I'm taking a break from the normal 3 and a half training days per week focusing on the big three for a 5 week challenge/rehab program. After some friends tipped me off to a new Dan John article on the program, I decided to give it a go.
The program involves 20 training sessions, 4 per week for 5 weeks. You could do it 2 days on and 1 day off, but I like having the weekend "off" since I tend to play around in the garage gym Sunday afternoon. In each training session you will complete 500 kettlebell swings. That's right 500, it's not a typo. They are to be executed in 5 rounds of 10, 15, 25, and 50 rep sets. Between sets you can add a barbell or other lift to round out the program. The barbell lift should be executed in sets of 1, 2, and 3 reps. A bodyweight exercise could be done for 2, 3, and 5 reps between sets of swings. A beginner could just forego the extra lift per workout if the overall workload is too much.
The workout I completed this morning looked like this:
KB Swing 55 lb bell/Press 135lb barbell
5 Rounds for total time:
10 Swings/1 Press,
15 Swings/2 Presses,
25 Swings/3 Presses,
Rest 1 min.
50 Swings.
3 minutes of corrective work (stretching, rolling, etc.)
1 down, 19 more training sessions to go.
Here's my rationale for the break from my normal training, in bullet point fashion for you speed readers.
The program involves 20 training sessions, 4 per week for 5 weeks. You could do it 2 days on and 1 day off, but I like having the weekend "off" since I tend to play around in the garage gym Sunday afternoon. In each training session you will complete 500 kettlebell swings. That's right 500, it's not a typo. They are to be executed in 5 rounds of 10, 15, 25, and 50 rep sets. Between sets you can add a barbell or other lift to round out the program. The barbell lift should be executed in sets of 1, 2, and 3 reps. A bodyweight exercise could be done for 2, 3, and 5 reps between sets of swings. A beginner could just forego the extra lift per workout if the overall workload is too much.
The workout I completed this morning looked like this:
KB Swing 55 lb bell/Press 135lb barbell
5 Rounds for total time:
10 Swings/1 Press,
15 Swings/2 Presses,
25 Swings/3 Presses,
Rest 1 min.
50 Swings.
3 minutes of corrective work (stretching, rolling, etc.)
1 down, 19 more training sessions to go.
Here's my rationale for the break from my normal training, in bullet point fashion for you speed readers.
- I'm currently eating a paleo-ish diet with my wife which will inevitably lead to me leaning out a good bit. I expect to lose about 15lbs this month without going hungry. Doing a workout that will encourage me to shed fat while maintaining and possibly building lean mass is a great complement to the diet.
- I'm in pretty lame cardio shape. You just don't need very much cardio to be a powerlifter. That being said, I'm okay with a little balance and this program hits what I want. I can do cardio while training for strength without running.
- Since I injured my hip a year ago in a powerlifting meet my left side has been lagging. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to retrain my body to fire the whole left side with 10,000 reps of 55lb kettlebell swings.
- I can hold onto some strength and build up some weak points in the process. I plan to use standing overhead presses, front squats, L-sit pull-ups, and bench presses as my lifts to offset the swings. Each of those will be building a particular weakness for me to prepare me for better overall performance upon my return to regular training in November.
- 5 sets of 3 minutes of corrective work mixed into the training session. I'm notoriously bad at doing mobility work on my own. This builds in some opportunities to rehab some pain I have and get healthy.
Anyone want to take the challenge with me? Comment below and join in at the facebook page to share your experience with other movers and shakers. (I almost said swingers, but that wouldn't have been correct...)
