Finished 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge

27min with a 70lb KB. That’s pretty freaken badass.

1 Like

My 10,000 Swing story…

Finished my sport in mid September and had 2 weeks off training - both wrist and a shoulder were fucked from the last game anyway

I already had a 12 week program I had planned to get done the week leading into Xmas (actually finishes Xmas eve next week) so I had 2 weeks to kill…do you see where I’m going here?

I modified the shit out of this program obviously so here’s my 2 week breakdown:

D1 - 720 reps
D2 - 720 in am + 100 in pm
D3 - 720 + 280
D4 - 720 + 280
D5 - 720 + 500
D6 - 720 + 100
D7 - OFF
D8 - OFF
D9 - 560 + 150
D10 - 680 + 150
D11 - 840 + 150
D12 - 760 + 400
D13 - 630 + 100

I actually did this instead as I don’t really feel the eccentric on db swings enough which turned out to be am explosive pull through more then anything:

D1 I started with sets of 30, 40 and 50 @ 90 and 100pds on the cable machine and was sore as buggery for the next 2 - 3 days…all of a sudden the next day all soreness was gone as adaptation had kicked in and off I went

By the end of the program I was doing sets of 200 at 130 - 140pds and sets of 80 @ 220pds (the highest the cable machine goes to)

Dropped a whole % of bodyfat in week 1

Napped everyday for the 1st week but was still pretty tired w2 but also expected

I train exclusively for performance so I was gauging the program on speed where I did a 2.94sec for a 20m sprint (PB by far) at 36yrs of age 1 week post program finish…hadn’t broken 3secs before that and did it twice in that 1 session

I would very much like to find the minimum amount of swings I could get by with that to get a similar effect as 10,000 of anything is a piece of shit

Good times

Impressive! By the end of the first week I remeber thinking I wanted to just do a 1000 a day just to get it over with. I think part of the challenege is mental so I didn’t. I never realized how effective the KB swing really is.

You can tell how effective it is by how much harder it is to get out of bed when your alarm goes off the next days. Thats the feeling of results!

Wait a second here swans05…you did 10000 of whatever that is? Are you making fun of kettlebells or is that a serious thing you did there. I’m not a huge KB guy I just did the challenege cause I like a challenge. So if your making fun then your not getting far… But if your not and that video is legit and you got results then more power to you. I just wouldn’t qualifly that as completing the 10000 KB swing challenege that movement is something all in its own class. I’m no fitness expert but I’ve been around a few weight rooms and, well that’s pretty unique.

10,000 reps in 10 sessions just to make fun of something - yeah i have too much time to kill obviously

Like I said I modified it a lot so it was my take on challenge…there’s no rule in the constitution saying i have to do it to the tee - what are you so upset about?

[quote]ChaosHarmonized wrote:
Wait a second here swans05…you did 10000 of whatever that is? Are you making fun of kettlebells or is that a serious thing you did there. I’m not a huge KB guy I just did the challenege cause I like a challenge. So if your making fun then your not getting far… But if your not and that video is legit and you got results then more power to you. I just wouldn’t qualifly that as completing the 10000 KB swing challenege that movement is something all in its own class. I’m no fitness expert but I’ve been around a few weight rooms and, well that’s pretty unique. [/quote]

Basically looks like a cable pull through to me. Somewhat similar hip hinge movement pattern as the swing, IMO.

The floppy towel out front and the high speed reps make it look… well, a bit ridiculous (no offence meant swans). But hey, if it does the job…

Ok, so day 1 of the modified challenge.

single arm
one arm change each set, alternating starting arm each cluster
16kg
did push ups because I’m not living near a gym over the Christmas break.

so

10sw / 10 pw , 20sw/8pw, 30sw/6pw, 50sw, 4pw

5 sets

total time 32min.

wasn’t too bad to be honest, I think I’ll do a couple weeks like this with the 16 for conditioning and when I get back to civilization and a gym jump on a 24kg for single arms and start the challenge proper.

yeah i was in my own studio gym on my own do all good from that point of view!

Swans not mad at all bro. I’ve just never seen that before. Looks similar to the hip hinge in the swing. Just never have seen it before. Like I said man if you man gains then that’s awesome.

i don’t really feel the eccentric of regular swings enough, it’s like i can drop down faster and fly back up faster then the wt allows…it was definitely an experiement

I just completed the 10k Kettlebell Swing Challenge yesterday. I know Chaos personally and was constantly in touch with him throughout the challenge, which helped immensely and I also realized how similar our experiences were. I completed it in 31 days and feel fantastic. I dropped 8 pounds and 1.5 inches from my waist. My back feels invincible and my grip strength is probably the best it’s ever been. I used the 24kg kettlebell for the first 5000 and then began working in the 32kg in week 3 and used only the 32kg for the final 6 workouts.

Week 1 was probably the most difficult physically. My grip strength was wrecked at about 300 swings every day and my forearms were in constant pain. My hands were also destroyed with ripped callouses and blisters. Gloves were useless and tape became my best friend. Towards the end of week one I adopted a hook grip where the bell rested in the base of my fingers, primarily middle and ring fingers. My palms were completely out of the equation which eliminated all callous and blister issues.
I used the 10/15/25/50 cluster system, which worked out well.By the end of week 1 I was completing all sets of 10 and 15 unbroken and could get all 25’s unbroken except the last set or two. The sets of 50 were rough.

Week 2 things got a lot better. My grip became less of an issue and my swing form was rocking and rolling. By the end of week 2 all sets of 10/15/25 were unbroken. By the end of this week the 24kg bell was feeling light.

