I watched a compelling yet unfortunate YouTube documentary the other night about the Renowned World’s Strongest Man, Bill Kazmaier.
When I was 8, 9 and 10 years old , I watched “The Kaz” compete and claim the WSM.
He was bigger - WAY bigger - than almost every competitor .
And WAY check here stronger than almost every competitor.
He was a world champion powerlifter too.
But, I was stunned 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 shocked me because he just kept fighting through.
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 other-worldly .)
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 massive 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 - yet again - as a result of my training.
Do I continue chasing dreams of glory and probably sacrifice my future as a dad and deprive my son of a “Fun Dad”...
Or do I stop playing the fool and focus on my health ?
I went with the latter.
I spent 18 months off the barbell and kettlebells doing nothing but recovery routines.
And when I returned to my kettlebell lifting?
I was stronger in many ways than before I started.
And more toned.
And I felt better - 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. conventional training 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 cause more pain.
The kettlebell? Or a pair of kettlebells on the other hand?
They’re healing .
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 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 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 massive .
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 skeptical of what a single bell routine was gonna do for me after having been training double kettlebell programs solely for the past couple years. Your programs earned my faith 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 grew and I bumped 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 scare 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 moves - the Clean + Press and the Snatch -
Can rehab you, restore 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 investing hours in the gym or injuring yourself in the process.
You’re not ever going to conquer the World’s Strongest Man event using them, but you can be the strongest man in your circle.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.