Well, whether we like it or not , month 2 of 2025 is in full swing.
I’ll potentially be kettlebell releasing a new program some time this quarter .
I had some excellent feedback and some pretty negative feedback.
The positive is probably what you’d expect, which I’ll explain in a future email, but the bad?
Well… it was generally something like this:
“I couldn’t complete the program because I got injured.”
“I couldn’t complete the program because I had an injury going into it, and I thought I could overcome it.”
Now, let me just say this upfront:
THERE IS NO GOOD REASON YOU SHOULD GET INJURED DURING TRAINING.
But “Bad Reasons?”
There are plenty of them.
Trust me, I know .
I’ve been injured plenty over the years. (The exception being the last 15 years where I’ve been injury free.)
So what are these “Bad Reasons?”
They fall into one of three categories.
The first?
[1] Poor Recovery:
Again, for the gazillionth time, we need to remember, it’s not how much work you do that enhances muscle mass…
It’s how much you can recover from that work.
Many guys get into trouble because they think “more work = faster results .”
If you’re using PEDs, then almost certainly yes.
But for the rest of us - almost certainly not.
As a baseline, you need at least seven hours of sleep. Period. End of story. Amen.
(Less than 7 hours promotes fat gain and cannibalizes muscle tissue [1] - the exact opposite of what we want.)
If you’re not getting at least that, then you’re “suffering” from Poor Recovery.
Next, eat protein. Lots of it. (We’ll cover more on this some other time.) THEN…
TRAIN HARD on THREE separate days each week . That’s it.
Not six days a week, two hours a day, like Ah-nold (Schwarzenegger) suggested in his Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.
That works well for steroid-using guys in their 20s with no families and no responsibilities - which is what Arnold was when he was competing in bodybuilding…
But it doesn’t work in the actual world for guys like us who have jobs, run businesses, and have families.
In fact , back in the “Olden Days,” the 1930s through the 1960s, most of the muscular men, like those on the US Olympic Weightlifting Team, including the legendary Tommy Kono, (2x Olympic Champ, 6x World Champ) trained -
And repeat after me if you’ve heard this before -
HARD on 3 non-consecutive days of the week. ;-)
So if it succeeded for guys back in the pre-steroid era, it will work for us - for you too.
The ONLY “hack ” or “work-around” I know to this if you really want on training more frequently?
To increase the number of days you train a week to 4 or 5 , or even an intense six…?
Is to cut your training duration in each session by one-third to half.
For example, 3x 30-minute sessions (90 minutes) becomes 4x 20-25 minute sessions or 5x 15-20 minute sessions.
This “ divides the effort ” which for many, helps you better manage , even accelerate your recovery.
But, I want to strongly urge you -
If you haven’t committed to a FOCUSED, HARD, THREE, Non-consecutive days of the week training plan can do for you …
Test it out for yourself.
I think you’ll be shocked what slowing down, getting 7+ hours of sleep a night, adequate protein, and “only” training 3x week can do for your strength, muscularity, and conditioning.
Next time, we’ll talk about a issue I see on forums, social media, and Zoom sessions that’s rampant in Kettlebell-land.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.