Replies to come, but I did a quick test doing 20 rounds of 22 swings with daily work filling the remainder of the minute. I finished with 30 seconds remaining on good rounds.
Inital impression is that hand skin integrity will be the limiter, followed by grip. Not afraid to use straps to address both. Also considering gardening gloves vs lifting gloves.
Will give day 1 a try tomorrow and evaluate from there
@atlas13 Iām taking no chances, believe me.
@heretolog Major props from you dude!
@aholding88 Dude, I canāt wait to see how it turns out! Be sure to grab some video. Low to high handle is an effective form of self murder for sure, haha.
You already do like 50-60 swings at least a day with double 24ās and your conditioning is ridiculous. Now the question is multiple shorter sessions or longer?
Hey I had a question on jumps and throws in building the monolith, should I do 10 of each? Like 2x5 box jumps, 2x5 med ball. Wasnāt sure if the recommended total on these 10 or 20? Or none at all.
@jwlake06 Just gonna make it my daily big workout at this point. When the weekend rolls around I might piece it out, just to be more social.
For jumps/throws, I wouldnāt put too much thought into it. I only ever did jumps, and would do 4-5x3 for that.
AM WORKOUT (0325 natural wake up) FASTED
EAT THE BIG ELEPHANT FIRST: 10k SWING CHALLENGE IN 7 DAYS
22 KB swings w/24kgb bell, EMOM for 65 minutes
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
50 burpee chins in 5:57
20 standing ab wheels
40x90 Reverse hypers
50 pull aparts
25 pushdowns
100x5lb āchaos curlsā
30 GHRs
Notes:
It looks like this is for real. The pilot run yesterday was valuable, and I woke up this morning feeling fine enough. All my connective tissue aches from the hard training but the swings from yesterday honestly seem tonic, and they donāt bug anything that hurts, so this honestly may be a bit of kismet. Iāve always wanted to take on this challenge and just didnāt have the schedule flexibility for it, and now my hand is forced.
The workout itself honestly wasnāt awful. Itās an endurance race, and toward round 50 I wasnāt feeling happy, but I was never winded, just felt the heart rate tick up. Planning on taking it to 24 reps per round next time so I can shave it down to 60 rounds. Thatās 1440 vs 1430, which will mean finishing with 10070 when itās overā¦or I can save 70 reps somewhere down the road. Although having those extra 70 there can honestly be decent āmiscount insuranceā. Very fair chance the reps per round will keep ticking up anyway: chaos is the plan.
Some things that pilot run taught me: despite all my āarmor buildingā, I needed armor for this. You can see the mechanic gloves Iām wearing, and Iām glad I bought a 3 pack, because theyāre soaked from this. Iām also wearing some fight shorts on top of my traditional strongman shorts, because Iāve found that my wrists/forearms will run raw against the material otherwise. And I have my belt on for a similar reason. Basically, anywhere thatās a touch point needs to be covered with extra material, because 1000+ reps will find the weak points in your skin. I STILL got a small hot spot on my ring finger through it all, which means, absent the armor, I would have been shredded.
Really tried to focus on being explosive and snapping the bell down, but the workout is so long that itās easy to lose focus.
Yes: I am playing Rival Sonās āKeep on Swingingā on a loop for 65 minutes, because thatās funny.
Pleased with the intensity I brought to the burpee chins after the fact. I was gassed. And my plan for later is to hit up legit TABEARTA later for my 4 minute insanity. Burpee chins and TABEARTA definitely answer any of the questions that the 10k swing challenge asks.
The āChaos curlsā were just me using a whole bunch of wild angles to try to get my left bicep to remember how to contract and work through some of itās pain. I am curious if I experienced some sort of nerve damage or perhaps some sort of tearing, as itās hard to contract the muscle fully at present, but it seems to be healing a bit more each day.
Treating nutrition like a diet break this week. Not going to force feed, but will respond to hunger. Iām thinking a fasted hour of swinging a kettlebell will generate a touch of that.
Iām sure @Dagill2 will dig the program name: a tribute to Danās āMass Made Simpleā advice combined into one. I was legit thinking about making this program a combination of a bunch of bad Dan John ideas, and including Tabata thrusters as well, but I think TABEARTA is close enough.
Love the program name, and any reference to Dan John in general.
I also really, really love the idea of making a program out of all the bad Dan John ideas. I think you could make something hideous out of it. The Big 21, Mass Made Simple Squats, Complexes, Litvinovs, high rep swings and a whole load of loaded carries. I can almost smell the Rhabdo.
@dagill2 I knew Iād have a fan in you there! Still gotta give some love for your summary of the Mass Made Simple book. One of my favorite re-reads. And all bus-bench program sounds like a tremendously awful idea. Gotta make it happen some day.
Feeling a āshotgun oāthoughtsā coming on here, typically happens on a deload week.
