10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge

[SignOfZeta]

Did we get an update on those 2013 people? I’m just wondering what their opinion is. How many are still alive, how many have back issues, how many would recommend doing this still, etc.

[Magoo]

Oh, you were serious. Well, when I was looking into the challenge, I found several articles covering it, many forum discussions, and a lot of reddit commentary. I've found several folks who have done this challenge several times, though Dan John himself himself recommends doing at most like 2x a year. Dan has of course tested this with several of his friends and fellow coaches. On top of that, it's gotten a bit of a resurgence since COVID and I haven't seen any posts come out of the woodwork claiming injury.

Now there are LOTS of posts telling you to lock your kettlebell form down before you start it or you will indeed screw yourself up.

This isn't super human. It's more mentally taxing than anything. You have to mind your P's and Q's when doing it, but y'all, that's ALL exercise.

[Magoo]

Alright, end of week 4 update. Almost there!

Best week time of 40:40. Lost 5 seconds! Oh well, next week I want to try to break into the 30s, but I don't want to push myself so hard my form suffers. Hitting the low 40s is still a helluva challenge, but the high 50's is getting much easier. Great improvement from when I started!

Overall, I think I'm doing pretty good. Next time I do this, and I'm thinking I probably will, I'll implement the strength movements. I anticipate I'll still be doing the 4 day schedule, however. As much as I enjoy working out, I just can't devote as much time to it as I'd like. Life and all.

Still no blisters or ripped calluses. When I swing I don't get a lot of handle rotation, so that hasn't been too much of a problem. When I grip the bell, I do it as I would a deadlift; I twist my fingers onto the handle and lock down, so it doesn't pull the pads of my upper palms. Callus management has been pretty nominal throughout my gym career, so that's nice. When my grip really starts faltering, I'll use hook grip to do the swings. It's all been working for me.

As for my back, there's tension and DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), but nothing that feels like injury. Doing so many swings has forced me to focus on core engagement, and that really helps stabilize the back. That's a major benefit of the swing in general.

If a fat man can do this, so can you! Just, you know, git gud at swings first.

[Magoo]

Hell yeah! Finished it all! I feel great! I mean, miserable, but great!

Week final check in:

Got under 40' twice! Monday with a 39:07 and today with a whopping 37:34! Great way to cap it all off.

Final weigh-in was 264#. So I lost around 10#, and I wasn't even paying attention to nutrition. I still enjoy beer a bit much. Maybe one day soon I'll focus a little tighter on that.


Final thoughts and feelings:

Once again, the calluses are significant. No rips or blisters, though. I used plenty of chalk, and tried to minimize bell rotation in my hands. My bell is a Rogue, and has a nice textured finish. Never use smooth weight gear! My forearms are shot after today's session. I'd be curious to know quantitatively how my grip improved, but I don't know how to test that, and don't have a baseline anyway. My back feels fine. Worked, but healthy. My hamstrings and glutes really felt the brunt of it, grip aside. Which is great. Posterior chain development is always welcome. I'd definitely do it again, but no time soon, methinks. As for body recomposition, well, it's as I was afraid: I'm just too fat to see what my muscles have done with any detail. My wife insists there's been some reshaping of my upper back, and if she sees it, I'm not gonna argue.

What next? Well, I think I'll do Wendler's 5-3-1 until I see if getting back into powerlifting is a viable option 'round these parts. I'm very interested to see if this helped my maxes, as a lot of folks claimed it would. I elected to omit the strength movements and focus on the swings for this go at the challenge, so I'm not expecting a lot.

Overall: Kickass.