Saturday, January 14, 2012

10K Swing Challenge: Almost Half Way There

4485 out of 10,000. Wow, we're getting there. That said, I have been keeping up (for the most part) with my normal training. Unfortunately for me, I haven't been keeping up with the logs. That said, here are a few thoughts, feelings and training highlights over the past few days:

  1. I could do a single arm swing and a double arm swing with the same weight and the single arm swing seems easier. 
  2. I've noticed an increase of strength doing the last smidgen of a deadlift. My numbers are down (but that occurred before the 10K swing challenge...heck, that occurred before this blog's existence!). 
  3. Last Saturday I was trying to lock out 275LBS and stalled; I had a decision to make
    A). Put it down
    B). Power through it.

    Typically, attempting B leads to A, however, I pressed through and locked out the lift...in fact, I squeezed out another rep. I attribute the increase to swinging through exhaustion; I've noticed that form has to be very crisp and the feeling of locking out the hips is largely the same in both exercises.
  4. That said, deadlifting and swinging in the same workout isn't ideal. 
  5. Learning the previous lesson twice is even less ideal :-(
  6. Another personal best has fallen: Bodyweight + 110LB deadlift is the new mark (previous best was 105).
  7. Deep-squatting seems to be easier since undertaking this challenge.
  8. Swinging 85LBS on a t-handle is as hard as it sounds. I don't know what made me want to do 225 reps!
  9. Single arm swings have really helped with my "sleep shoulder" issue. I've noticed that I am in a lot less pain after swinging (but the first 20 swings or so suck!).
So there you have it: a small little picture into the last week or so of training and my thoughts on the 10K swing, through  4400+ swings. The only cumbersome thing I can note is the callouses forming all over creation on my hands, though after a few swings, the pain tends to "blend into the background", so to speak.

Lindsay, I believe, is right around the 4000 mark up to this point. She tends to break her swings up into sets of 100, even swinging her t-handle on the days she works. Some nights we knock out our swings together...it's become a bonding experience for us! She came home from the gym today and mentioned that she's going to buy a kettlebell (she prefers it to the t-handle). I think my craziness is spreading!

OSU!
CM

    1 comment:

    1. Nice going Hangtime! Keep up the good work!

      Deadlifts and swings work virtually the same muscles, hence why it's probably really tough on you. They're great after squats though if you're not doing any real pulling that day.

      ReplyDelete