Swinging for Long Sets

Now that you have accepted the 10,000 swing challenge, here are some suggestions for easing into longer swing sets:

• Relax into it. Start by relaxing your breathe. When we teach beginners to swing, Gregg and I emphasize a forceful breath to help the beginners develop body awareness with the KB, by associating a forceful exhale at the top with power from the hips and full extension of the hips forward. Now that you are more comfortable with your KB - you feel confident that you can hang onto it and you remember to pop your hips through on every repetition - you can slow down the pace of your swings for longer sets. Start by slowing down your breath - long inhales and long exhales. Sync your downward/backward swing with a long inhale, and your upward swing with a long exhale. Notice your jaw - you may be clenching it - remnants from your first encounter with the KB and your fears of swinging this chunk of iron! Relax your jaw, your shoulders, and your grip. Just keep enough tension in your grip to keep it in your hand. When I was training for the KB Cert, I often finished my KB workout with jogging a few laps around a track near our house. Gregg observed that I was really tight when I was running- clenching my jaw, fists, and shoulders - which the body associates with a distressed state, thereby working against my goal of building endurance. He suggested that I relax these areas, and the result was that I was able to jog further and longer without getting as winded as before. I still have to remind myself sometimes (both when jogging and swinging) to check for tension in my jaw, shoulder, and grip, but often, just by noticing those areas, I am able to relax them.
  
• See yourself relaxing into it! Picture yourself having stamina for a long swing set. Picture yourself relaxed - like a runner in a marathon! Notice any areas of tension or anything that might be clenched and visually relax it.
  
• Break up your count to keep your mind challenged. If you are doing one-handed swings, start by doing 10 with the left, then 10 with the right, then 9 with the left, then 9 with the right, and on and on. One way to easily get to 100 swings in one set is to "trick" yourself by first doing 2 sets of 10 with each hand, then a set of 5 with each hand - that's already 50 swings, so you are halfway there. Then, switch to several sets of 2 with each hand, then alternate every other hand for the last 10 or 20 swings. You just did a 100-swing set!
• Listen to music that makes you want to dance. I have a playlist on iTunes with the Stones, Rick Springfield, Matchbox 20, and a bunch of 80's one-hit wonders. I sync my breathing and swings to the music and it actually feels easy to pound through multiple sets of 100 swings. After a while, you may notice that you feel almost graceful while you are swinging.
• Develop a fluid rhythm. When I started to relaxed more into the swing, I realized that the natural movement of the arm holding the KB was to turn slightly inward at the bottom of the swing. I'll explain what I mean by this. When you are at the top of the swing, the handle of the KB is perpendicular to your chest, with your arm straight out in front of you, knuckles pointed up or away from you. As the KB starts to arc down, I noticed that it is most comfortable to turn my shoulder slightly in toward my body, such that the handle of the KB starts to become parallel with my chest. At the bottom of the downward arc, my elbow is bent outward slightly, such that my forearm is perpendicular to my body and my knuckles are facing my opposite leg. I'm not sure how clear this explanation is - check out the picture and video below. In addition, allow your body to naturally move a little from side and feel the weight shift from side to side in your feet. The whole movement becomes very fluid and graceful. This is a great way to feel more comfortable in your own skin!

• Have proper rest between sets. The best way to rest is to stay on your feet and active - lightly bouncing or walking is best, but, most importantly keep active. If you are too gassed to walk around, whatever you do, please do not bend at the waist and lean forward with your hands on your thighs. KB swings stretch your back muscles and they are tired, making it harder for them to hold your vertebrae in alignment. If you need passive rest, lay on the floor on your stomach with your arms under you and your head up. This will keep your vertebrae in alignment while your back muscles recuperate. A great way to wind down after a heavy swing workout is to lie this way on the floor with an ice pack on your lower back. Do a crossword or read while in this position as an extra post-workout treat!

• Be aware of any "sticky" places. When I first started doing long swing sets, I noticed that I had a sort of "sticking" place in my right hip. It helped to alternate frequently which hand was swinging and to ice the "sticky" spot afterwards. But, it wasn't going away. I mentioned this to my brother-in-law, who helps clients with bodywork alignment issues. He noticed that I was regularly turning my right leg out, even when just standing. He gave me some suggestions for getting my body back into alignment. The most important thing has been to be more aware of when my body is asymmetric and to correct it. What I've noticed is that my body alignment during KBs was fine - it was the rest of my life where it was off, including my body position when I am sleeping, driving, and working. Many of us spend a lot of time sitting, which is a difficult position for the lower back and hips, so we move things around to find different positions. We still haven't corrected the problem at the source, which is too much sitting and the ways we arrange our bodies to compensate for too much sitting. So, be aware - if you notice a "sticking" or sore point after a long swing set, then pay more attention to whether your body is symmetric in every day activities.