Ha! Glad that I could…uh, inspire?
Get yourself a real KB. Seriously. Once you buy a real KB and start swinging with that, you’ll wonder why you ever used this contraption that you’ve described above. You’ll also probably be able to handle a bit more weight with a bit less grief in your grip.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
325 swings with a 23# bell
January totals: 14 miles, 2200 swings
Thursday, January 22, 2015
4 mile walk
January totals: 18 miles, 2200 swings
Saturday, January 24, 2015
1 mile walk/jog breathing however I can in the 25 knot wind
10 (2 pushups) 15 (3 pushups) 25 (5 pushups) 50
10 (2 pushups) 15 (3 pushups) 25 (5 pushups) 50
10 (2 pushups) 15 (3 pushups) 25 (5 pushups) 50
10 (2 pushups) 15 (3 pushups) 25 (5 pushups) 25 and 25 swings with a 23lb bell
January totals: 19 miles, 2600 swings
Sunday, January 25, 2015
1 mile walk/jog, breathing still rough. There’s a lot of junk in the air and my respiratory system is not happy.
300 swings, 25lbs, had to break up the last set of 50.
January totals, 20 miles, 2900 swings
So, after looking around at kettlebells… I made a T-handle, aka Hungarian core blaster. I just couldn’t see spending a minimum of $50 on a fixed weight object when I already have plenty of weight. I also have no interest in doing KB cleans or snatches. I learned some of that during my Crossfit days and I just didn’t take to that stuff. For $25 in parts, I have an adjustable implement I can currently load between 3 and 70 lbs.
I tried it out and found the pain factor rose (again), so I just did 300 swings with no accessory movements. I’m sure I’ll adapt pretty quickly.
Monday, January 26, 2015
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50
Swings with 25lbs, Squats with 25lbs
January totals: 20 miles, 3300 swings
Notes: First time getting 4 sets of 50. Total time of just swings and squats was 33:28. Pretty happy with that.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
1.5 mile walk
Lots of stretching and foam rolling. My hamstrings are taking a beating from all the swings, so I really worked them today.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
10 (1 dumbbell press) 15 (2 dumbbell presses) 25 (3 dumbbell presses) 50
10 (1 dumbbell press) 15 (2 dumbbell presses) 25 (3 dumbbell presses) 50
10 (1 dumbbell press) 15 (2 dumbbell presses) 25 (3 dumbbell presses) 25, 25
Swings with 25 lbs, Presses with 15 lbs
1 mile recovery walk
January totals 22.5 miles, 3600 swings
Notes: Rather than kill myself to get to 5,000 swings and then start on 10,000 swings on February 1, I’m taking a back off week. I tried walking after my swings to see if that helps loosen me up because my hamstrings feel like they’re going to snap. Also, I’m getting some elbow pain, especially on my sets of 50. It feels like my elbows are getting yanked loose. I started doing a few straight bar curls with my 15 lb bar in between sets to combat this. I also may need to play with form. I’m thinking if I tense my arms more I’ll avoid the elbow issues.
It will be interesting to see what I need to do during February to keep myself healthy for all those swings.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
10,000 Swings Day 1
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50
Swings 25lbs, Goblet Squats 25 lbs
Correctives: Straight bar curls and hamstring stretches
Session time 41:06
Notes: Not a bad first day. I made it through all 5 sets of 50 without having to break anything up. Feeling good about that.
I know a lot of people who have loved the 10,000 Swings plan. I am interested what you thoughts on it are going to be
[quote]Alpha wrote:
I know a lot of people who have loved the 10,000 Swings plan. I am interested what you thoughts on it are going to be[/quote]
Yeah, I’m “looking forward” to it. My conditioning is not great right now, so I’m hoping to really improve that and come back to a combination of strength and conditioning training in much better shape. We’ll see!