Week 3 I started integrating the 32kg bell. The first session I did 200 of the 500 with the 32kg. It was a big jump in weight but totally worth it. The remainder of the week I was hitting 300 of the 500 with the 32kg and on the last session of the week, swings only day, I used only the 32kg. Week 3 is when the boredom/monotony set in.

Week 4 was the most challenging mentally. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel but 500 swings a day became like eating plain yogurt, BORING! I used the 32kg exclusively. Surprisingly the grip fatigue was not bad, probably because I built up to it the previous week. When I hit 400 swings on my final day I had a huge grin on my face, knowing I only had 100 to go. My last 100 I did with double 53’s, just because. I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I finished and would recommend this program to anyone looking to challenge themselves or jump start a fat loss/conditioning cycle.

[quote]CRS1604 wrote:
I just completed the 10k Kettlebell Swing Challenge yesterday. I know Chaos personally and was constantly in touch with him throughout the challenge, which helped immensely and I also realized how similar our experiences were. I completed it in 31 days and feel fantastic. I dropped 8 pounds and 1.5 inches from my waist. My back feels invincible and my grip strength is probably the best it’s ever been. I used the 24kg kettlebell for the first 5000 and then began working in the 32kg in week 3 and used only the 32kg for the final 6 workouts.

Week 1 was probably the most difficult physically. My grip strength was wrecked at about 300 swings every day and my forearms were in constant pain. My hands were also destroyed with ripped callouses and blisters. Gloves were useless and tape became my best friend. Towards the end of week one I adopted a hook grip where the bell rested in the base of my fingers, primarily middle and ring fingers. My palms were completely out of the equation which eliminated all callous and blister issues.
I used the 10/15/25/50 cluster system, which worked out well.By the end of week 1 I was completing all sets of 10 and 15 unbroken and could get all 25’s unbroken except the last set or two. The sets of 50 were rough.

Week 2 things got a lot better. My grip became less of an issue and my swing form was rocking and rolling. By the end of week 2 all sets of 10/15/25 were unbroken. By the end of this week the 24kg bell was feeling light.

Week 3 I started integrating the 32kg bell. The first session I did 200 of the 500 with the 32kg. It was a big jump in weight but totally worth it. The remainder of the week I was hitting 300 of the 500 with the 32kg and on the last session of the week, swings only day, I used only the 32kg. Week 3 is when the boredom/monotony set in.

Week 4 was the most challenging mentally. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel but 500 swings a day became like eating plain yogurt, BORING! I used the 32kg exclusively. Surprisingly the grip fatigue was not bad, probably because I built up to it the previous week. When I hit 400 swings on my final day I had a huge grin on my face, knowing I only had 100 to go. My last 100 I did with double 53’s, just because. I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I finished and would recommend this program to anyone looking to challenge themselves or jump start a fat loss/conditioning cycle.[/quote]
CRS1604 congratulations! This 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge sounds intriguing and looks to pay endless dividends towards your lower back, and grip gains. Having suffered a pretty rough lower back muscle strain a few weeks back (about 4-5), I have started back squatting and rack pulling with no pain. I don’t know if I am fully healed, but I do feel a loads better since I first suffered the injury.

My question is this; could this be implemented in a hypertrophy 6-day on 1-day off routine? My grip has always been lacking, and it seems as though this strengthens your lower back quite a bit. Does anyone have a link of where I can find this challenge, if it was a written article? This will be my first time truly working with a Kettlebell so I’m hoping that followers of this topic can point me in the right direction. Mostly in regards to starting weight, proper technique, and proper implementation.

It’s not really a program…it’s a challenege. This is a great great way to build a bullet proof back. When your swinging it forces you to tighten your abs which in turn keeps your back solid throughout the process of the swings. Here’s the link to the challenge The 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout
I recommend you stick to it best you can becuause of you don’t well then that’s not the challenege… I say do it. You have nothing to loose except some body fat.

And they say if you can complete a workout after your 500 swings tyour underbelled. Meaning your not trying hard enough or the weight isn’t heavy enough. There is strength movements in the challenge.

[quote]jzy50309 wrote:
My question is this; could this be implemented in a hypertrophy 6-day on 1-day off routine? [/quote]

No. It is pretty taxing as-is; adding any substantial training on top of it will break you; at least this is, I believe, the way Dan John himself sees it.

I’m glad I found this forum, I’m going to try this challenge starting tomorrow. I’ll report my progress. Thanks!

Doing the challenge for a second time now. A few things that I noticed: 1) conditioning and back/hips felt great after completing the challenge the first time. 2) Strength improved in bench, squat and dead lift as a result of the challenge as well as grip strength. The swings themselves should be a violent hip thrust causing the weight to float up to chin level. This is not a front raise. If you don’t feel any concentric effects then you are not squeezing your glutes and hamstrings as hard as you should be during the concentric phase. Once at the apex, firmly grab the bell and throw it back between your legs.

This will take some work to be able to do that for all 500 swings. I agree with the previous posts about it being a mental challenge as much, if not more, than a physical one. Get an attitude and swing with purpose. Wear gloves if you feel you need to protect your hands but calluses make a pretty bad a$$ pair of gloves. If you don’t like calluses then you can have them removed the next time you get your nails done.

Started the challenge last week, doing 2 days work, one day rest. Day 4 was yesterday. Using a plate loaded handle I built. First two workouts I started at 35 lbs with the intentions of moving up 5 lbs every two day set till I hit 50 and then move up from there. Last two days at 40 lbs were brutal, grip strength is the main factor. Was actually slower on the second workout than the first. Will do 40 lbs again tomorrow, if time improves, then go to 45 on Wednesday and keep the progression moving up, so long as the times increase.

Maybe good for change of style for beginner. But don’t do nothing if you are in good shape. Leads only to lose gains in all lifts,cardio. AnD pretty boring to swing that kettlebell allday long.