Remission Impossible - Strength Training Is Not Negotiable

By Henri Schmidt, CEO & Founder of Vbtec/Visionbody, Muscle Expert and Cancer Survivor

Everything changed for me just before Christmas 2023 when I received the news that I have head and neck cancer, I was shocked, scared, and desperate to act, to do something, anything, so I agreed with everything my doctors suggested. I did a biopsy, and what followed was a living hell for me: I did 3 months of chemotherapy and 40 rounds of radiation to my face and neck

The radiation burned everything inside my mouth and throat. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t drink, and I couldn’t even swallow, within a few months, I lost 65 kilograms and lost almost all of my strength.

I was alive, but barely.

The First Victory - and the Next Battle

After weeks of fear and exhaustion my scans finally showed what I had hoped and prayed for, finally, the cancer in my head and neck was gone, however, I didn’t get to be happy for too long, because in June 2024  the doctors gave me more devastating news, there were four new tumors in my lungs. I remember just staring, thinking, “Are you kidding me?” It completely threw me off, and this was the point when I started questioning everything, all the treatments and the advice people gave me, all the things I was told were the “right” choices, it suddenly occurred to me that if I really wanted to survive this, then I had to stop relying only on what I was told and start figuring out my own way of fighting back.

The Turning Point - Taking Back Control

I decided that I needed to help my body heal, repair, and give it the power to destroy every cancer cell that didn’t belong, so I completely changed my way of living. I started a ketogenic diet, began eating only one meal a day, and included fasting periods of up to 25 days into my monthly routine, I explained my routine at large in this article I wrote called  Metabolic Cycling: My 7-Day Plan for Energy, Cancer Pressure, and Muscle Building with Visionbody, you can give it a read if you want to find out more about it.

Besides changing my diet, I also tried to do everything in my power to keep my muscle mass because I  knew that without my muscles, I didn’t have a fighting chance against cancer. On days I felt too tired and didn’t have the strength for traditional training, I turned towards my own invention, the Visionbody EMS suit, and my infrared sauna, which helped me to activate my muscles, stimulate my blood circulation, and keep my metabolism alive and kicking 

This combination became my lifeline, the bridge between weakness and the strength that I needed.

The Battle With Bone Metastases

After all my efforts I received some amazing news, my test results showed that the lung tumors were gone. I was over the moon; finally, I could breathe properly again, pun intended. Unfortunately, cancer almost always comes back, and after being cancer-free for a while, I found out that it had started spreading to my bones, and my care team informed me that I had four new tumors along my spine.

But this time, I was ready, sure the fear was still there, the toll this sickness took on me was visible, but I had faith, because I had won the previous battles I knew now what I had to do and I was determined to win the battle with bone cancer as well, so I did what I had learned to do best: I fought back.

I kept training with my Visionbody EMS suit even on days I felt like doing nothing because the pain I was feeling felt crippling, and I was beyond tired, I also fasted again for 25 days. I ground my teeth and pushed through by keeping my determination and discipline, and after weeks of fighting with everything in me, I got a breakthrough; I got to be temporarily cancer-free.

Temporarily, because, again, after a while, I did some scans that revealed that the cancer cells were still present in my blood, and a small tumor in my back had reappeared, but this time, I already knew what needed to be done; I was no longer powerless.

My System - Life in Balance

Today, I live by following my metabolic cycling plan, pure discipline, and gratitude.

I keep my blood sugar consistently below 100, stay on a strict ketogenic lifestyle, and I combine:

• Visionbody EMS for muscle activation

• Infrared sauna for detox and recovery

• PEMF therapy for cellular stimulation

• Hydrogen inhalation and ozone therapy for mitochondrial and immune support

• Two IV infusions per week with 50g Vitamin C, Glutathione, and Vitamin B17 (Amygdalin) to boost detoxification and cellular health

I was blessed and lucky to have the support of the love of my life, my wife and partner, Krisztina through all of this pain and despair, through every time I felt it was too much and I couldn’t go on anymore, she is the one that was always in my corner, fighting with me, giving me strength and guiding me like a light when the pain and despair tried to consume me. She stood by me through every treatment, every night of pain, and every moment of doubt, without her love and without her support, I would not be where I am today. She is my anchor, and I am feeling beyond grateful to have the honor of spending my life with a woman as amazing as her.

All the tools I use, all the effort, pain, and resilience, together with her support, form the foundation of my personal healing system: a synergy of technology, nutrition, recovery, love, and willpower.

And the most important thing that I have learned is that strength training should be at the center of everything I do.

Muscle Is Life

“More cancer patients die from muscle loss than from cancer itself.”

When you stop moving, your body stops fighting. Muscle isn’t vanity, it’s medicine.

It’s your immune system. It’s the engine that keeps you alive.

And I built the technology that can help me keep that engine working myself.

Visionbody - The Technology That Saved My Life

My name is Henri Schmidt, and I am the CEO and Founder of Visionbody and VBTec, and in April 2014, I launched the world’s first wireless EMS system, Visionbody.

At the time, it was a revolution in fitness and performance technology.

Today, I know it was something far greater: Visionbody is the system that saved my life.

It helped me preserve my muscles, maintain my strength, and hold on to hope, even on the days when I had no energy left to move.

Now, it all makes sense.

My team and I are now able to help people around the world, whether they’re fighting cancer, struggling with muscle loss, living with chronic pain, or are simply trying to regain their health. I can now share my story and what I did in hopes that what helped me survive will help them too.

The Fight Continues

I haven’t completely recovered from cancer, I’m still fighting every single day. However, this fight has given me a clear mission: to help others build muscle quickly and effectively, to explain to them the importance of muscle mass in health and fighting disease and to help people improve their quality of life, their health, and their overall strength.

Because in the end, one truth remains: Strength training is not negotiable.

Muscles are life. And life is worth fighting for.

My mission is not completed.