The 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout

by Dan John    

Here's what you need to know...

• This program will test your grit while at the same time making you an all-around better athlete and high-performance machine.

• Every person who has completed this 20 workout plan has increased lean muscle mass while dropping body fat.

Without challenges, the human body will soften. We thrive when we push our boundaries, reach goals, and blast personal records. We perform better, we look better, and we feel alive.

Get this straight: you're either progressing or regressing. There is no maintenance phase. Moderation in training can easily turn into stagnation. And moderation is for sissies. So if we want to improve, we have to seek out new challenges, struggle, and win.

The 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout is just such a challenge. And it will rapidly transform your body in only four weeks.

Battle-Tested Results

I don't write training programs by reading textbooks and studies. I create them in the field, deep in the trenches with real athletes and people whose lives literally depend on their physical abilities.

To create and refine this program, myself and 18 other coaches and athletes met several days every week to put it to the test. Here's what we experienced:

• Everyone got leaner, dropping a waist size or two, in 20 workouts.

• Every coach or athlete made visual muscular improvements in their physiques, adding lean body mass.

• Every trainee increased his grip strength and greatly increased work capacity and athletic conditioning. They could all train longer and harder when they went back to their normal training programs.

• After the program, every trainee saw a noted improvement in his core lifts. PR's fell like dominos. Full-body strength and power shot through the roof.

• Abs were more visible. Glute strength was tremendously better. The abs and glutes "discovered" how to work again, leading to athletic improvements in sport and in the weight room.

Program Overview

In four or five weeks, you're going to perform 10,000 proper kettlebell swings. These will be split among 20 workouts. You'll do 500 swings per workout. Between sets of swings, you'll perform low-volume, basic strength exercises. You will train 4-5 days per week. Train 2 days on, 1 day off, and repeat. Men will use a 24kg kettlebell (53 pounds). Women will use 16kg (35 pounds).

This is a stand-alone program. If you feel you're able to do a second workout in the same day, then you are "underbelled" – you're either not going heavy enough or not training with maximal effort.

The Swings: Clusters, Sets, and Reps

Use an undulating rep scheme to reach 500 total reps per workout:

Set 1:  10 reps
Set 2:  15 reps
Set 3:  25 reps
Set 4:  50 reps

You've now completed 100 reps or one cluster. Repeat the cluster 4 more times for a total of 500 swings. Between sets, experienced lifters will add a low-volume strength movement.

The Strength Movements

Use a strength movement with low volume between sets of swings. The best exercises are:

1.  Press (barbell overhead press or one-arm press)
2.  Dip
3.  Goblet Squat
4.  Chin-up

Other acceptable choices: front squat, pistol squat, handstand push-up, wide-grip loaded pull-up, and the muscle-up. Use a 1-2-3 rep scheme for most movements. Here's an example using the press:

10 Swings
Press 1 rep
15 Swings
Press 2 reps
25 Swings
Press 3 reps
50 Swings
Rest 30 - 60 seconds

• For the 1-2-3 lifts, use your five rep max weight.

• For the dip, you'll need more reps. Use a 2-3-5 rep scheme.

• If you choose to do the program 5 days per week, on one of those days you'll only do the swings. Leave out the strength work between rounds. If you train 4 daysper week, you'll use the strength movements every workout.

You may use a different strength movement every workout, rotating between the press, dip, goblet squat, and chin-up. I also like using two days of chin-ups and two days of presses. Remember, choose only one strength movement per workout.

Rest Periods

After each round of 10, 15 and 25 reps, rest 30-60 seconds. The first cluster will be easy and you can jam through it. In the later clusters, you'll need the full 60 seconds or more for grip strength recovery.

After each set of 50, rest will extend to 3 minutes or more. During this post-50 rest period, perform a "corrective." Stretch anything that needs it, like the hip flexors. Do a mobility movement of choice.

Progression

Time your workouts. Each week you should be getting faster. Your time in workout #20 should clobber your time in workout #1. For the strength lifts, the goal is to use a weight that's challenging on the first workout and easy by the last workout.

Here's what the program will look like for most lifters:

Sample Program

Day 1

10 Swings
Press 1 rep
15 Swings
Press 2 reps
25 Swings
Press 3 reps
50 Swings
Rest 30-60 seconds; repeat 4 more times.

By the end of the workout, you'll have completed 500 swings and 30 presses.

Day 2

10 Swings
Dip 2 reps
15 Swings
Dip 3 reps
25 Swings
Dip 5 reps
50 Swings
Rest 30-60 seconds; repeat 4 more times.

By the end of the workout, you'll have completed 500 swings and 50 dips. (Remember, for dips you're using a 2-3-5 rep scheme, not 1-2-3 as you do in other lifts.)

Day 3:  Off

Day 4

10 Swings
Goblet Squat 1 rep
15 Swings
Goblet Squat 2 reps
25 Swings
Goblet Squat 3 reps
50 Swings
Rest 30-60 seconds; repeat 4 more times.

By the end of the workout, you'll have completed 500 swings and 30 goblet squats.

Day 5

10 Swings
Chin-up 1 rep
15 Swings
Chin-up 2 reps
25 Swings
Chin-up 3 reps
50 Swings
Rest 30-60 seconds; repeat 4 more times.

By the end of the workout, you'll have completed 500 swings and 30 chin-ups.

Day 6:  Off

Day 7:  Off or begin the cycle again.

If you begin the cycle again because you want to use the program 5 days per week, remember to do only the swings during one workout per week.

Swing Technique

The swing is a hip hinge: basically the position you take in a standing long jump. Look for maximum hip bend and minimal knee bend. It is not a squat.

Begin in the "Silverback gorilla" position. Slide the kettlebell back a bit, and vigorously "hike" the bell at your zipper. Hinge deeply and let the forearms slide through the thighs. Then, snap up to a vertical plank position.

There is no start or finish to a correct swing. The vertical plank is a moment to grab the 'bell and toss it back to the zipper. The hinge causes a rebound and we pop back to the plank.

Insure the following: glutes clenched, lats connected to the shoulders, arms snapped directly in front of the body. Do not let the kettlebell float much higher – grab it and toss it back to your zipper. The kettlebell should not be brought overhead.

The swing should be aggressive, explosive, and attacked with a high tempo.