I’ve had a close friend for over 30 years. He’s been a carpenter since he was a kid (true blue-collar, "working class" strength). I, on the other hand, have always been the "geeky" one. Writer, editor, desk job... working in offices after graduating, and working from home for the past decade.
He's that friend for me, the one who you bonded so strongly during childhood and adolescence, and not seeing each other for 1-2 years doesn't diminish the brotherly love. Ever since he left school after elementary and started working with his father as a carpenter, he’s jokingly looked at me as a bit of a "softie" compared to his labor-intensive lifestyle.
And he's not fully wrong. I am 6ft tall, till I got about 30 and got married, I was never above 150 lbs. So you can imagine the physique I had before (then came the marriage belly ofc).
I’m 40 now. I started my kettlebell journey at 38. Before that, I was just doing some light functional movements with 5-10kg dumbbells at home. By the end of 2024, I was working with 16kg bells.
Two years, quite a few ABF and The Giant cycles and coaching from multiple OGs later, my strength sessions involve double 28kg, and my medium-rep sets are with 24kg bells. My posture got way better, and I have better muscularity around my neck nowadays.
I occasionally share my "form check" videos on social media (usually looking sweaty and struggling). Since I don’t have a "Hulk" physique, and the bells fly too fast to read the weights, the strength remains invisible. I’ve leaned out, and my shirts fit much tighter around the shoulders, but unless you’re the one trying to move the iron, you wouldn’t know how heavy it is.
So, last week, I asked my carpenter friend to build me a custom shelf to organize my "diary of gains" (Double 28s, 24s, 20s). He delivered it yesterday. I had all the bells on the floor ready for the move.
After setting the shelf up, he reached down to pick up a 20kg bell to put it on the rack. I warned him: "Be careful, those are heavier than they look."
He laughed and gave me that classic look: "If you can lift it, I can definitely lift it." He grabbed it with zero technical form (just traditional carpenter "heave-ho" style). He struggled, his face changed color, and he set it back down quickly.
"Man, what are these things made of?" He told me that watching my videos (swings, cleans, and overhead presses), he thought they looked light and easy. I had to explain that even though I work with 28s, I don't even deadlift a 20kg off the floor without warming up anymore (perks of being 40)!
Respect the Bell
He learned the "Respect the Bell" motto the hard way. For me, it was a great "WTF effect" moment. It’s one thing to see the numbers go up on your logbook, but it’s another to see a lifelong laborer surprised by the strength you’ve built behind a desk.
I have learned a lot from this sub, so I wanted to share this as my own WTH effect story.
Here is the shelf he made! I kept the middle shelf a bit lighter just in case.
