I came across a cool 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” compete and claim the WSM.
He was huge - much bigger - than nearly all the others.
And much stronger than almost every competitor.
He was a world champion powerlifter too.
But, I was stunned at two things:
1- Kaz damaged 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 long-term effects was physically for him in his 50s, 60s, and 70s, but I imagine it was pretty substantial.
And the second shocked me because, well, I wouldn’t have guessed 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 broke my frame and changed the way my body worked.
And it was a enormous time and energy suck 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 - AGAIN - as a result of my training.
Do I keep chasing dreams of glory and probably risk my future as a dad and deprive 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 restorative work .
And when I returned to my kettlebell lifting?
I was more powerful in many ways than before I started.
And fitter .
And I felt healthier - had more vitality.
And so it can be for you too if you’re facing a comparable choice .
This is why I love kettlebell training vs. typical fitness strongest routines for those of us over 40.
If you have asymmetries and old injuries, the barbell and machine training will find them, and punish you for them and make everything worse .
The kettlebell? Or a pair of kettlebells on the other hand?
They’re restorative.
They “heal ” you and build you up (when programmed properly), while making you more capable 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 activated , 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 bigger 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 impressive 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 incredible.
I’ll share some of it up here on the screen for you:
“So in talking about the WTH effect with King Sized Killer I was initially doubtful of what a single bell routine was gonna do for me after having been working double kettlebell programs strictly for the past few 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 exercising with doubles. Within a few weeks my confidence boosted and I cheated 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 rehabilitate you, improve your function, develop a rock solid core, help you catch up with the bad guys, and keep up with your kids in their sporting activities .
And they can do it without wasting hours in the gym or hurting yourself in the process.
You’re not ever going to take the World’s Strongest Man event using them, but you can be the strongest man in your circle.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.