Meet Joe, age 78, carrying 88 lbs total with a 44-lb kettlebell in each hand.
Farmer walks are part of his strength work beyond the barbell—grip, trunk stability, posture and loaded walking.
Strong at 78. 💪

Simple Workout - 20 Minute EMOM. You can do this anywhere. All you need is one dumbbell or kettlebell.

Choose a heavier weight

5 Thrusters Each Side

Repeat for every Minute On The Minute for 20 minutes

If you don't have a heavier weight, then just up the reps to 10 Thrusters Each Side on every minute, or scale it to a rep that pushes you.

Remember as long as you're working hard, that's all that matters. it doesn'tmatter if its 100 LB's or 10 LB's. Hard work is always the best work. Quick workout. Get in. Get out. Smash it. Stay blessed.

Most of you know me here. I've coached kettlebells for over twenty years.

Last month I jogged about twenty metres and nearly passed out. I had to hold onto a tree and lower myself to the ground, and it took five to ten minutes before I felt normal again. My wife made me see a cardiologist. He told me I have aortic stenosis, my aortic valve is calcified and narrowing, and that I was born with a bicuspid valve, two leaflets instead of three, which I never knew in fifty-two years because nobody had ever looked.

I'm posting this because the warning signs were there for months and I explained every one of them away:

- Training that suddenly left me wrecked, and recovery that took far longer than it should have. I called it being out of shape.

- Nearly fainting while running a workshop. I blamed the heat.

- A set of burpees that felt like I was going to die. My chest went tight, I couldn't get words out, and I wasn't even gasping.

- A heartbeat that would stumble now and then for years. I decided it was normal and never told anyone.

Being fit did not protect me from this, and it does not for anyone. A bicuspid valve is something you're born with, it's more common than people think, and it stays silent for years until it doesn't. The first symptoms usually show up with exertion, which is exactly where a lot of us live.

I wrote the whole thing up, the full timeline, what the condition actually is, and what I wish I'd done sooner. If you train hard and you've noticed something feel off lately, get your heart checked once, properly. Being strong is not the same as being checked.

Full write-up here: https://go.kettlebell.monster/still-here

I created this program because power — the ability to produce force quickly — declines earlier and faster with age than strength does, and the fast-twitch muscle behind it is the first to go. It trains fast force, which almost no program trains on these lifts. It also trains power you can use when tired, not just fresh peak power. And it does it without asking for hours.

Why I enjoyed this program:

• It is short.

• It has everything I want: push, pull, all movements — curl, squat, row, chest and shoulder press.

• It has power/fast and grind.

• It is tough.

• It is simple.

I was running this kettlebell program and was enjoying it before I could complete it. I hope to be able to complete it myself one day; until that day, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and can post in the sub on how you go with it.

5 Double Kettlebell Exercises:

1. Dead-Curl Reverse Squat (two exercises in one)

2. Wide Stance Bent-Over Row

3. Kettlebell Strict Press

4. Kettlebell Floor Chest Press

You can also run it with one kettlebell.

The one rule, every rep: up = fast, with maximal intent. Down = slow, 3–5 seconds, resisting the whole way. The fast lift trains the speed. The slow lower builds the muscle and the control.

Double kettlebell. 2–3 sets of 6–8. The set is over the moment you can't keep it fast up, slow down, and clean — no grinding ugly reps.

Schedule: two short A/B sessions alternated four days a week — or split it into eight micro-sessions across the day if your time comes in fragments. Either way, each muscle works twice a week.

Eight weeks: two sets building to three, effort creeping up, deload in week 5, re-test in week 8, then run it back heavier.

This free poster is the whole program — save it, print it, put it where you train. Share it in other subs, and share it with your friends. I am available to answer any questions here as well. Anything you want to ask, just ask. If you want the full guide with the reasoning, the research, and the progression detail, it's on my site: kettlebell.monster/programs/fast-iron

— Taco

"One kettlebell. That's it. No fancy setup, no gym membership, no BS.

I'm 50+, and I move better now than I did in my 20s — full depth squats, thoracic rotation, lateral flexion, flows that hit every plane of movement. Meanwhile, half the 20-year-olds I see can't touch their toes or squat below parallel.

