I watched a interesting yet heartbreaking YouTube documentary the other night about the Renowned World’s Strongest Man, Bill Kazmaier.
When I was a kid , I saw “The Kaz” compete and conquer the WSM.
He was bigger - WAY bigger - than almost every competitor .
And much stronger than almost every competitor.
He was a legendary powerlifter too.
But, I was shocked at two things:
1- Kaz damaged practically every major muscle in his body: Pec, triceps, hamstrings, delts…
2- At age in his seventies , 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 caught me off guard because he just kept going .
I don’t know what the long-term effects was physically for him in his 50s, 60s, and 70s, but I imagine it was pretty substantial.
And the second took me aback because, well, I wouldn’t expect 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 in a league of his own .)
And I never had the damage that he had.
But I did get pretty injured training for strength sports - Olympic Weightlifting specifically. And those were brought about by injuries I sustained wrestling…
… Injuries that literally damaged 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 call in 2010 when I injured my lower back - yet again - as a result of my training.
Do I pursue dreams of glory and probably sacrifice my future as a dad and rob my son of a “Fun Dad”...
Or do I stop playing the fool and regain my health?
I decided on the latter.
I spent 18 months off the barbell and kettlebells doing nothing but recovery routines.
And when I came back to my kettlebell lifting?
I was more powerful 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 similar decision .
This is why I love kettlebell training vs. typical fitness routines for those of us over 40.
If you have imbalances and old injuries, the barbell and machine training will find them, and make them worse and make everything worse .
The kettlebell? Or a pair of kettlebells on the other hand?
They’re restorative.
They “ fix ” 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 settled down a lot too.”
Plus -
“My upper body is also noticeably more muscular 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 long 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 massive .
I’ll put some of it up here on the display 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 more info training double kettlebell programs exclusively for the past couple years. Your programs earned my confidence 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 few weeks my confidence boosted and I bumped the bell size up to a 32k. I started to struggle as it really exhausted 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 discourage you. By the time you’ve gone through Phase 1, these will be doable .”
(Check the rest of the email in the video)
So as you can see, the right kettlebell exercises - the Clean + Press and the Snatch -
Can rehab you, improve your function, create a rock solid core, help you catch up with the bad guys, and keep up with your kids in their sports .
And they can do it without spending hours in the gym or hurting 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 world .
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.