The 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout is Dan John’s famous 4-5 week challenge. You do 10,000 kettlebell swings split across 20 workouts, which works out to 500 swings a session. It’s brutally simple, and it’s one of the best ways to lean out and build work capacity without losing strength.
Each workout is 500 two-hand swings done as 5 rounds of 10, 15, 25, and 50 reps. Between the swing sets you do one strength exercise on a short rep ladder, so you build a little pressing or pulling strength while you grind out the swings.
We built a tracker that does the counting for you. Log each workout and the sheet keeps your running total, so you always know how many swings you have left to hit 10,000.
Table of Contents
10,000 Swing Workout Spreadsheet
Spreadsheet via T Nation
Open the Tracker tab and log your date, your strength exercise, and your swings each workout. The running total and a swings-left counter update on their own, so you can watch the 10,000 tick down.
How the Program Works
You train 4-5 days a week on a 2 days on, 1 day off schedule. Each of the 20 workouts is the same 500-swing structure, repeated until you’ve banked 10,000.
The workout
- 500 two-hand swings, done as 5 rounds of 10, 15, 25, and 50 reps
- Pick one strength exercise: overhead press, dip, goblet squat, or chin-up
- Do it on a 1-2-3 ladder: 10 swings then 1 rep, 15 swings then 2 reps, 25 swings then 3 reps, then 50 swings and rest
- Repeat that round 5 times (30 strength reps total)
- Rest 30-60 seconds after the 10, 15, and 25 sets. Rest 3 minutes or more after each set of 50
Kettlebell weight
Men use a 24 kg (53 lb) kettlebell and women use 16 kg (35 lb). If that’s too heavy to keep your form clean, drop a size and build up.
FAQ
How long does it take?
Four to five weeks, depending on whether you train 4 or 5 days a week. Twenty workouts total.
Which strength exercise should I pick?
Any one of overhead press, dip, goblet squat, or chin-up. Pick one per workout and you can rotate it from session to session.
Is it really free?
Yes. Dan John has shared this workout freely for years, and our tracker is free to copy with File then Make a Copy.
