Bent over rows: 70kg/154lbs x8, 60kg/132lbs x12,10
Goblet squats: 2x15 with 32kg/71lbs
Incline DB bench press: 1x20 and 2x15 with 15kg/33lbs
Bicep curls:2x10
High angle Leg press machine: 1x20 (superset with 50 swings each set with 16kg/35lbs totalling 800)
NOTES
So today is a day I was not happy with. I am disappointed with having only got 13 on the 5+ set, realistically I should have hit a minimum of 20. Perhaps having done 200 swings before that set with little rest played a part.
I did 800 swings today instead of 360 as tomorrow I have an early start at work so initially wanted to hit 720 so tomorrows work was done and I could focus on the incline bench work without being too rushed. Obviously when I had hit 700 and only had 2 sets left, I decided to just continue doing 50 reps instead of hitting 720 and nothing else. Hopefully I don’t get muscle soreness from hell as payment for this
Seal rows: 2x15 and1x20 with 16kg/35lbs
Flat DB press: 2x10 with 22.5kg/50lbs
Tricep pushdown: 2x15
NOTES
Again not much to say. I am happy I got the KB swings out for today done yesterday because Wednesdays are a tad harder on time and the KB at the gym where I work are terrible.
The work felt ok today and I’m neither happy nor disappointed with the 5+ set. The goal for this whole cycle in respect to incline press is 10 reps on the + set every week
500 Total swings consisting of:
16kg/35lbs x100,100,70
20kg/44lbs x 50,40,40,40,30,30
NOTES
Not much to say. I got the goal of 360 swings in the first 5 sets (100,50,100,40,70) and had extra time so did more sets with the 20kg/44lbs KB.
I am currently 220 swings ahead of where I should be which is great considering I have a little wiggle room if I need to skip a few swings on Deadlift/ Squat days.
500 Total swings consisting of:
16kg/35lbs x120,100,80
20kg/44lbs x 50,50,50,50,50
NOTES
Well today it got apparent that the 16kg/35 KB is too light considering I managed to knock out 120 reps in the first round while being cold with no warm up.
I know the actual Dan Jon challenge has 16kg/35 KB for women and 24kg/53lbs for women but I
Don’t have access to a 24kg KB and the heaviest I can use is 20kg/44lbs
I stupidly thought that considering this was in addition to my 5/3/1 workouts that lighter would be better but I did not expect the swings to get so easy so fast.
I may just use the 20kg KB moving forward or aim for more reps than the 360 needed like I am doing atm. I am also considering sticking to my plan and using the lighter KB and re-doing the challenge at a later time (I mean I’ll have to diet again some point) with the heavier bell.
Squats: 77.5kg/171lbs x5, 87.5kg/193kbs x5 2x5 with 100kg/220lbs | 100kg/220lbs x11 (superset with 100 swings each set with 16kg/35lbs totalling 500)
Leg press: 2x20 + 1x10
Lex extensions: 2x20
Bent over rows: 70kg/154lbs x8 and 60kg/132lbs x12,10
Flat DB press: 1x30 with 15kg/33kbs and 1x20 with 20kg/44kbs
Bicep curls: 2x10 (superset with 30 swings each set with 20kg/44lbs totalling 360)
Extra swings
16kg/35lbs x100
20kg/44lbs x 40 Bringing todays total swings to 1,000
NOTES
So not happy with the 5+ set of squats and only getting 11 but not too concerned because it wasn’t a strength issue nor stamina issue but a technical issue. By the time I got to the top set I was sweating hard and for whatever reason the bar slid too far down my back during my 9th or 10th rep and I felt a sharp pain in my forearm as if all the weight was on my arm and not back so I re-racked. I’ve seen one too many low bar arm break to let ego take over.
I am however happy with my output today and grinding through the swings. No idea why I didn’t just stop at 500 after squats, but once I started doing 30 reps with the 20kg/44lbs kettlebell I realised it would take me to 360 (the daily goal) with the 12 sets of accessory work so I went with it. And there was no way I was ending the day on 860 swings when 1,000 was just so close.
2.5 miles walk done in just over 46 ( nearly 3 minutes slower than last week)
Not much to report. Legs felt beat up when waking but feel much better and fresher now. Didn’t set any PB times but the job got done in regards to aiding recovery.
Bench later today and I will aim for a minimum of 10 reps on the last + set
Bench press:45kg/99lbs x5, 52.5kg/116lbs x5, 2x5 with 57.5kg/127lbs | 57.5kg/127lbs x13 (superset with 100 swings each set with 16kg/35lbs totalling 500)
Seal rows: 2x15 and 1x20 with 16kg/35lbs
Flat bench press: 1x20 with 40kg/88lbs
Decline DB press: 2x15 with 25kg/55lbs
Weighted Crunches: 50 total reps over 4 sets (superset with 30 swings each set with 20kg/44lbs totalling 300)
NOTES
So today was again an ok day. The 5+ set was alright and managed more than the ‘bare minimum’ of 10. Again, I went extra on the swings to allow a tad of wiggle room if anything comes up.
