I came across a eye-opening yet heartbreaking YouTube documentary the other night about the Renowned World’s Strongest Man, Bill Kazmaier.
When I was a kid , I watched “The Kaz” perform and win the WSM.
He was bigger - WAY bigger - than almost every competitor .
And WAY stronger than almost every competitor.
He was a top-level powerlifter too.
But, I was surprised at two things:
1- Kaz injured practically every major muscle in his body: Pec, triceps, hamstrings, delts…
2- At age past 70, earlier this year, he had a heart attack in the Philippines and his son had to start a GoFundMe account to cover Kaz’s medical expenses.
The first surprised me because he just kept fighting through.
I don’t know what the fallout was physically for him in his 50s, 60s, and 70s, but I suspect it was pretty substantial.
And the second saddened me because, well, I wouldn’t thought that a “Strength Celebrity” would need a GoFundMe account.
Look, I was never anywhere near as strong as Kaz was. Not even remotely close. (He was extraordinary.)
And I never had the injuries that he had.
But I did get pretty hurt training for strength sports - Olympic Weightlifting specifically. And those were brought about by injuries I sustained wrestling…
… Injuries that literally shattered my frame and changed the way my body worked.
And it was a enormous time and energy drain on resources trying to rehab those injuries - especially when the rehab didn’t work.
I had to make a choice in 2010 when I injured my lower back - once more - as a result of my training.
Do I keep chasing dreams of glory and probably endanger my future as a dad and rob my son of a “Fun Dad”...
Or do I get serious and get myself healthy again ?
I decided on the latter.
I spent 18 months off the barbell and kettlebells doing nothing but rehabilitation exercises .
And when I came back to my kettlebell lifting?
I was stronger in many ways than before I started.
And more toned.
And I felt healthier - had more stamina .
And so it can be for you too if you’re facing a tough call.
This is why I love kettlebell training vs. typical fitness routines for those of us over 40.
If you have weaknesses and old injuries, the barbell and machine training will find them, and make them worse and make everything worse website .
The kettlebell? Or a pair of kettlebells on the other hand?
They’re healing .
They “ rehabilitate” you and build you up (when programmed properly), while making you stronger and better conditioned in less time than traditional gym workouts.
And yeah, that might be hard to believe, so take a look at this YouTube comment I got recently:
From “relaxed glutes, tight hammies and sore back… chronically tight and painful abductors” to -
“My glutes are noticeably bigger and more engaged , my hamstrings are more relaxed and I can stretch them without pain, abductors and lower back have eased up too.”
Plus -
“My upper body is also noticeably stronger and I’ve put on about 5lb”
And remember Jason from our last video about HardStyle v. Sport Style Snatches?
He racked up a pretty significant list of injuries training conventionally - CrossFit, Powerlifting, Bodybuilding, etc.
But in our email thread, when I asked him about his WTH Effects did he notice from using KBs?
His response was HUGE .
I’ll throw some of it up here on the monitor for you:
“So in talking about the WTH effect with King Sized Killer I was initially doubtful of what a single bell exercise program was gonna do for me after having been practicing double kettlebell programs exclusively for the past couple years. Your programs earned my trust for sure, so I went with it for this Spring since I have to do it outside anyways only having a 7ft basement.
I started modestly with a 28k bell which was where I liked working with doubles. Within a couple weeks my confidence increased and I upped the bell size up to a 32k. I started to struggle as it really tired me going into that second phase, but you specifically stated after I had gone through phase 1
“ Don’t let the sets of 9 and 12 intimidate you. By the time you’ve gone through Phase 1, these will be manageable .”
(Check the rest of the email in the video)
So as you can see, the right kettlebell workouts - the Clean + Press and the Snatch -
Can restore you, improve your function, develop a rock solid core, help you chase down the bad guys, and keep up with your kids in their games.
And they can do it without investing hours in the gym or harming yourself in the process.
You’re not ever going to win the World’s Strongest Man event using them, but you can be the strongest man in your life .
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.