The Final 500! (revised 1/7) The Swing Quest 2013! The first 500, and the next....and the next! Almost there! Don't be stuck in 2012!

Yesterday, Tuesday January 1st, I lead my class through a 2013 rep swing workout.  The important part was not complete 2013 swing reps that day, but to work towards this marathon swing event that I will be hosting 3 more times this year in preparation for The Swing Quest 2014!

I designed The Swing Quest 2013 workout based on a compilation of some of my best beginners swing workouts that I posted here,on my blog, over the past year, 2012.  Over the next few days I will revise this blog post to include all 5 workouts, done progressively, so you can practice them individually, or together, and join us for the next event, Sat., March 30, 2013!  The Swing Quest 2013 is basically broken down into four 500 rep workouts with some "bonus" options.  I've adjusted the workouts below to equal 500 reps, but the ones we did on Tuesday are also slightly different, so practice these first!

The first 500 rep workout was a version of this "One Hand Swing Practice Ladder" workout I posted Friday, April 20, 2012.  You can find all of the details about this original version here:  http://tracysfoodandthought.blogspot.com/2012/04/one-hand-swing-practice-workout.html.  

In the first video I talk about the workout along with demonstrating the two "tricky" sets of 9 two hand swings + 1 one hand swing...try it!

On to the workout.  Again, I've adjusted it to suggest how to make it a 500 rep workout.  If you have been swinging for less that 3 months you first goal is to complete it one time through.  Remember, there is no hurry because there are many more swing reps where these came from!  In this second video I demonstrate an entire rotation (but I screw up a bit!)



10 2 hd sw x 2 sets
9/1 x 2 (1 set R, rest, 1 set L, rest)
8/2 x 2 (this is where I keep screwing up...and then I repeat the screw up!  oh well, you get it, right?)
7/3 x 2
6/4 x 2
5/5 x 2
4/6 x 2
3/7 x 2
2/8 x 2
1/9 x 2
10/10 one hand swings x 1

11 minutes, 220 swings

repeat twice, in the same order, or backwards!  If you did the first 4 practice sets in the first video, add on two more sets of 10 two hand swings to equal 500 swing reps! (25 min total workout)

With the exception of the very first sets of all tow hand swings, and the last set of 10/10 one hand swings, all work sets start with two hands on the bell, and then each set is performed R and L separately.  For instance, when you read 5/5, that means 5 2 hd swings, and 5 one hand swings, either R or L.  This entire workout is designed with "equal work to rest" intervals, but if you are not training at that ratio yet I suggest completing 2 sets (one R, one L) with the prescribed 15/15, and then take the extra rest you need, starting again with the next two sets.  Always, always take the rest you need!  this is your workout, you design it!

Next?  "Ten"

Remember that The Swing Quest 2013 workout is based on these past workouts.  Fingers crossed you practice these, and upcoming workouts, so on March 30, in three months, you can test your increased strength and endurance, and then all though out the year!

I warned my group that this next part of the workout would be the most boring, and let me tell you that this original version is way more entertaining than what actually went down!  See how lucky you are that this workout is only 300 reps!  If you want to make it a 500 rep workout repeat the first 9 minutes (as demonstrated in the video), and add one last set of 20 two hand swings.

10 2 hd sw (15/15 = 30 sec)
10 R / 10 L one hand sw (30/30 = 1 min)

10 2 hd sw x 2 (15/15 x 2 = 1 min)
10 R / 10 L one hand sw x 2 (30/30 x 2 = 2 min)


10 2 hd sw x 3 (15/15 x 3 = 1.5 min)
10 R / 10 L one hand sw x 3 (30/30 x 3 = 3 min) (video ends here)


10 2 hd sw x 4 (15/15 x 3 = 2 min)
10 R / 10 L one hand sw x 4 (30/30 x 4 = 4 min)

15 min. 300 swings


Ten at a time...two swing combinations only, 10 reps done with a 2 hand swing, and 10 R/ 10 L one hand swings (20 rep set).  This workout is designed to use only one bell, and I suggest only going through the workout once if you have only been practicing the swing for less that 2-3 months (consisently!).

