BJJ Shawn
Level 6 Valued Member
Hello All,
I know it's not a SF program, but since it's a kettlebell program written by Dan John, I thought it would be appropriate to put a review up in case anyone else is interested. I just completed the 10,000 Swing Challenge, and it was definitely a challenge. I did the original iteration of it, found here: The 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout | T NATION , and there is a newer version that includes some modifications to allow it to be easier but I stuck with the original as it aligned better with my goals. I did the 4 day per week version, and I missed 1 day due to illness so it took me 5 weeks + 1 day.
I have been doing S&S since late last year, and worked up to timeless simple before starting this challenge, but I felt my grip strength and aerobic capacity were both lacking hence why I wanted to do this training as it has a huge focus on both. In addition to the swings, you also add in strength moves, which I added bench press, chin-ups, seated barbell OHP, and barbell rows. So 30 reps of one move per session, plus 500 2HS with a 24kg kettlebell.
After day 1, I didn't know if I would be able to do this as I thought my heart and lungs were going to explode, but it reminded me so much of a hard BJJ rolling session that I knew it would be good for me. I kept going, and it did get easier of course. My grip strength started by failing during the sets of 50 for the first few sessions, then it was tough to hold on but I started to be able to finish the sets of 50, and finally by the last couple weeks I didn't really have to think about grip as it was a non-issue. I allowed my heart rate to drop to 135 between sets and recorded the time it took to finish as a way to measure progress, and I cut nearly 30% off my time in just 5 weeks while still keeping my HR lower throughout. My body composition changed, I have more energy, I feel stronger at all four strength moves I added (haven't tested anything else yet), and overall I can't think of anything that DIDN'T get better in 5 weeks.
Now, the numbers (the graphs include my warmup and post workout stretching, so times aren't accurate):
I'm glad I spent the time and energy to do this challenge, and I'm glad that it's done because it was HARD! Overall, it was definitely worth it, and now on to the next!
I know it's not a SF program, but since it's a kettlebell program written by Dan John, I thought it would be appropriate to put a review up in case anyone else is interested. I just completed the 10,000 Swing Challenge, and it was definitely a challenge. I did the original iteration of it, found here: The 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout | T NATION , and there is a newer version that includes some modifications to allow it to be easier but I stuck with the original as it aligned better with my goals. I did the 4 day per week version, and I missed 1 day due to illness so it took me 5 weeks + 1 day.
I have been doing S&S since late last year, and worked up to timeless simple before starting this challenge, but I felt my grip strength and aerobic capacity were both lacking hence why I wanted to do this training as it has a huge focus on both. In addition to the swings, you also add in strength moves, which I added bench press, chin-ups, seated barbell OHP, and barbell rows. So 30 reps of one move per session, plus 500 2HS with a 24kg kettlebell.
After day 1, I didn't know if I would be able to do this as I thought my heart and lungs were going to explode, but it reminded me so much of a hard BJJ rolling session that I knew it would be good for me. I kept going, and it did get easier of course. My grip strength started by failing during the sets of 50 for the first few sessions, then it was tough to hold on but I started to be able to finish the sets of 50, and finally by the last couple weeks I didn't really have to think about grip as it was a non-issue. I allowed my heart rate to drop to 135 between sets and recorded the time it took to finish as a way to measure progress, and I cut nearly 30% off my time in just 5 weeks while still keeping my HR lower throughout. My body composition changed, I have more energy, I feel stronger at all four strength moves I added (haven't tested anything else yet), and overall I can't think of anything that DIDN'T get better in 5 weeks.
Now, the numbers (the graphs include my warmup and post workout stretching, so times aren't accurate):
| Workout 1: Weight: 173.8lbs Body Fat %: 18.4% Time to complete training: 49 Minutes | Workout 20: Weight: 174.8lbs Body Fat %: 15.9% Time to complete training: 33 Minutes, 50 seconds |
I'm glad I spent the time and energy to do this challenge, and I'm glad that it's done because it was HARD! Overall, it was definitely worth it, and now on to the next!
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