Why take on the 10k swing challenge in the first place? Iāve always wanted to do this program and didnāt have a schedule for it. Well, being on a deload and with the small injuries Iāve racked up, this is just about perfect. Swings are one of the few things that ARENāT hurting me, and since my deadlift has been compromised, all this hip hinging is bound to be good for me. While letting the calories dip a little, this should also help re-ignite my hunger. Being 100% transparent: it sucks being bloated all the time in a gaining phase. I dislike looking at myself and seeing my distended gut filled with food. First thing in the morning I look human again, but otherwise it plays with my brain. Easiest way to overcome that aversion is to take on a ridiculously challenging program and to do those things that ignite the appetite, so Iām looking at a 2 in one here.
Chaos is the plan, and, in turn, chaos can meet chaos. Originally, I was going to roll the die and let randomness dictate the 3-6 minute insanity break, but given the limitations while working around my bicep AND knowing what my primary workouts are going to be now, for this week at least, Iām sticking with TABEARTA with 3 complexes per round. Itās 4 minutes, it sucks, and it makes me work hard. Only bit inconvenience is having to set up for it, but I can get that taken care of ahead of time so I can just roll into my garage and smash it.
Iām considering discontinuing my use of Surge because it works TOO well. Iām contemplating if my recent string of injuries is a byproduct of my ability to dig MUCH deeper into the well than usual. Thinking that all my normal ābehind the 8-ballā stuff about getting up early and training underfed was working as a natural governor to keep me from exceeding beyond my reach.
Need to get my TMs sorted for the next training block. Everything is gonna drop WAY down so I can actually get some value out of it.
Got my annual physical today. Getting vitals taken the morning that I did 1430 swings probably wasnāt great, but I was at 111/70 blood pressure with a 51 RHR. Actually getting a testosterone/thyroid panel and blood lipids later too, so thatāll be good. Also got a referral to podiatry, because my right foot got taken over by plantar warts over the course of the last year, and it requires medical intervention
I made chorizo out of turkey breasts and beef liver, and I made gyros today with chicken thighs, pork loin chops and sliced turkey breasts. Iāve offended all cultures. ā¦but they actually were all pretty good.
Since youāve mentioned it, iāve been trying to wrangle some sort of vaguely cohesive program out of it, but i just canāt make it make sense.
Have you consideredā¦
PM WORKOUT (1610)
TABEARTA, 3 complexes per round
Notes: This is still fantastically awful, and rounds out the long slow burn of the swings.
I am feeling particularly fatigued right now, but part of that might be the herculean-esque load of dishes I took on after dinner. Definitely Augean Stables level. Which reminds me that I want to name a workout or series of workouts after the 12 labors.
Iām thinking shorter rounds vs more swings tomorrow. Staying at 10010 is a bit more pleasing. Oh man, now I think I might need to swing to this song
Surge defo helped reduce fatigue for me on the swings.
Doing 10k in 7 daysā¦ you are a madman. Or a geniusā¦
(Not having your posts in your log being yellow is also slightly annoying for me. First world problem).
@raven78 Huh, I just noticed that color thing now that you mention it. Weird. Appreciate the accolades! Iāll definitely vector toward crazy, haha. Amazingly, not experiencing much in the way of swing fatigue. I think the lack of hard eccentric is going a long way.
AM WORKOUT (0322 Natural Wakeup) FASTED
EAT THE BIG ELEPHANT FIRST: 10k SWING CHALLENGE IN 7 DAYS: Day 2 of 7
65 rounds of 22kb swings w/24kg bell every 55 seconds
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
TABEARTA w/95lbs, 3 complexes per round
50 pull aparts
25 pushdowns
100 āchaos curlsā w/5lbs
20 standing ab wheels
40x90 reverse hypers
38 burpee chins in 5 minutes
Notes:
Decided to go with shorter rounds vs more swings per minute and it was the right call. This will keep me at 10010 swings in 7 days and it upped the challenge enough to remove the boredom. By about round 48 I was not having a good time. I think just a gradual tick down in time will go a long way.
I can see the value in shorter workouts here: itās easy to get lax/lose focus when these go on forever. Iām definitely getting in some garbage reps, but, as the saying goes, āQuantity has a quality all on its ownā
I AM finding that my rep quality is getting better in general though, which imagine that. Also, last night, I experienced myoclonic jerks of my glutes contracting. Howās that for dialed in?
The āarmorā is holding up well and continues to be a fantastic decision.
Holy FāK TABEARTA after all those swings. THAT is some real honest work. I got through 3 complexes per round all the way until the 8th. On the 8th round, I had to dip into the 10 second rest period to get it done. Thatās a GOOD sign for a Tabata effort. And then ending it with the burpee chins was a fantastic cherry on top.
Bicep is healing well with those chaos curls. Wondering pain is now impacting the left IT band, but TABEARTA tends to inflame that a bit.
Long day today, so got in most of the training all in one shot
I mixed in some cashew milk with my egg whites in my protein shake today just to add a little volume and I think I might keep that up. Thereās practically nothing in the cashew milk, but it makes the drink a bit smoother on the guts.
Iāve dropped a lot of the bloat I was carrying. Iām sure these 7 days are going to sweat out any Crisco Iāve accumulated.
