just starting to get involved. If you have not set up a profile yet, please do, and feel free to follow and interact with your favorite eaters. Every eater has different techniques and training methods, so if you have a favorite eater, try to find out what he or she does. Please do not be annoying though, and know that some people will offer more help than others. If a local restaurant owner (promoter) is part of the community, feel free to ‘friend’ and follow that person too. If we all help each other together, “the movement” will grow much quicker and stronger which will lead to bigger and better things for everyone involved. If you are traveling to a city and are wanting to attempt a team challenge, feel free to Find An Eater in that particular area to team up with and contact that person to see if he or she is interested. You will have a lot more fun if you are active in the eating community rather than just sticking to yourself. Feel free to interact on the Forums too. Remember also that food and fun are for FoodChallenges.com, so please keep all negative drama and problems on Facebook.
CONQUER – After putting in the work and effort to train and strategize for your challenge, it’s time to have some fun conquering the particular challenge you have been preparing for!! If you are wanting to find a local eating contest to compete in, your best resource is currently Eatfeats.com. There is an outstanding database of eating contests available around the world, mostly focused on the USA though, that is well maintained and updated. FoodChallenges.com currently does not have the staff and budget to maintain a calendar of events or schedule, and only the database of food challenges, but it is a future goal. Conquer, conquer, & conquer!! You will get even better and smarter as you continue and gain experience. Please be sure to #feedthemovement along the way!!
LEARN MORE -You can read and study all the materials available, but there is no substitution for experience. After every food challenge and eating competition, critique yourself and decide what you did well and what things you can improve on. If you are not getting better, you are getting worse, and there really is no such thing as staying the same. Keep learning and figuring out new ways to get better. If you come across a problem and there are no articles that answer it, please contact us with the question. We will do our best to get the problem answered and use it as future content for the website, because chances are that other people might be having the issue too. Like everything in life, you have to be genetically and physically able to excel, but to become one of the best competitive eaters, you have to put forth the most effort. There is no simple quick & easy solution. Lucky for you though, the food challenge and competitive eating world that you are entering into is 1000 time easier than when the “older” veterans started, thanks to FoodChallenges.com. Please take advantage of it, and also please share the website with your friends and family so that the community can continue to grow, creating better opportunities for everyone involved. Your help is surely needed & very appreciated!! #feedthemovement
To go back and view other Food Challenges 101 articles, click here.