Not much else to say so far, really just a period of keeping everything moving steadily for the next few weeks until I hit the gaining phase again
500 Kettlebell swings (broke into 10 sets of 50) with 20kg/44lbs
That is all. Did these as an E2MOM and cardio wise it was a killer. I am also starting to feel lower body tightness and soreness from these. My left hamstring and hip are not too happy with me so I will attempt to give them some love by way of foam rolling, stretching and other mobility.
Deadlift: 92.5kg/204lbs x5 105kg/231lbs x5, 2x5 with 120kg/264lbs | 120kg/264lbs x10
Bent over rows: 70kg/154lbs x8, 60kg/132lbs x12,10
Goblet squats: 2x15 with 32kg/71lbs
Flat DB bench press: 2x25 with 15kg/33lbs
Bicep curls:2x10
Leg extensions: 1x20 (superset with 40 swings each set with 20kg/44lbs totalling 600)
Session ‘buy out’: 100 kb swings with 16kg/35lbsbringing total swings to 800
NOTES
So not the best day but not the worst. I managed to hit my minimum requirement of 10 reps for the 5+ set but it was harder than expected. Ideally if fresh I would look to push for widowmakers with this weight but considering I’m in a deficit, accumulated a lot of KB swings in the last two weeks and did 260 swings before the 5+ set I won’t complain about getting 10. There is a time to push and this is not it.
The swings are now starting to expose weakness in the kinetic chain due to fatigue, which means I will now what to strengthen as a priority during the gaining phase.
500 Total swings consisting of:
Buy in: 16kg/35lbs x100
20kg/44lbs x 50,50,50,50,50,50
Buy out: 16kg/35lbs x100
NOTES
Not much to report. Today was a HARD day to wake up at 4 am and get to the gym before work, really had to mentally force myself. I got the swings I am now through 8,640/10,000 of the goal swings.
500 Total swings consisting of:
Buy in: 16kg/35lbs x100
20kg/44lbs x 60,60,60,60,60
Buy out: 16kg/35lbs x100
NOTES
Not much to report. Showed up, did my swings, left for work.
Looks like I am on course to get the 10K goal a week early (only 860 left) so I may just continue for a week and see how much I can push it or I may replace the swinging for another form of ‘cardio movement’.
Weight wise woke up at 138lbs (maybe hydration ?) which is a good sign the cut is doing it’s job and also a good sign that come next Sunday I will be ready to hit BBB and gain again
Leg press: 1x20 + 1x10
Lex extensions: 2x15
Hip thrusts: 2x20 with 60kg/132lbs
Bent over rows: 70kg/154lbs x8 and 60kg/132lbs x12,10
Decline DB press: 2x25 with 15kg/33lbs
Low cable row: 1x20 (superset with 50 swings each set with 20kg/44lbs totalling 850)
Buy out: 16kg/35lbs x100
Bringing todays total swings to 1,050
NOTES
So today was a decent day. Got the minimum requirement of 10 on the 5+ set and then focused on getting everything done. Got past the 10k mark with swings and may just continue for the remaining week and see where I end up.
Just want to mention that 20 reps of hip thrusts straight into 50 KB swings straight back to 20 reps of thrusts straight into 50 more swings was the dumbest thing ever. I felt like a Kardashian with the amount of blood flowing into that area!
I hope you plan a write-up of what you feel you got out of doing all them swings.
Would be interesting to know how much you thought it took away/gave to the rest of your training, any composition or fitness changes etc. One things for sure, hip-hinging must be feel a ton more natural now.
I am planning a write up/ summary next week about the 4 weeks with the swings being a big part of that.
If I end up letting the swings go and doing something else instead this week then I will do the swing summary separately
Seal rows: 2x15 and 1x20 with 16kg/35lbs
Incline bench press: 2x15 with 15kg/33lbs
Weighted Crunches: 2x25 (superset with 60 swings each set with 20kg/44lbs totalling 780)
NOTES
Well I didn’t manage to get 10 with the 5+ set which annoys me but isn’t the end of the world. Except for that nothing really worth mentioning. Continued with the swinging each set and I guess we will see what number I end up with.
Also weird things been happening since I got home from the gym. My right bicep is tremoring/shaking/ contracting randomly. No idea why
Notes
So I went in with the goal of getting the usual 500 but by pushing the reps just because mentally once I hit 10k I have ‘lost interest’ in swings.
I did an extra 30 to bring the total overall to 11,500 instead of leaving it at 11,470,
Bicep is still tremoring, and I also feel like my right foot is starting to turn out so that means more mobility work to resolve that.