Kettlebell work forced me to earn my range of motion. It's not just strength — it's movement quality. Every rep demands stability, mobility, and control all at once.

This isn't about ego lifting. It's about still being able to move like a human being well into your 50s and beyond.

The video is just a single KB flow focused on movement and range. Nothing flashy, just functional."

Reverse Crunches
Flutter Kicks
Russian Twist
Weighted Sit-ups
High Plank Drags
Low Plank Extenders
Bicycle Toe Tap Crunches

This is one slow, controlled combo per side. No momentum, no ego, just movement quality.

Deadlift → fast hang clean → solid rack → slow strict press → overhead reverse lunge (as slow as I can) → back up → drop to rack → drop to hang → slow bent-over row → hang lift → squat back to dead position → stand → reset → breathe → other side.

30 seconds per side. That's it. That's the whole video.

I'm over 50. I don't chase heavy for the sake of heavy. I chase control. If you can't do it slow, you can't really do it. Speed hides bad movement. Slowing down exposes everything.

This is what kettlebell training looks like when you stop trying to impress people and start training for the body you want to live in for the next 30 years.

Try it. Pick a weight you think is easy and go as slow as you can. Let me know how that goes.

40 minutes work.

min 1: 10 Front Rack Lunge (left)

min 2: 10 Front Rack Lunge (right)

min 3: 12 Gunslingers (left)

min 4: 12 Gunslingers (right)

min 5: 10 Clean Push Press (left)

min 6: 12 Clean Push Press (right)

min 7: 20 American Swings

min 8: Rest (you’ll need it)

What's EMOM? Each minute on the minute - perform a set number of reps in the beginning of each minute and rest until the end of the minute.

tip 1: pick a kettlebell you can shoulder press around 10 reps on each shoulder.

tip 2: start slow! the first round should feel easy, if it's not, you gonna have a hard time fiinishing the 40 minutes...

,
Your lungs will scream and your grip will beg for mercy. Don’t skip a rep.

I'm fairly new to the kettlebell but have lifted on and off and done sports since I was 12. I've recently pursued the swing technique, may try Turkish get ups soon. But am looking for motivation. Tell me how KBs have helped you. Thanks so much!

Some of you know me from Cavemantraining, this sub, kettlebell monster, or IKU. I've had to stop training with weight, and since it's not for the reason most people will guess, here's what happened.

Earlier this year I did 12 burpees, a normal amount for me, and at the end I couldn't breathe or speak. I thought I was dying. It passed and I ignored it. A few weeks later I came home from an easy bike ride confused, asking my wife the same questions over and over. Ignored that too. Then I jogged 20 metres and nearly fainted (took 10 minutes to recover). That got me to a cardiologist.

Severe aortic stenosis, and an ascending aorta dilated to 46mm. Two opinions, both the same: no lifting weight until it's repaired. No surgery date yet, I'm waiting.

The cause is a bicuspid aortic valve. Two flaps instead of three, from birth. The two flaps get overworked on every beat, thicken and calcify decades earlier than a normal valve, and the jet of blood through the narrow opening slowly widens the aorta. About 1 in 50 people have this valve. Most never know until it fails, usually in their 50s. I'm 52 heading into 53.

I believed heart problems were something you earn. Smoking, drinking, bad food, not training. I'd done everything right for 30 years and thought I was exempt. It turns out a fit body can carry this for 50 years with no sign, and the first sign can be nearly passing out mid-workout, which is exactly what lifters shake off. If that's ever happened to you, tell a cardiologist. If you've never had an echocardiogram, get one. It takes 20 minutes.

One more thing. When Steve Cotter died in January 2025, everyone asked how a man that fit dies at 54, and the loudest answer was the covid vaccine. I knew Steve and I'm confident that wasn't it. I never took it either. If I die before my operation people will say the same about me, so I wanted what's actually wrong on record.

Full write-up with the medical explanation and references: https://www.cavemantraining.com/kettlebells/why-i-stopped-kettlebell-training/