For some reason this year I decided that February wasn’t awful enough as it was and decided to undertake a fitness challenge to add in some extra punishment. The challenge, as you’ve probably gathered from the title, was to do 10,000 kettlebell swings in one month. I started a few days late, so even with the leap year, I still only had 24 days in which to complete the challenge.
By the way, the rules of the challenge, if you are interested in completing it yourself, are simply that you must complete 10,000 swings within the month. That’s it. The weight of the kettlebell, as well as the workout style (all at once, intervals, spread throughout the day, etc.) are all up to you.
I, at this point, only had my 25lb kettlebell to choose from, so that’s what I used throughout the month. At first it was difficult for me to get all of my swings in for the day, but I managed by spreading them out through the entire day. For instance, I’d work on some homework, do a set of 50 swings, read a chapter, do a set of 50 swings, etc. This was done using the basic two-handed swing. By the end of the month I was slamming out one-armed swings in a non-stop interval style with no problem.
So, what benefits did I gain from all this?
1. I *think* I lost some body fat, but I admit I was not weighing myself / using my body fat percentage estimator regularly.
2. My endurance went through the roof. I HATE running, but by the end of this challenge I was taking jogs for fun, and I much improved my mile time.
3. It helped me prove to myself that I could complete a daunting task like this. I was afraid I would fall behind or give up, but I actually managed to push all the way through and even finish with a light day at the very end to round out the last of my 10,000 swings.
4. I’ve moved up to a higher kettlebell weight for my two-handed swings, although I still stick with the 25lb for one-handed swings.
I posted about this challenge on an exercise forum, and got a mixed bag of responses everywhere from “Awesome – great job!” to “DON”T do this, you WILL hurt your back!!!” Kettlebell swings do indeed work the back, but I was careful not to overdo it on days when I was not feeling my best. I found that it helped to stretch my back thoroughly after each day’s workout, and alternate light days with heavier days. I did not really have any overuse injuries or pain in my back or anywhere else, but I do advise that, if you do this challenge yourself, don’t let your ego get in the way if you know you are pushing to the point of injury – stop if it hurts, set a lower goal, or use a lighter weight. Otherwise, good luck and happy swinging! *wink*
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