How many rounds of bear complexes you doing?
With Tabata, you do 8 rounds of 20 seconds on/10 seconds off for a total of 4 minutes. This is a VERY @Dan_John inspired training session, haha.
Classic Dan John. I shoulda known
What an idea. Iām definitely here for that.
@dagill2 I have SO many things I want to name stuff after, haha. Inspires me to come up with the workouts.
AM WORKOUT (0325 Natural Wake Up) FASTED
EAT THE BIG ELEPHANT FIRST: 10k SWING CHALLENGE IN 7 DAYS: Day 3 of 7
65 rounds of 22 swings w/24kg bell
52 seconds per round
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
TABEARTA w/95lbs, 3 complexes per round
50 pull aparts
25 pushdowns
100 chaos curls
20 standing ab wheels
43 burpee chins in 5 minutes (5 reps better than yesterday)
Notes:
4290/10000 swings done. 9 minutes faster than my initial time ofā¦2 days ago. 52 second rounds mean 18 seconds of rest between swings, and whatās crazy is that it was 18 seconds from round 1 to round 65. Iāve become alarmingly consistent. Iām living by that metronome sound.
52 seconds per round is DEFINITELY where the suck lives. Enough time to recover, but barely. The benefit is that the āboredomā isnāt there. You really gotta stay sharp through out, because those rest times vanish pretty rapidly.
Developing a small blister on my right ring finger and right big toe. Getting that blister through those gloves is a testament to how much this can beat you up.
Still focusing on driving hard on the swings and snapping back into place. Still getting feedback that my swings look weird. Gotta love the internet.
Holy fāk again TABEARTA after all those swings is AWFUL. I got 3 per round for the first 7, the 8th I had to dip into the rest period again. I was floored when it was done. And then closing it with the burpee chins did it all over again. Much like how the Velocity diet is a 28 day shotgun blast of fat loss, I feel like Iāve stumbled upon a 1 week solution to fix your conditioning. The swings are the long slow burn, and then you chase it with 9 minutes of hell.
Tang Soo Do sparring night tonight, so even MORE conditioning.
I am appreciating how high speed/low drag this whole situation has been. Training fasted means less to think about in the morning, and then I just grab the bell and go. I know EXACTLY what I am doing and where I am going. No thinking needed.
Waiting on my kidās Tang Soo Do class and I think I have my TMs set fot Hardgainer
Squat: 480
Bench: 280
Deadlift: 505
Press: 190
All significant drops from Beefcake, which is what I need. Will be able to get some reps in, and hopefully I will have some pulls by then
I just figured your latest work/posts was more deserved of a comment than me just liking them, so here it is:
Iām am still in awe of what youāre able to accomplish. Not only in the weight room, but juggling work and family life alongside it. Nothing short of amazing!
@littlesleeper Very much appreciated dude! Game recognizes game as well: youāre absolutely crushing it on your end. I love the standard of excellence thatās being established.
AM WORKOUT (0331 Natural Wake Up) FASTED
EAT THE BIG ELEPHANT FIRST: 10k SWING CHALLENGE IN 7 DAYS: Day 4 of 7
65 rounds of 22 swings w/24kg bell
51 seconds per round
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
TABEARTA w/95lbs, 3 complexes per round
50 pull aparts
25 pushdowns
100 chaos curls
20 standing ab wheels
39 burpee chins in 5 minutes
Notes:
5720/10000 accomplished: over halfway there
Thereās misery hiding inside of that 1 second. Every time I take 1 away, it makes the whole workout 1:05 shorter, and Iām almost at a full 10 minutes faster than when I started this adventure. The difference in rest time is very appreciable. I have just about enough time between rounds to turn away from the timer and pretend that itās not there before I turn back around and start it over. Went with Green Dayās āInsomniacā album in celebration of these oādark stupid workouts and me naturally waking up at 0331.
Based off some feedback, I was trying to get my torso a little more horizontal on the eccentric, but, again, itās too easy to space out over the course of so many rounds.
I appreciated how much faster this workout moved. No room for boredom: suddenly Iām already halfway done. Itās a different kind of misery when youāre at round 4 and know youāve got 61 more to go.
TABEARTA was kinda funny today. Mrs slept in, which meant I couldnāt just drop the bar from overhead onto the crash mats like I normally do to save time/energy, so I ended up following it up, and it seemed like I moved FASTER because of that. Still got beat by the clock on the 8th round, but not nearly as bad as usual.
Burpee chins werenāt as quick as yesterday, which I imagine was due to the short time between TABEARTA and the chins. Normally I can throw in a bit more fluff.
Bicep continues to improve through those chaos curls. Really doing my best to find the pain spot and grind it out. Also focusing on bicep contraction vs just moving weight.
No idea what Iāll do for the next few days to make this continue to be nutty. Chaos is the plan.
Good to hear that the bicep is improving as you work through the chaos. It really is incredible watching you work through those swings. It seems like I take my hat off to you so often I am thinking I should just throw the damn hat in the trash. Respect mate.
