Last month, I wrote about taking on the 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge—where I’d try and complete 10,000 Kettlebell Swings in 1 month.
I finished the challenge earlier this week, and here are some of my results and reflections.
What did I do?
- 20 workouts in 30 days (2 days on, 1 day rest)
- 16kg kettlebell
- 500 swings per workout (10 sets of 50 swings)
- 10 minutes of stretching
- 10 minutes of foam rolling
Why did I take on this challenge?
- I wanted to continue with strength training, but wasn’t yet comfortable with going to the gym
- I had a number of niggling back issues from sitting in a chair all day that I wanted to get rid of
Where did I start?
- Workout duration: 40 minutes
- Average heart rate: 139 beats per minute
- Rest period between sets: 2 mins
Where did I finish?
- Workout duration: 29 minutes (27% improvement)
- Average heart rate: 114 beats per minute (18% improvement)
- Rest period between sets: 1 min (50% improvement)
I was really happy with the increases in efficiency. The workout became easier, the knots in my back were gone after 2 weeks, and my flexibility improved. I can now touch my toes without bending my knees—which is massive progress for me!
I did end up eating more during the challenge. Turns out swinging a lump of iron around each day increases the appetite, so I consumed 300-500 calories more each day—resulting in no change to my overall weight.
Finally, I’m sold on kettlebells. The ability to workout from home, the quality of the workouts, and the many exercise variations have provided me with a lot of strength training headroom to grow into.