Reaching 10,000 Swings!

I started the swing challenge back on October 2, 2008, about a month after I started training with Gregg. I had poked around Kerry’s blog and thought that having a goal was a great idea to keep me motivated and consistent with my workouts. It worked! I reached my goal on April 12, 2009 after swinging for over 6 months. And I'm still going strong.

Here's one simple practice that kept me on track and created inevitability with my 10K swing vision.

Since I had scraps of paper piled up with my swing totals for my workouts, I decided that having a journal would make this easier and much more fun. I used a composition book (which I don't recommend because all the pages got loose and are falling out) and listed all my swing numbers by date and total and then kept a running total. I created a fun inside cover using crayons and writing uplifting and empowering words of encouragement. 

I also wrote at different times about how I was feeling as a result of my KB workouts and what other changes I was noticing with my attitude, energy level, and overall happiness with life. I always felt stronger, clearer, and ready to meet whatever showed up as a result of completing my KB workout that morning. While the growing swing numbers were exciting to watch, the real win was the transformation I noticed in my life after the bell was put down.

In addition to my totals and inner thoughts, my journal included a date of May 17, 2009 to reach my 10,000 goal and I actually got there 5 weeks early! I had clearly underestimated how I would progress and get stronger as the weeks passed.

I think this next idea was a key step for me. Within my larger 10,000 goal, I set smaller goals like 1500 for three weeks that I also recorded in my journal in different colors. I really made this fun and upbeat because ultimately I was the one who was going to have to pick up that kettle bell and make it happen. Hitting these smaller numbers was very encouraging and also ensured that I wasn't going to be a week from my goal and having to cram in 3000 swings in 7 days.

Now it wasn't all smooth sailing even though I did have an inner discipline that definitely made the practice easier and consistent. There were days when I didn’t even want to think about picking up that bell; it just seemed so heavy. Sometimes I did it anyway and just aimed for 4 sets of 25 swings for 100. That was easily do-able and was still considered a a workout. I made steady progress by paying attention to what my body was up for at that time. If I went three or four days between sessions, so what? I knew the next day could be a record-breaker! No making myself feel bad about taking breaks. 

So make it fun! Get creative about tracking your progress in a journal and include lots of praise in the margins! Listen to your body and remember that every swing counts!

Look forward to sharing more about my Inner Grrr journey!