I finished the 10000 swing challenge today in 29 days. I wanted to post this so anyone thinking about doing this that might have questions will get them answered. I also wanted to post this because throughout the challenge I like to ready about other people that did the challenge and there feelings/results.
I tried to stick to the program as much as possible. I was unable to stick to the rest/work schedule because of my job. I work an overnight shift in a physically demanding job and I also have day time overtime that I work to. I would just get my workouts in when I could, with no real schedule for rest or work. If I could workout I would if not Id take it as a rest day. I followed the 10-15-25-50 cluster the whole time. For my strength movements I did bench@275/dip 70lb/chins 70lbs/front squats 225lbs. I kept that the same the whole time. I used a 53lb bell for the first 5000 and for the second I upped it to the 70lb bell. I’ll get into that later.
My first workout took me roughly 37min not terrible grip was smoked but nothing insane. By the end of my 2000 work out I was a mess. Grip was gone traps hammies glutes forearms were done. I had a rest day after that thankfully and then got to my swings only day. Grip came back to me a little and It wasn’t as hard to hold on to the bell as before. By the time I got to the 5000 mark I was able to knockout a workout in 22 ish min and felt my body adapting to the work load. I wasn’t as waisted after each set of 500 so that’s why I upped it to the 70lb. Now my friends this was a soul sapper. First workout took me 50ish min.
My first squat day was terrible. Thought my hamstrings were gonna explode. Grip got destroyed again and I was back to feeling like hammered dog shit after. That was probably the hardest day. The only “plus” was the handle was wider on the 70lb bell and it was easier to grip. When I was at like 7000 swing, I think, some one was giving me a hard time about not going to 12oclock with the bell (someone who was not doing kettleBell swings, you know the type) so just to shut them up I did my last 100 of the day all the way up.
Here’s what I learned. The Russian is better because you should be throwing the weight down and when going to 12oclock with it gravity pulls it down and it’s easier to loose control meaning not as much muscle tension through the swing and the 12oclock position takes wayyyyyy to long fuck that I’m doing 10000 swings here. When I got to the last 3 days I lost a bet in the gym and had to knock out the last 1500 in 2 days. So I did the regular 500 each day with my exercise but did the extra 250 just swings. I know that wasn’t part of the program and I didn’t change it because I thought it was better.
The last 50 of the 10000 were magical. I honestly don’t think I have ever been so motivated to complete a workout in my life. When I was done I smashed the kettlebell down and slapped all the chips over and walked around like a freaken boss for a few min. I was pretty proud of myself and feeling really good about what I accomplished. I’m still not over it and it’s been like 10hrs I feel like I just won the title.
Throughout the challenge I found myself talking myself into starting each cluster. Usually once I hit 300 the last 200 would come without much convincing. I didn’t use gloves. Just tape on hot stops where needed and chalk.
I started at 224lbs and ended at 208. I was 22% BF and got down to 18% (I used a neck hip waist forearm measurement to guide my success. Not 100% accurate but something I could measure.) lost 3 inches off my gut and 2 off my waist. Abs are starting to peek out for the first time in a long time. I have had a ton of complements over the past couple weeks on how good I look. I max deadlifted 435lbs the week prior to starting this. I will max in a few days to see what gains I’ve made. I was really surprised how much my grip effected my bench and dips in the early days. By the end it became more about principle and finishing.
If your thinking about doing this I would highly recommend it. I’m nothing but happy with the way this all turned out. Lower back never hurt. It was tight on squat days usually but never hurt just felt like all the rest of my muscles. Anyway that’s my journey to 10,000 swing is any questions comments please feel free to post. Remember this is just a challenge not a long term workout program take it for what it is a challenge. Trust me it is.
Nice write up. Big props for jumping up to the 70 pounder. 500 swings with that is no joke, especially when you hit the sets of 50. I’ve had super big swing days like this, but never day after day like this program calls for. It’s definitely on my list, though.
[quote]alpha_mike wrote:
Congratulations on the accomplishment of completing the challenge, as well as losing the weight and getting stronger.[/quote]
Congratulations on a job well done. I also completed the challenge, but, due to work, it was 33 days and I only had a 24kg kettle bell to work with, and, even that was a total bitch. Good Job, most people dont realize how mentally hard it is to complete the challenge. Respect to you, Sir.
"The last 50 of the 10000 were magical. I honestly don’t think I have ever been so motivated to complete a workout in my life. When I was done I smashed the kettlebell down and slapped all the chips over and walked around like a freaken boss for a few min. I was pretty proud of myself and feeling really good about what I accomplished. I’m still not over it and it’s been like 10hrs I feel like I just won the title. "
I max deadlifted (no belt, no wraps) 1rep 435lbs before I started this challebege. I maxed out my deadlift today…3 days after the challenge was completed. Crushed my record! I mean crushed it. Hit 475lbs today! So stoked. That’s a 40lb jump in 30 days. I deadlift regularly so this isn’t some kinda newbie gain. I have been stuck around that weight for a while. Usually my grip gives out. For the first time ever when deadlifting my grip was something I didn’t have to worry about. BAM!
