Kettlebell Workouts with Master Geoff Neupert

I got an email the other day “B Squared” who wanted to know the best way to add strength work to his endurance work (cycling) so he could keep up with they “younger guys” he rides with -  Guys in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. The answer is very simple. Before we get there, one of the mistakes many people make - and I made as a young trainer - Is the “more of the same” concept. There’s a school of thought popularized by Tudor Bompa, a Romanian exercise and sport physiologist that you need to work on doing super-high reps of strength work in order to “convert” your strength to endurance. And while that may work for “Young Bucks” - the teenage and 20-something athletes Bompa was working with back in the “Old Country,” it doesn’t work for guys our age. Case in point: Almost 30 years ago I was working with a mid-40s marathoner - Mike Sheridan - a Wall Street Trader. He ran marathons for stress relief. Well, we built up his leg strength and then worked to “convert” that strength into enduranc...

I was talking to a new friend the other day about men’s over 40 fitness. He’s a white-collar corporate guy with 5 kids. He hates strength training and only does cardio. We were talking about the importance of strength training for guys our age, most of which he didn’t know. I’ll get to that in a moment, but first, his biggest reason for not strength training? “He didn’t have the time.” Like most guys, he thought workouts had to be long and grueling like they were when we were in our late teens and early 20s in order to be effective. I told him that was not necessary. In fact, I told him that most of my clients and customers workout / train about 1/3 of what they thought they needed. 20 to 30 minute sessions, 3x a week is about average for most. And that shocked him. That's because 60 to 90 minutes a week is about one-third of the work that most guys think they need to do, which is 60 to 90 minutes a day - at least 3x a week. I’ve coined this the “One-Third Rule.” You probably only ...

When you think of the “perfect workout,” what runs through your mind? I remember in my early years as a young wet-behind-the-ears strength & conditioning coach, I would spend HOURS trying to come up with the “perfect program”... The one that does it ALL… [+] BIGGER [+] STRONGER [+] LEANER [+] MORE EXPLOSIVE [+] HIGHER WORK CAPACITY … Because those were the things that were important to me (and most of my athletes). I spent hours upon hours reading texts on periodization, sports specific training, powerlifting, and whatever Olympic lifting material I could get my hands on at the time (late mid 1990s - early 2000s). I even remember “farming it out” and using a certification’s model. It looked great on paper… … But failed to produce meaningful change in our clients’ physiques. And so it is with “kettlebell workouts.” On one hand, we have the Minimalists… The 1 to 2 exercises per training session. (I often default to this crowd - I’ll explain why in a moment.) And on the other hand, we...

Ever used a “fat loss” program that “didn’t work?” I think that’s pretty common. Ever wonder why that is? I have. A LOT. And I think it’s based upon your personality. I’m not the first person to notice this. Other strength coaches like the late Charles Poliquin categorized personalities based upon Chinese medicine. Another Canadian strength coach has categorized workout personalities based upon neurotransmitter dominance. Me? I’m not so… sophisticated. I just go on “gut.” Here’s what I mean - Over the decades, I've noticed 3 predominant types of fat loss training. Which one of them “feels right” to you? Which one sounds the most appealing? Which one, when you’re honest with yourself, is the kind that you’ll actually DO? (As opposed to the one which sounds the most “sexy” and you have to talk yourself into doing it…) 1- Do you like lifting heavy stuff? Then you’ll probably do best with a “Strength-Based” or "Power-Based" fat loss program. That’s one that uses fairly heavy ...

https://cart.chasingstrength.com/hard3b Yeah, I know… Tough problem to have.  And no, it’s not me.   That was from an email from a friend of mine from North Carolina who’s been training w/ kettlebells and worked his tail off to overcome chronic shoulder pain. Now he’s working hard to alleviate hip issues which arose from a less-than-optimal knee surgery 30 years ago.  Anyway, he and I were writing back and forth and the quote in the subject line was part of a discussion about smart, but hard training.   And specifically, the need to train hard as a way to relieve stress from work, life, etc.  Here’s what Billy wrote about his results over the last 6 months -   “I have gone from 165-167 to 172-175 lbs and @ 46 years old. I had to increase caloric intake (who doesn’t like to eat more food and especially ice cream with crushed gluten free oreos with hot chocolate fudge?!) because even at low bodyfat I was getting thinner. That bodyweight a personal h...

Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells. https://salutis.kartra.com/page/systematic-core-training It’s been said, “To Press a lot, you must Press a lot.” And while that’s true, because strength is a skill… … It’s also only partially true. And that’s because you can’t shoot a cannon from a canoe. (Hey, that rhymed!) Research is clear (and we’d be foolish to ignore it): Shoulder strength - and therefore, health - is dependent on having a stable, and strong, fatigue-resistant core - or midsection. Specifically: 1- Decrease in core stability is correlated with a loss of maximal shoulder strength 2- Loss of lumbo-pelvic control (a.k.a. “Core stability”) increases shoulder torque (in baseball pitchers) 3- A positive correlation between a loss of core stability and increased shoulder joint dysfunction 4- Core stability training improves throwing velocity (think “speed” / “power”) in handball players 5- Greater shoulder disability is correlated with greater core stability deficits Interesting...

https://salutis.kartra.com/page/systematic-core-training Did you know “core training” used to be HUUUGGGGEEE back in the late 1990s and 2000s? It was ALL the rage. DVDs. Home study manuals. Certifications for trainers. Entire classes at fitness centers with names like “Core Boot Camp” dedicated a full hour session to endless “core exercises.” Single leg stance, Wobble Boards, Airex Pads, and the Bosu Ball. In fact, I remember having to teach an “Abs Class” back at the Executive Fitness Center, at the old pre-9/11 World Trade Center complex in 1997 and being interrogated by the Fitness Manager because I was actually teaching "lower back exercises” - you know - to strengthen the core. Then, in the 2010s, it seemed like much of the market - at least my crowd - suddenly, and inexplicably, moved away from the “core training” thing and into “movement” and “functional movement” and “movement restoration.” And now? Well, I think it depends on what “crowd” you’re in and who you “follow.” (...