Athlete spotlight: Denise Kielholtz
Denise Kielholtz, also known as Miss Dynamite is a Dutch female Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She has been competing professionally since 2004 and made her professional MMA debut at Torarica Summer Fights 1 in October 2015. She is also six times World Champion in Kickboxing, two times Dutch Champion in Judo, a Thai Boxing World Champion, and an MMA Fighter. Additionally, she is the ambassador of BRUTE. BRUTE offers high-quality combat sports equipment that is compact but with a complete collection. Together with Denise, BRUTE developed this new boxing line.
Can you introduce yourself?
I am Denise Kielholtz, 34 years young and living in Amsterdam.
What do you do?
I am a professional martial arts athlete.
What does your sports career look like?
I once started judo as a 9-year-old girl. Until I was 15 years old, I won 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal, and 2 bronze medals at the Dutch championships. Then I started kickboxing at the age of 17, and I became 6 times world champion. I made a switch to Mixed Martial arts 5 years ago, and I am working hard to achieve my dream of being the first woman to be both the kickboxing and MMA champion in 1 organization. With hard work, I believe this goal can be achieved.
How many times a week do you train?
I train 6 days a week, and in competition preparation, I train 2 or sometimes 3 times a day.
What does your training day look like?
In the morning, I start with my mental training. Meditation, visualizing, and reading educational books. Then my morning workouts vary in strength/conditioning, ground workouts, wrestling, and kickboxing. The evening training in competition preparation is usually a complete MMA workout or sparring.
Are there any specific dietary restrictions or considerations you have as an athlete?
I fight in the flyweight division, which is up to 57 kg. I normally run around 62 kg. So I always have to lose around 5 kg before my competition. I also try to maintain a weight of 5 kg maximum in my off-season, because I know how tough it gets otherwise to drop the 57 kg before a competition. That’s why I’m actually always working on my nutrition. I don’t eat too many carbs, and I’m always balancing my eating patterns with each other. So I do eat some bread but I don’t eat rice or potatoes in the evening, so it changes often. So I’m actually working on my nutrition 24/7.
How do you approach your diet and nutrition during competition season versus off-season?
When I’m in the off-season, I treat myself to a cheat day every weekend. Then I don’t pay attention to what I eat for a while. But once I’m in my fight camp, then the cheat days are out of question and I avoid fats and sugars as much as possible.
Do you use sports nutrition, if so, what?
I use, protein shakes, extra vitamin supplements, and occasionally a pre-workout.
And why this brand (Pure2improve)?
The name says it all, the product is Pure. Pure with the right ingredients that my body needs to present optimally. No unnecessary sugars and Pure proteins that make my body stronger in all areas.
Do you notice any difference in your sports performance/training since using Pure2Improve nutrition?
Since using it, I noticed that I recover faster after a workout, have more energy left, and in terms of muscle building and recovery, I see strong results.
Would you recommend your friends/family to buy Pure2Improve nutrition?
Do you want to strengthen your body, in the purest way possible in all areas? Then I recommend everyone to use this product to get stronger!