The 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge by Dan John

Introduction

If you're looking for a workout routine that will challenge your limits and radically transform your body, then look no further than the 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge by Dan John. This four-week plan aims to push boundaries, achieve goals, and break personal records. It's a challenge that forces you to either progress or regress - there's no middle ground. The program was developed and refined with a team of 18 coaches and athletes, making it a product of real-world testing and experience, not just theory​​.

Key Benefits

The 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge promises a number of benefits. The program has seen participants become leaner, dropping one to two waist sizes within 20 workouts. It also leads to visible muscular improvements, adding lean body mass to the participants. Furthermore, every lifter increased their grip strength and work capacity, leading to enhanced athletic conditioning and allowing them to train longer and harder. Interestingly, the program also improved core lifts, leading to full-body strength and power increases. This is not to mention the more visible abs and improved glute strength the participants enjoyed​​.

The Workout Plan

The 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout is a 4-week challenge designed to push your physical boundaries and transform your body. The program is built on the principle of human growth through challenges, and it's meant to boost athletic performance, strength, and physique in a short time​​.

Here's a summary of the workout:

1. In four or five weeks, you're going to perform 10,000 proper kettlebell swings split among 20 workouts. That's 500 swings per workout.

2. Between sets of swings, you'll perform low-volume, basic strength exercises.

3. You will train 4-5 days per week. Follow a 2 days on, 1 day off schedule.

4. Men will use a 24kg kettlebell (53 pounds). Women will use 16kg (35 pounds).

5. The kettlebell swings are divided into sets of 10, 15, 25, and 50 reps. Repeat these sets (or clusters) five times per workout.

6. After each round of 10, 15, and 25 reps, rest for 30-60 seconds. After each set of 50, rest will extend to 3 minutes or more.

7. Strength exercises performed between sets of swings can include press, dip, goblet squat, chin-up, and other movements like front squat, pistol squat, handstand push-up, wide-grip loaded pull-up, and the muscle-up. Choose only one strength exercise per 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. Time your workouts as each week you should be getting faster​.

Here's an example program for a week:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Day 6: Off

Day 7: Off or begin the cycle again​​.

The reported results of the program include visible improvements in physique (leaner body, more visible abs, better glute strength), improved grip strength, increased work capacity and athletic conditioning, and an increase in core lift strength​.