See the original blogpost and an advanced "Ten" workout here:

http://tracysfoodandthought.blogspot.com/2012/03/beginner-intermediate-swing-routine-ten.html

More to come...in fact over 1000 more swing reps! Here is the workout I posted this past August 10.  It's a "No Brainer" swing workout that originally had sets of 50 reps.  For The Swing Quest 2013 workout I adjusted the rep count to 40 reps, 1 minute of swings, with 1 minute of rest.  It's another simple repetitious theme (hence the "No brainer" title)  Here is the link to the original post:

http://tracysfoodandthought.blogspot.com/2012/08/no-brainer-swing-workout.html

I used all of my 10 rep swing combinations, and because I was concentrating on the order of it all, by the time I got to the 3rd set I had forgotten that I was thinking this was going to be torture and a new routine started to come together.  The first half is in fact a No Brainer, simply alternating 10 two hand swings with a 10 rep swing combination, but I changed a few things up instead of repeating the first 5 sets exactly.

No Brainer (revised to 40 rep sets)

start with a warm up of 10 rep sets (15/15 work to rest)

10 2 hd sw x 2 sets
10 tr x 2 sets
1/2 sw ld x 2 sets
5/5 x 2 sets
10 R x 1 set
10 L x 1 set
100 reps 5 min.

Work sets #1 

10 2 hd sw, 10 tr, 10 2 hd sw, 10 tr

#2 10 2 hd sw, 1/2 sw ld, 10 2 hd sw, 1/2 sw ld

#3 10 2 hd sw, 5/5, 10 2 hd sw, 5/5

these next two are a bit unexpected:

#4 10 2 hd sw, 10 R, 10 2 hd sw, 10 R 

#5 10 2 hd sw, 10 L, 10 2 hd sw, 10 L

200 reps, 5 sets of 40 (1 min work, 1 min rest)

(total workout including warm up and repeat of the 5 work sets
500 reps, 25 min.)
In the last two set where I alternate 10 one hand swings with my 10 2 hd swings I return back to the same side within the set, so R and L are done separately.  It adds a little higher level of strength/difficulty which led me to experiment with the next progression, which lead me to the next routine.  But, repeat this starting again with the first set. or if you want to use a few brain cells, repeat it backwards, laddering down the progressions for the second half (rotation #5, 4, 3, 2, 1).

Sorry no video...you are on your own!  Will you do it?

and then the last 500!

"Long and Short" 
(http://tracysfoodandthought.blogspot.com/2012/10/long-and-short-beginner-intermediate.html)

This workout has both long and short swing rep sets...hence the name!  It's a great routine to do with a group or partners at different levels of conditioning and strength as the options to take work sets out come often if extra rest is needed.  The rep counts are relatively low, with so many sets of only 10 reps using a much heavier bell will easily increase the intensity for some one more advanced.  While the one hand swing sets increase in rep count, the number of one hand swings ladder up in difficulty one rep at a time, and these longer and longer sets increase by only 15 seconds each progression.  Go as far as you feel you can safely maintain proper technique and form.




10 2 hd sw x 1 (15/15)
10 transfer swings x 1 (15/15)
10 2 hd sw x 2 sets (15/15 x 2)
1 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (20 swings, 30/30)
10 2 hd sw x 3 set (15/15 x 3)
2 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (30 swings, 45/45 sec)
10 2 hd sw x 4 sets (15/15 x 4)
3 sw, 1 tr x 10 x 1 set (40 swings, 1 min/1 min)

10 minutes, 200 swings

To make this a 500 swing rep workout, repeat above work sets and add:

10 2 hd sw x 4 sets (15/15)
2 sw, 1 tr x 10 (30 reps 45/45)
1 sw, 1 tr x 10 (30/30)
10 tr (15/15)

5 min., 100 swing reps

2000 swing reps, add in 13 swing however you like them and join us the rest of the year for more!

There you have it! These routines are designed to be trained individually as well as together and reflect progressive skill and work loads.  If you practice them you will be ready for anything I throw at you if you decide to join us for March 30th's The Swing Quest 2013.  This years routines will be based on these four workouts...how close will you come?  But no worries, there will always be more swings where these come from!