What Bodybuilders get RIGHT… And what we over-40 Kettlebell types can use

If you’re a relatively advanced KB trainee (comfortable with the basic doubles exercises), and you need a program that has all 3 Self-Disciplines “baked in” for you...

... Guys are loving the results they’re getting from this one. https://go.chasingstrength.com/kettlebell-maximorum-e/

And if you’re not?

Well, it’s not a “too bad for you” situation.

I recommend you use this time-tested single KB program.

https://go.chasingstrength.com/burn-sa1/

It’s a single KB training program with all 3 of those self-disciplines included.

If you’re like most of us, your introduction to the weight pile was probably vis-a-vis bodybuilding, Muscle & Fitness, and / or Arnold “Get To The Choppa” Schwarzenegger.

Which, of course, is why many, if not most, guys over 40 think the epitome of “getting in shape” or “being in shape” is to “look like a bodybuilder”.

And that means working out (training) like a bodybuilder.

And, of course means -

Bodypart splits (Chest & Tri’s, Back & Bi’s, Shoulders & Legs, etc…)

Working out 5 to 6 days a week

2-3 exercises per bodypart

Lots of long slow cardio to “cut”

Chicken & broccoli packed in tupperware and carried around in a cooler

Being so sore you can’t comb your hair or get out of your chair without using the armrests

… to name but a few things associated with bodybuilding.

And look, I get it -

Who doesn’t want to be lean and muscular looking?

I mean, I never met a man who said, “Boy, I really wished I looked like Santa Claus - or better yet - the Michelin Man!”

Larry Waters is a competitive bodybuilder I trained back in 2001-02 for about a year or so until he moved away.

Larry was SUPER-disciplined.

And at 6’4, he naturally carried around 240lbs.

Fast-forward to last year and I caught back up with Larry, who’s still competing in bodybuilding.

In fact, earlier this month, he competed at the IFBB Masters Championships weighing in at about a peeled / jacked 225lbs.

Now what does this have to do with you?

Simple.

One page we can all take out of Larry’s book (and every successful competitive bodybuilder) is this:

Self-Discipline.

1- Pre-Planning Your Workouts:

This is both on a weekly schedule and on a daily schedule.

Know the following:

Warm up time

Training duration

Cooldown time

Travel time

2- Pre-Planning Your Fuel (Meals):

Successful bodybuilders know -

What to eat

How much to eat

And when to eat it

They don’t guess.

They don’t eat what they “feel like.”

Unless they’re coming off a particularly hard competition cycle and taking some downtime.

3- Recovery:

The reason bodybuilders use the training splits they do, is because that’s what they believe works the best for them to -

(a) stimulate growth, and -

(b) see the adaptation from that stimulation (“DEM GAINZ, BRUH!”)

So they’re pretty meticulous about getting their rest.

Most guys who work out “hard” and don’t see results don’t understand this concept.

Like one of the dads I talked to this weekend at my son’s camp out -

He couldn’t seem to get rid of his beer belly, even though he said he worked out 6 days a week and stopped drinking beer.

It’s these 3 Self-Disciplines -

Consistent, Planned Training

Consistent, Planned Fueling

Consistent, Planned Recovery

… Even with the steroids - which I don’t think my buddy Larry has touched), is why these guys are so lean and muscular.

Now, here’s what I’m NOT saying:

I’m NOT saying you should train like a bodybuilder or that bodybuilding is superior to other forms of training.

(It’s not - especially for guys our age.)

I’m NOT saying you should eat 6-8 meals a day out of Tupperware containers and amble around with a bloated stomach dropping protein fart bombs by the water cooler.

And I’m NOT saying you should refrain from family activities because they would “Steal your Gainz…”

So please don’t read anything like that into what I just told you.

What I am saying is this:

If you’re not making the “GAINZ” you want or expect, take a look at those 3 Self-Disciplines and honestly assess yourself.

Then, make the necessary changes.

Stay Strong,

Geoff Neupert.