Kettlebell Workouts with Master Geoff Neupert

I routinely get emails asking me the “best way” to workout / train more than 3x a week — and sometimes even how to train daily. And more often than not, they’re by combining multiple workout programs — something like this: “Geoff, how can I combine heavy barbell work with your ‘Big Kahuna’ program and the ‘Faster Than Usain Bolt Fat Loss’ program?” My answer is always: “You don’t.” All my programs are designed to be “stand alone” programs, meaning there’s nothing else needed to get the results you’re looking for other than the two scoops of commitment and discipline. [ SIDE RANT:  I always “love it” when people critique my programs saying they “won’t work” or “don’t work” but either (a) haven’t done the program or (b) modified / changed the program to suit their desires and the outcome left them wanting. The problem is, if you change or modify “the program,” then you didn’t “do the program.” So you’ve disqualified yourself from evaluating it. Don’t be “that guy.”] BUT… If you wante...

One of the questions I routinely get from customers goes something like this: “Hey Geoff, I’m doing XXXXX and I just hit 4 million reps in my latest workout. Is that good? I read on the forum that some guys are doing 8 gajillion reps and I just want to know how I stack up…” Now obviously, I’m exaggerating on the rep count, but you get my drift, right? And that’s because typically (but not always), I prescribe reps and sets, but NOT total workloads. I let the workout duration be the governor of the amount of work completed, like 30 minutes for example. So you may see “sets of 5,” or “ladders of 1,2,3,” or something kind of similar. In other words, I rarely program “5x5.” The reason I do this is to accommodate for individual differences. Differences in: Strength levels Training age and background Injury history Endurance levels They all factor in to “how many reps is best” for YOU. I have a background in Olympic Weightlifting and have generally poor “endurance.” So, if you looked at the ...

When I was in my late teens and early 20s, I was obsessed with being BIG AND STRONG. Problem was, I got kinda “thick” in the process. Here’s a pic of me at about 245lbs / 111kg in 1993, age 20: The other problem was I went from running about a 6 minute mile weighing 165 pounds to huffing and puffing walking up the stairs in less than 4 years. Similarly, America has gone from a 10% obesity rate to 40% obesity rate in 40 years. And collectively, about 50% of the world’s population is now overweight. So, how do you reconcile the desire to be a “big / strong guy” with the current reality that your current size isn’t all muscle? How do you peel off unwanted body fat that is slowly strangling the life out of you, while getting stronger or building muscle at the same time (or BOTH building muscle AND getting stronger)? Well, in my book, it’s by doing it the opposite way of everybody else - the contrarian approach. What’s that? We’re not going to focus on “losing fat.” We’re going to focus on ...

I just answered an email the other day about it from a reader. “At 70 kgs weight and 85 grams of protein a day, can I build muscle mass and improve my strength using kettlebells? How would I feel improvement in my muscle mass and strength? “Will KB workouts alone be sufficient to build muscle mass and strength? There are some extremely conflicting insights on it on online forums.” First, here’s what I told this gentleman - “Yes you can build strength, but muscle will be harder. The current recommendation for building muscle is 1.6g/kg of bodyweight. How would you feel improvement? You wouldn't. You'd measure it objectively through your training log, a tape measure, and body composition measurements. Yes. Resistance builds muscle and strength, regardless of the implement/ tool. The key is knowing how to structure your program to do so. Many, if not most people don't know how to do this - especially with kettlebells, so they say "kettlebells don't build muscle" ...

Get ‘SWING HARD!’ here. Sometimes, life just “happens.” That New Year’s Resolution? Oh… That… Long gone. Life threw you a curve ball. Sickness. Kids. Job. You name it. Things aren’t going as planned. So, how do you keep 2025 from becoming yet another year where your goals get away from you? Simple. Use the “Brain Dead” Fat Loss template. It has 2-moving parts: [1] NUTRITION. Drink a protein shake 2x a day - breakfast and lunch. 2 scoops (48-50g of protein) twice a day. 100 grams. Simple. Then - Eat dinner with your family. That’s it. Done. Next: [2] TRAINING. Use the simplest kettlebell exercise around: The Swing. 2-Hand? 1-Hand? Hand-2-Hand? Yes. Whatever. Just Swing. How many sets? Reps? Duration? Start with 1.0 inside ‘SWING HARD!’. 3 days a week. 20 minutes. Badda-Bing. Badda-Boom. Done. How well does it work? Andrew said - And @fallingteepee said - You can do it the same way - One day at a time. Remove all thinking. Remove your limitations. Use the “Brain Dead” Fat Loss template s...

A lot of guys over 40 who get into kettlebells don’t really care about muscle - but they should. Especially if they want to “lose weight,” “get back in shape,” or dare I even say it, “Tone up.” Why? Muscle is your body’s “metabolic machinery.” It burns extra calories both at rest and at work. And the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you burn at rest, and the more you burn while you work - Swing, Press, Snatch a kettlebell. And those two things are critically important for “losing weight.” And they're also important for “getting stronger.” The more muscle you have on your body, the greater strength potential you have. With that foundation set, I got this comment over one of my IG posts the other day - the answer to which I thought you’d find helpful. Great question. When discussing muscle growth, we need to think in terms of “systemic” vs. “localized.” “Systemic” is the impact a load or stimulus has on the body as a whole. “Localized” is the impact a load or stim...

I created for myself. But the people reporting back to me from using it are experiencing life-altering results. Eddie “The Beast” Hall was the first person to “deadlift” 500kg - 1100 lbs. I put “deadlift” in quotes because he did it in a Strongman competition and he broke the world record, he also broke powerlifting rules for that deadlift. He used straps and “hitched” the lift on his thighs during lockout. Another impressive feat of strength was “Pocket Hercules,” Naim Sulemanglou, Clean + Jerking 190kg at only 60kg - 3.15 times his body weight. Or maybe it’s Arthur Saxon’s bent press of 386lbs (never matched) at a sub 200lbs bodyweight. The list could go on and on. And I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share too. But I think my #1 pick was at the 1999 New Jersey State Weightlifting Championships. I don’t remember the gentleman’s name, but at 73 years old, he Split-Snatched 72.5kg - got 3 white lights for a good lift, dropped the weight, then ran up the bleachers - which were shoulder he...

How to act ually TEST your RM and measure your strength… (Instructions Inside) The other day I wrote about what to do if you test for your RM but it doesn’t actually line up with the given RM - like a 5RM or 10RM. But, it dawned on me I’ve never actually written down EXPLICIT instructions on HOW to test for your RM, until someone asked me over on the StrongFirst forum. So, you may want to print this out and put it in your training journal. Here are 3 ways to test for an RM (In context, it was for a 10RM, but it will work for any RM prescription - just adjust accordingly - i.e. swap out “10RM” with “XRM”): [1] Use the 5,4,3,2,1 countdown with progressively heavier bells as a warm up. Finish the last set - the "1" - with your old 10RM if you're going for a new 10RM. For some, this helps spare their energy. [2] Use a "DeLorme" modification: Set 1 = 50% of old 10RM, Set 2 = 75% of old 10RM, Set 3 = 10RM for max reps OR new weight attempt for new 10RM. [3] Use some l...