6 rounds of:
a) 10 swing, 1 goblet squat
b) 15 swing, 2 goblet squat
c) 25 swing, 3 goblet squat
d) 50 swing
e) 3-minute rest Time: 27:29
Swings: 1800/6000(-ish)
Goblets squats at 65 lbs, because that’s the heaviest DB I have. And it’s WAY too light. Think I’ll replace these with BB front squats, maybe at 135 or something—that should be in keeping with the spirit of the goblet squat as a strength movement but allow me to challenge myself at the same time. But I’m still drenched in sweat, I still got the HR up, and I still knocked out another 600 swings.
Kept the between-round rest periods to under 90 seconds this time around, and I averaged less than 5 minutes per round. I forgot to clock myself at the end of 5 rounds, but whatever—that data’s not really relevant at the moment anyway.
I was definitely dialed in this afternoon, and I was surprised how good it felt to be moving again.
6 rounds of:
a) 10 swing, 1 chin
b) 15 swing, 2 chin
c) 25 swing, 3 chin
d) 50 swing
e) 3-minute rest Time: 34:48
Swings: 2400/6000(-ish)
Fasted. Chins at 25 lbs, might be able to increase that to 30-35 lbs. Between-round rest periods below 90 seconds this morning, came in under 6 minutes per round on average. Feeling good!
Tuesday - 11 October 2022 Workout: Swing, 1700-1730 (30 minutes)
6 rounds of:
a) 10 swing
b) 15 swing
c) 25 swing
d) 50 swing
e) 3-minute rest Time: 25:18
Swings: 3000/6000(-ish)
Kept the intra-round rest periods to 15 seconds or less, and the between-round rest periods to 90 seconds or less. It’s interesting (but not surprising) that 6 rounds of back-to-back-to-back-to-back swings are somehow harder than when interspersing a strength movement.
Anyway, I’m now halfway to my original goal, but only 1/4 of the way through the planned time period—10K in 12 days is definitely in my sights!
6 rounds of:
a) 10 swing, 1 press
b) 15 swing, 2 press
c) 25 swing, 3 press
d) 50 swing
e) 3-minute rest Time: 35:40
Swings: 3600/6000(-ish)
Fasted. Drenched in sweat, but I smashed it. Press at 145 lbs today, and that’s just right: the last several reps on the last round or two left me begging for mercy—I wasn’t in danger of missing, but they were a challenge!
6 rounds of:
a) 10 swing, 2 dip
b) 15 swing, 3 dip
c) 25 swing, 5 dip
d) 50 swing
e) 3-minute rest Time: 37:04
Swings: 4200/6000(-ish)
Dips at 90 lbs today, and that’s just about right. Swings felt slow-ish, but my pace held up. Calluses have been expanding since Day 1, but my first blister appeared this afternoon—I must be progressing, haha!
6 rounds of:
a) 10 swing, 1 front squat
b) 15 swing, 2 front squat
c) 25 swing, 3 front squat
d) 50 swing
e) 3-minute rest Time: 36:35
Swings: 4800/6000(-ish)
Fasted. Front squats at 185 lbs today. WTF was I thinking!?! Oh yeah, “I want a good challenge.” Well there you go, SvenG—that was a good challenge.
Fact is, I managed it alright. But I hate front squats, even when they’re not tabata!
Daughter’s last regular season volleyball game is this afternoon, but I’m still hoping to get in another session. It’ll be swings & chins if the scheduling works!
Edit: I should probably change the “e) 3-minute rest” to “e) 90-second rest” or something, because I haven’t really come anywhere close to even 2 minutes lately and usually they’re just less than 90 seconds… But mostly I’m just lazy and forgetful, so that change never happens. Maybe tomorrow?
Thanks, my friend! I’m feeling great—much better than I was coming into (and then through most of) Hardgainers.
That one wore me down, to be honest. It’s a great template and I’ll run it again, but I tackled it during the early days of my job change, and that was impacting lots of other life circumstances, so I was utterly spent by the end of it.
To be fair, that might have been true for any work I could’ve been running during that time. Likewise, Hardgainers might have worn me down even if life circumstances had been ideal… Who knows!?!
But I digress: This swing challenge is awesome in it’s own way. It’s near-constant motion for 30-40 minutes, it gets the HR up without redlining for too long, with the strength movements worked in I feel like each session is a solid full-body workout, the workouts themselves move quickly, and it’s some time away from the barbell—but not too far (I’m still pressing and doing front squats with the BB) and not too long (because I’ve compressed the timeline). I also feel like I’m leaning out a bit without really trying—that’s probably just the nature of the work, but I’ll take it!
Bottom line: If you’re looking for a change of pace, I’d highly recommend it!
Looks like you are enjoying the change of pace mate. Have you noticed any changes in your energy levels, motivation, appetite or overall body soreness ?
And yes, I’ve noticed changes in almost everything you mention:
I’m not ready to run a marathon in the evening, but I’m also not as drained as I usually am after the PM workouts.
I’m excited to hit the sessions each morning, and the afternoons aren’t such a mental battle at the moment.
My appetite is steady but I don’t feel like I need to stuff my face just to be sure I’m ready to go the next morning—I stop eating when I’m full, and that’s a nice change of pace. (It also probably contributes to “leaning out a bit without really trying” I mentioned above!)
I haven’t noticed changes in my level of soreness, however: Maybe I just don’t work hard enough under normal circumstances, but unless I’ve been away from the barbell for several weeks, I don’t really get sore much these days, and that remains true in my current routine as well.
6 rounds of:
a) 10 swing, 1 chin
b) 15 swing, 2 chin
c) 25 swing, 3 chin
d) 50 swing
e) 90-second rest Time: 33:25
Swings: 5400/6000(-ish)
Another fantastic 6 rounds! Chins at 35 lbs today and—dare I say it!?!—I might be able to bump that up another 10 lbs. I haven’t done weighted chins in a long time, maybe even ever (?), but I’ve been doing a fair amount of unweighted chin-up volume over the past year or so, and I think that’s paying off now that I’m strapping extra weight to myself and hitting low reps.
Swings felt slow-ish again, at least compared to this morning, but once again they were steady and my pace was rock solid. Rest periods were almost non-existent: getting in and out of my dip belt for the chins is rest enough, it seems!
My only regret to this point: not doing two sessions the first day! I could’ve been at 6000 swings today if I had. Oh well, no trouble: if I can keep up my two-a-day pace, I’ll hit 12K in 12 days, and that’s not too shabby!