[quote]ChaosHarmonized wrote:
I max deadlifted (no belt, no wraps) 1rep 435lbs before I started this challebege. I maxed out my deadlift today…3 days after the challenge was completed. Crushed my record! I mean crushed it. Hit 475lbs today! So stoked. That’s a 40lb jump in 30 days. I deadlift regularly so this isn’t some kinda newbie gain. I have been stuck around that weight for a while. Usually my grip gives out. For the first time ever when deadlifting my grip was something I didn’t have to worry about. BAM! [/quote]
That’s fantastic. I considered this myself but after a few days the skin on my hands was coming off. Using tape would fix that I think so I’ll start after this phase of 531.
I have a few questions. What was your goal before the challenge and what program if any were you using.
Did you adjust your diet for this challenge (extra cards?)
How did your squat n bench etc compare before n after? I don’t want to lose gains in strength. Although I know my deadlift would benefit.
Thanks for sharing all these details, and congratulations on such great progress!
I’d also like to know if you made any adjustments on your diet. You lost a good amount of fat, so I’m curious if this was all due to the program or if diet played a role? What kind of shape were in you in before? Were you doing cardio or swings previously or did you jump right in?
As far as diet went, I really just cleaned it up , cut out all the junk and made sure I was taking in the right amount of calories. I didn’t have an exact diet. A lot of fish, chicken and rice. I made sure I was eating every 3-4 hours. As far as carbs go I didn’t limit my self on carbs because the work load was crushing so I needed the extra fuel.
Plus I have a pretty physical job that requires a higher calorie diet anyway. I’m sure my diet did it’s part in helping me loose fat along with the challenge. If you read the original article Im not to far off from the original guys that did the challenge.
I started crossfit because I needed a change (I know I don’t even lift) like 5 months ago. Before crossfit I was your typical lifter. Been working out pretty hard since high school (I’m 31 now) all through my career in the army until present time. I usually do crossfit 3 days a week and do an upper body, lower body split 2 days a week.
So my typical week would look something like this. Monday upper body (bench, weighted pull ups, rows, etc). Crossfit tue-thur. Fri lower body (squats, deadlifts, lunges etc).
I didn’t max bench or squat before hand but since I’m back on a normal routine my bench has stayed the same 325ish. I did rep out 225 for 20 last week but not sure what I was at before. my squat has remained the same 385lbs out of the hole I’m a lot more explosive.
I have noticed my hip flexibility as gone way up on my squat. I chose deadlift as a measurement because In my opinion it is a better judge of raw strength.
As far as your hands getting ripped up. Get some full finger gloves. No shame in wearing gloves here.
My goal before the challenege was just to finish it. Its a challenge so I took it at that. Of course there will be some results but I’m a firm believer in you get out what you put in.
I believe I’m going to buy a bell and start this today. I banged up my knee at work (I also do a physical job) and I’ve got an important fitness test coming up mid January. Shuttle runs, burpees, jump rope and my other go to’s hurt, but I can get away with swings.
I’ve got a pair of mechanix gloves for the purpose. I can’t afford to mangle my hands as they are my money makers and I beat on them pretty hard all day.
Do it! We expect to hear back in 30 days. You deff need full finger gloves if you don’t wanna mess your hands up. My pinkies got pretty ripped up on the sides.
[quote]ChaosHarmonized wrote:
Do it! We expect to hear back in 30 days. You deff need full finger gloves if you don’t wanna mess your hands up. My pinkies got pretty ripped up on the sides. [/quote]
Alright, I’m in.
Just finished the first workout, 46:25 total time. Ass=kicked.
Will check back in 30.
Cheers!
Edit: I would definitely not attempt this without some decent, full finger gloves. I think the Mechanix will work fine. As a bonus, they look kinda badass with workout kit.
A few years back I was doing something similar, 600 single arm swings in a session, 100 rep sets, 3 days a week. The alternate days were 400 reps of single arm jerks, 16kg. After 3 months I broke all my barbell PB’s - fractured my patella a few days after hitting 3 months and never built back into such a workload.
I did the challenge in 4 weeks. Did 32kg bells (70lb’s) by about week two. Grip strength was definitely the limiting factor in progress. After a while the cardio part comes easy its the damn lactic acid in the forearms!
Went from 15.6% BF down to 13.3% BF, and I wasn’t eating very well at the time due to being displaced from my house.
Congrats on finishing it. Not easy, but simple.
I didn’t do strength in between but rather 50 push ups and 30 pulls ups after each swing session.
[quote]ChaosHarmonized wrote:
I max deadlifted (no belt, no wraps) 1rep 435lbs before I started this challebege. I maxed out my deadlift today…3 days after the challenge was completed. Crushed my record! I mean crushed it. Hit 475lbs today! So stoked. That’s a 40lb jump in 30 days. I deadlift regularly so this isn’t some kinda newbie gain. I have been stuck around that weight for a while. Usually my grip gives out. For the first time ever when deadlifting my grip was something I didn’t have to worry about. BAM! [/quote]