The thought never entered my mind.

When I was much younger, I never heard of anyone, much less a wrestler, having hip or knee replacement surgery.

Those type of surgeries didn’t exist when I was wrestling at the University of Iowa, and later on, Edinboro.

No one that I am aware of ever considered that all those takedown attempts, where you hit one or both knees while attaching your opponent’s legs, would add up.

Our bodies were invincible. ’twas no big deal whatsoever.

But later in life, when you discover that your former teammates and coaches have had one or both hips replaced, you start to wonder. Did all that impact have an impact?

A few years ago when I spoke with Randy Lewis, a 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist, he told me that the entire Olympic wrestling team he was on has had one or both hips replaced.

Two of my coaches, both Olympic champions, Dan Gable and Bruce Baumgartner, have had both hips replaced.

Good God! What did we do to our bodies?

Some people are perplexed when they read my emails.

“Furey says deadlifting is the worst exercise you can do for your body.”

Indeed, it is. I get it. You may think it’s the greatest.

What you don’t know is that there are types of deadlifts that I am not opposed to, so long as they are not HEAVY.

Once you start doing heavy deadlifts, you’re playing Russian Roulette with your body. You might not think so today, but as the years add up, there’s a price to pay, and it’s not a cheap one.

Ripping and tearing your body apart is not a good idea.

And I’m not just talking about trauma to the joints and skeletal system. I’m talking about trauma to the brain and nervous system.

You may think I’m off my rocker, but there’s a reason I train the way I do. There’s a reason I champion Power Postures training.

It’s the only type of training you can do that strengthens your body from head-to-toe while invigorating your brain and nervous system from a so-called resting state.

You’re “just standing there” but all these secondary muscles in the body are being worked in a way no other program can touch.

You’re opening your hip and knee joints, giving them increased blood circulation. And as you do so, your brain and nervous system are thanking you.

Everyday I am grateful for the health of my knees and hips.

There is no doubt that I traumatized the hell out of them when I was younger.

I am also grateful that I found a program that corrected and rehabilitated the injuries I gave myself over the years.

The fact that I have avoided the surgeon’s scalpel, saw and hammer thus far, when so many of my peers had the carpentry done to their bodies many years ago, gives me a bright vision for the future.

This is one of the many reasons I train the way I do.

It’s why I do my best to encourage others to follow my lead.

Power Postures is the way to go, I say.

When you’re ready to make a shift in the way you train, when you’re ready to give it a whirl, your body and your brain will be immensely grateful.

Here endeth the lesson.

Matt Furey