Monday, February 2, 2015
10,000 Swings Day 2
10 (1 dumbbell press) 15 (2 dumbbell presses) 25 (3 dumbbell presses) 50
10 (1 dumbbell press) 15 (2 dumbbell presses) 25 (3 dumbbell presses) 50
10 (1 dumbbell press) 15 (2 dumbbell presses) 25 (3 dumbbell presses) 50
10 (1 dumbbell press) 15 (2 dumbbell presses) 25 (3 dumbbell presses) 50
10 (1 dumbbell press) 15 (2 dumbbell presses) 25 (3 dumbbell presses) 40, 10
Swings 25lbs, Presses 20 lbs
Correctives: Straight bar curls and hamstring stretches
Session time 37:01
Notes: My abs were just screaming by the end of this session. I had to break up my last round of 50 for a couple of seconds to get my breath, but I did finish quicker than Day 1.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
10,000 Swings Day 3
10, 15, 25, 50 swings x5 with 25lbs
Session Time 41:34
Notes: So, we had a stomach bug in my household which took me out for a few days. After day 2 I felt like I had done 1,000 situps, my abs were cramped so badly. Fun stuff.
Started back with “just” swings. It looks like I lost a bit of endurance, but nothing too terrible.
Monday, February 9, 2015
10,000 Swings Day 4
10 (1 rack chin) 15 (2 rack chins) 25 (3 rack chins) 50 swings x5 with 25lbs
Session Time 38:27
Notes: Things were a little better today, but those sets of 50 are still brutal. I need to concentrate on using my glutes. Also, Peter, Paul and Mary did not make good music for working out to.
On 2/3/15
Bodyweight: 144.8 lbs
Waist: 34 3/4 inches
I didn’t know this was a DIY blog. We are crafting our own ghetto KB’s in here? Very cool!
Seriously, it’s good to mix things up sometimes and take a break from your usual lifting thing. Nice work!
I’m just cheap! Mighty Matron had a great log with all kinds of implements she’d welded herself, but she seems to have moved on.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
10,000 Swings Day 5
10 (2 pushups) 15 (3 pushups) 25 (5 pushups) 50 swings with 25 lbs
Session time 36:25
Notes: 1/4 of the way there! Time was down a bit, even with the transition time between swings and pushups.
Music is essential for this challenge. Also, tried electrical tape on fingers instead of athletic tape. Athletic tape is vastly superior.
Wednesday - took a rest day. 3 days of swings in a row seems to be good. I’m not sure the 5 day week in the original program is the best idea.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
10,000 Swings Day 6
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 50 swings
then
10 (1 goblet squat) 15 (2 goblet squats) 25 (3 goblet squats) 25 25 swings
Went up to 30 lbs on swings and 35 lbs on goblet squats
Session time: 44:15
Notes: so, the obvious conclusion is 30 lbs is harder than 25 lbs. Who knew? The first set of 50 had me seeing stars, so I broke up the remaining sets. If past history is any predictor of future success, I’ll adapt quickly enough. I plan to stay at 30 lbs until my time gets back down into the 35 minute or so range.
[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
Notes: so, the obvious conclusion is 30 lbs is harder than 25 lbs. Who knew?
[/quote]
Ha! I remember the very first time I swung (swang? swung?) my 88 pounder. I almost fell over. Now I can do up to sets of 30 with it. You’ll adjust quickly.
My GF, for what it’s worth, started out swinging a 20 pounder and now works up from 25 to 35 all the way to a 45 for her real work sets.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
Notes: so, the obvious conclusion is 30 lbs is harder than 25 lbs. Who knew?
[/quote]
Ha! I remember the very first time I swung (swang? swung?) my 88 pounder. I almost fell over. Now I can do up to sets of 30 with it. You’ll adjust quickly.
My GF, for what it’s worth, started out swinging a 20 pounder and now works up from 25 to 35 all the way to a 45 for her real work sets.
[/quote]
I’m sure I’ll adapt soon enough. I was pretty amazed at how quickly my times came down in the first week of the challenge and how even my last set of 50 felt pretty “snappy” within 5 sessions.