I watched a compelling yet unfortunate YouTube documentary the other night about the Iconic World’s Strongest Man, Bill Kazmaier.
When I was a kid , I watched “The Kaz” battle and conquer 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 70-something , earlier more info 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 consequences was physically for him in his 50s, 60s, and 70s, but I believe 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 physical setbacks 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 shattered my frame and changed the way my body worked.
And it was a massive time and energy drain trying to rehab those injuries - especially when the rehab didn’t work.
I had to make a decision in 2010 when I injured my lower back - once more - as a result of my training.
Do I continue chasing dreams of success and probably endanger my future as a dad and deprive my son of a “Fun Dad”...
Or do I get serious and regain my health?
I went with 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 energy .
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 routines for those of us over 40.
If you have weaknesses and old injuries, the barbell and machine training will find them, and exacerbate them and cause more pain.
The kettlebell? Or a pair of kettlebells on the other hand?
They’re therapeutic .
They “ fix ” you and build you up (when programmed properly), while making you fitter 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 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 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 amazing .
I’ll put some of it up here on the display for you:
“So in discussing about the WTH effect with King Sized Killer I was initially unsure of what a single bell routine was gonna do for me after having been working double kettlebell programs strictly 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 7-foot basement.
I started modestly with a 28k bell which was where I liked training with doubles. Within a couple weeks my confidence boosted 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 possible.”
(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 rehabilitate you, improve your function, create a rock solid core, help you keep up with the bad guys, and keep up with your kids in their games.
And they can do it without spending 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 circle.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.