Love the focus on the good here. Enjoy the time you have with her.
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3/17/26
Back to the world of the physically active.
10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge
500/10,000
5 Rounds
10 swings
1 push-up
15 swings
2 push-ups
25 swings
3 push-ups
50 swings
3:00 break between rounds
Day one under the belt. I started at 25 lb. instead of 35 and I’m glad I did. I will work up to 35 fairly quickly I think. I like the speed of this workout. Took me just over 40 minutes, including my foam rolling and stretching. I think I followed the instructions for the program properly. If I didn’t, it still kicked me in the butt, so a victory either way.
I felt like absolute shit this morning when I got out of bed. I think the week off would have been fine had it not been for the trip to see my parents. The long drive is never great for my body and the poor sleep I get when I’m not in my own bed is unhelpful. Granted my sleep was much better this trip than it has been previously. My uncle’s house was quiet and I was on an actual bed rather than an air mattress. Driving home yesterday was not the best. The weather forced me to slow down significantly and the already long drive took an extra hour and a half. I’m not sure if I remember the last time I woke up this stiff. I really, really, really didn’t want to workout this morning. Lol. Very glad I did. I’m now sore in a completely different and much better way.
Side note: 149.6 lb when I woke up this morning. The goal is now set at 135. I have no specific timeframe as long as I am moving in the right direction. To quote Aerosmith “life’s a journey, not a destination”.
This weekend was a mixed bag of really good and exceptionally heartbreaking. The only way through is forward.
Today is a good day.
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Exciting to see you take this on! There are a few different ways to approach it. The 10-15-25-50 with strength work in between is one of them for sure. That was the OG article
Dan discusses a few other options approaches here
Enjoy!
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Thank you! I like the variations. I think using several different ones will help.
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Absolutely! Yeah: overcoming boredom is the hardest part of this program. I remember waking up one morning to go do a bunch of swings and thinking to myself “I’m like the worst Pinocchio story ever. A toy given sentience just to spend it’s whole life swinging a kettlebell”
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Update: I need to stop focusing on my stupid weight! New goal. Size 6 pants and no belly overhang. I will do pictures and measurements tomorrow and have that as my starting point instead.
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New goal. Size 6 pants and no belly overhang.
THIS I love. The number on the scale is such a stupid thing. All it tells is us is literally how heavy we are. In no way is that a reflection of what we are made up of.
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I tended to hit higher reps in the first set as grip tended to be a determining factor. Plus the age old issue of losing count… cue @SvenG chalk work on the floor an option.
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Well, I’m thinking of trying the one with different weights for sets of 10 tomorrow. I have 5 different weights, so I figured I could do 2 sets of 10 with each weight to complete one round. If I move through them in order, I feel moderately confident that I can count to 10. Lol.
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Also, be sure to pay attention to your form: DJ has a video in both of the linked articles.
I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure what he demonstrates is not a Russian swing, and I’m definitely sure it’s not an American swing—I’ve always referred to it as a Dan John swing, because he deserves at least that much credit for being awesome.
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Once again, you are a better person than me!
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I watched the video before I started. I’m pretty sure I’m doing it properly.
To be fair, I did say moderately confident, not completely confident. lol. And I have to use hash marks too. I just use paper and pen instead of chalk. And I don’t know why, but it’s always 3 that throws me for a loop. When I do descending sets I can never remember if I did the sets of 3 so I usually do that one twice. 
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I haven’t watched the video. Does he squat, purely hinge at the hip, or somewhere in between? I think I drift between a solid hinge and a combo hinge/squat.
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Definitely doesn’t squat. To my eye, the key difference relative to a Russian swing (and, by corollary, to an American swing) is in his arm positioning: Tighter to the body, and the kettlebell only as high as his lower chest. Certainly that was my interpretation of them when I originally did the challenge, anyway.
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3/18/26
10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge
1,000/10,000
Ball throws 5
Five rounds of
30 lb x 10
20 lb x 10
OHP 40 lb x 1
35 lb x 10
15 lb x 10
OHP 40 lb x 2
25 lb x 10
30 lb x 10
OHP 40 lb x 3
20 lb x 10
35 lb x 10
OHP 40 lb x 4
15 lb x 10
25 lb x 10
3:00 rest between rounds.
Do 500 Kettlebell swings a day they said. It will be fun they said. Liars and finks, all of them.
If it exists on the posterior half of my body, it was sore when I woke up this morning. If it exists on my body it was sore when I finished today.
I liked having the variety of weights today. If nothing else, the inclusion of the 35 lb bell made me absolutely positive that starting with the lighter weight was the right call. I did a much better job of chalking my hands today and I think that helped. I gave myself two blisters yesterday and one of them popped today. It was kind of funny when I looked down and wondered how I got my hand wet. Lol. Not enough O2 to the brain to make the connection. I could definitely tell by the end of the workout that I was moving slower and huffing air a bit more.
The variation that I used took a bit more time than yesterday’s. I think I will try to figure out what is most time efficient and use that on early work days and use the longer variations on my days off.
Everything hurts and I’m dying.
Today is a good day. 
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If it was easy and fun, everyone would do it. This is what puts us in the top 1% of the population!! 
Way to get after it!
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Welcome to my world. Loving the write ups on the challenge, keep smashing it.
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I actually had the thought while I was doing my workout this morning that I’m pretty proud of the fact that I can say,“I’m gonna do 500 kettlebell swings today” and then actually do them and still function after. I feel like it says something good about how I take care of my body. I can take on a ridiculous challenge and live to tell the tale. Lol. It makes me feel pretty good. Plus my sons actually seemed impressed for once!
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Reading about the KB swings gave me the idea to maybe do some as part of my assistance. I know it’s not single-leg work, but heavy swings and heavy double KB squats are pretty good for the body. Maybe next workout assuming I have some energy.
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They are kicking my ass for sure. All I can say is that I better have an ass of solid steel and a back that ripples like a tiger when I move after the amount of discomfort this is causing me. 
I am enjoying the tempo of it all. It’s really fast paced and swings are fun. Now ask me to repeat that phrase 9,000 swings from now. Lol.
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