Trading your future for today?

I saw a compelling yet sad YouTube documentary the other night about the Legendary World’s Strongest Man, Bill Kazmaier.

When I was a kid , I watched “The Kaz” compete and claim the WSM.

He was bigger - WAY bigger - than almost every competitor .

And significantly stronger than almost every competitor.

He was a top-level powerlifter too.

But, I was stunned at two things:

1- Kaz tore 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 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 shocked me 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 extraordinary.)

And I never had the physical setbacks that he had.

But I did get pretty banged up 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 call in 2010 when I injured my lower back - AGAIN - as a result of my training.

Do I pursue 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 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 stronger in many ways than before I started.

And fitter .

And I felt energized - 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 asymmetries 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 healing .

They “ rehabilitate” 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 website 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 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 amazing .

I’ll display some of it up here on the screen for you:

“So in discussing about the WTH effect with King Sized Killer I was initially skeptical of what a single bell workout 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 seven foot 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 upped 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 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, build a rock solid core, help you keep up with the bad guys, and keep up with your kids in their sports .

And they can do it without wasting hours in the gym or harming 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 world .

Stay Strong,

Geoff Neupert.