sword swinging for exercise?
theoretical end goal: flourishing a greatsword for a considerable amount of time in a park or in my backyard on a regular basis for my primary form of exercise
is this possible?
is this a good idea?
any tips?
(not sure if this is the right subreddit for this, sorry if it isnt)
(also, im not sure if anyone will be bothered by this but I will be reffering to the entire group of "zweihänder, montante, and spadone" swords as greatswords)
(Edit) Ive mentioned this in the comments but I feel like maintaining progressively loaded macebell exercises would establish the strength portion of the workout while the sword drills would count for cardio
Elaboration:
I have had a random impulsive thought that I have just kept visiting constantly for the past two days and have had a long ChatGPT session discussing about possibly adopting a traditional great sword military training regimen or something similar and use that as a general fitness program while incorporating any focused exercise or stretches that would address anything I feel I lack in order to complete my exercises
I am making this post for some general human input or a voice of reason (chatGPT can feel like a bit of a voice of affirmation rather than reason sometimes)
history:
I used to be a powerlifter for 3 years but I stopped when I got a job and haven't gotten back into it (I think its because I was lifting mainly for some sense of progression while I was unemployed and now I dont have that motivation since I am employed, IDK though and I wont elaborate) point being that I have good experience with general purpose strength training, however I have been out of practice for a long time so I have lost most of the actual strength by now
I have no HEMA or related experience to speak of
the Idea so far:
I am not exactly an olimpian currently, I dont expect to be capable of just swinging around a giant sword effortlessly right out the gate, nor do I have any interest in swinging something around in a public space while having no clue what I am doing. My idea right now is to take it in phases, I want to start with stretching exercises to increase my range of motion while doing macebell exercises (I bought a 10 pound one impulsively on amazon yesterday) to get a feel for how my stretching is progressing and build strength back, while also messing around with a cosplay sword (I have had for a while now because I am lame) to get a feel for any techniques I might want to practice. once I feel I have a grasp on some techniques and have at least most of the range of motion needed to follow through with them I want to get a wooden rod from home depot cut to the length of a greatsword that I can keep in my car and swing around in a park or something similar as I live in an apartment with no backyard yet. eventually I might graduate to using a synthetic greatsword, and then maybe graduate to a full steel sword if I keep at it for a long time (they not cheep though so it would have to be something I keep at for a looong time before I decide its worth it)
some books/resources I plan to work with:
Ken Mondschein, The Art of the Two-Handed Sword
Diogo Gomes de Figueyredo, Memorial of the Practice of the Montante (1651)
SET FOR SET Steel Mace Training Guide
I couldnt really find any modern resources on specifically greatswords
the motivation:
I want something that will accomplish general fitness with a focus on strength all as a byproduct, if I am just doing general exercises to keep myself healthy thatll become boring, however obsessing over something that is impractical and unnecessary sounds like itll be fun. This is why I am being specific about it being a type of sword that I am aware that most HEMA clubs probobly dont practice and that I will probobly never actually spar with, because I dont care about practicality with this and I want to focus on strength
also I am 5'2" so swinging a sword arround that is bigger than myself sounds funny
sorry for the really long ranty post
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2gcpFU-78k
