1/26/12 - Thursday
Cycle 7, Week 4, Day 3
Bench press
5x55
5x70
5x85
Bent-over row
4x6 - 70
DB bench press
6x6 - 25s
DB ‘kroc’ row
1x25 - 45
Easy.
1/27/12 - Friday
Cycle 7, Week 4, Day 4
Squat
5x75
5x90
5x110
RDL
6x10 - 85
Front squat
2x6 - 70
2x6 - 75
1x6 - 80
7 cycles down, 6 to go. Total progress in PRs so far is shown above.
1/28/12 - Saturday
Breakdancing practice. Decided I would change things up for Saturday practices but keep Wednesdays the same. Here goes:
Flare hold - belly up (BU)
4x3
Hip flexors were burning afterwards.
Flare hold - belly down (BD)
4x4
Toyed around with back arch to get a handle on how to do these, it’s like a handstand but a little tougher.
Slow-motion flares
4x3
Frequent contact with ground, focused on basics like rotating, where to put my hands, etc
Rest-pause windmills
3x4
Helped focus on power without having to worry about balance.
Rolling on head helped.
Next week with these I will focus on landing just on my head and hands.
Headswipes
5x2
I’m getting them perfectly (smooth, no contact with ground) about 50% now. I’m gonna work on chaining them together and putting them in a set.
Handstands
12x2
Didn’t go as well as Wednesday’s did, probably because I shoved them away at the end of the workout.
Basically I did more slow, focused movements today, using the opportunity to work on things that I never focus on enough when I’m running a move (power in windmills, hand placement in flares, etc). I hope this helps me get the strength edge I need to do these moves right. In any case it’s preventing me from bleeding as much as I do when I mess up a flare or windmill while going quickly.
1/29/12 - Sunday
From now on let it be known that all units are standard US units (lbs, inches, etc)
Measurements:
Weight: 149.5 (no change)
Waist: 29 7/8" (up by 1/2")
Chest: 37 1/2" (no change)
Good that only my waist measurement went in the wrong direction this deload week. I might have also had some sort of bloat going on but I don’t know why. Oh well. Ready to go hard in cycle 8.
1/30/12 - Monday
Cycle 8, Week 1, Day 1
Late update. Don’t worry, I won’t miss a workout on you guys. Especially one as good as this one.
Overhead press
5x75
5x90
10x100 - Beat previous 10x95(7,1) and 8x100(7,2).
DB OHP
1x7 - 40s
1x6 - 45s - Oh yeaaaaaaaaaah.
1x2:F - 45s - Dammit.
1x7 - 40s
1x6:F - 40s
1x5:F - 40s
DB skull
1x12 - 45
1x10 - 50 - Alright, sweet.
1x6:F - 50 - Dammit.
1x7:F - 45
1x9:F - 45
Pull-ups
4,2,4,2
Next week I’m going to move back to sets of 6 and 10 (respectively) for the two assistance exercises here since I managed to do the heavier weight for a full set; I can claw my way up with that.
1/31/12 - Tuesday
Cycle 8, Week 1, Day 2
Wow, can’t believe I’m at cycle 8 already. Just gonna keep pushing through!
Deadlift
5x165
5x190
15x215 - Beat previous 15x205(7,1). Took a second to reset my grip and positioning and such for the final rep.
RDL
4x10 - 175
1x6:F - 175
1x7:F - 170
Clean
4x6 - 125
1x6 - 130
2/1/12 - Wednesday
Flares
15x1
Got better than last time. Left leg hit the ground less often.
Handstands
12x2
Couldn’t focus except for a couple. However, squeezing trunk makes it easier to balance.
Windmills
3x4
Sucked. Too much power, too little balance.
Air/Headswipe combos
3x2
Neat idea, will perfect it over time.
Headswipes
3x2
Done alone to work on technique of just this movement.
DB hold
90s, 60 seconds, 1 drop @58 seconds
Overall I’d say I’ve had better days. My performance with windmills is getting worse so I’ll just cut those out of my breakdancing workouts for now. I’m confident in this decision because the last time I cut out windmills for 1-2 months to let my shoulder “scar” heal, and then came back to them, they felt great - smooth, powerful, and they definitely had less ground contact from the legs. Plus, the energy I save from not doing windmills might just help my flares.
2/2/12 - Thursday
Cycle 8, Week 1, Day 3
Bench press
5x95
5x110
11x120 - Did not beat previous 11x120(7,1). Oh well, life goes on.
Bent-over row
3x6 - 150
1x5:F - 150
DB bench press
1x6 - 55s
1x5:F - 55s
2x6 - 50s
1x5:F - 50s
1x6 - 45s
DB lawnmower rows (same thing as kroc rows)
1x13:F - 100
DB hold
95s, 60 seconds, 1 drop@40
Update - new breakdancing practice plan:
Windmills: 5x4
Handstands: 12x2
Headswipes: 5x2
Move sets*: 3
*Something I would do in an actual breakdancing battle - essentially, putting all my skills together.
I know it seems like I keep switching back and forth with breakdancing practice plans, but I’m sure about this one. I want to focus on perfecting my windmills and basic stuff before moving on to flares.
2/3/12 - Friday
Cycle 8, Week 1, Day 4
Squat
5x125
5x145
11x165 - Beat previous 10x165(7,2).
RDL
6x10 - 175
Front squat
4x6 - 155
1x3:F - 155
Pull-ups
7,3,4,3,2 - 19 total
First set of pull-ups was violent kipping as usual, but a couple guys nice enough to give me advice set me straight. All the sets afterward I kept my lower body as tight as possible and I went all the way down like I should. Was a lot harder but I’ll keep doing it this way.
2/4/12 - Saturday
I will start off by saying that my windmills used to look like this: (video taken 9/7/11) Notice the full stop between each windmill.
Windmills
5x4
Handstands
12x2
Headswipes
3x2
Airswipe-headswipe combo
3x2
Getting quicker with these.
Move sets - 3
Just a few sets in which I practiced a bunch of different moves together, learning how to transition between them, how to start and finish a set, etc.
2/4/12 - Saturday (continued)
Now, however, my windmills look like this. (video taken today) Smoother, only left foot touches the ground. I think that now that I’m focusing more on windmills, I’ll get continuous ones soon.
2/5/12 - Sunday
Mamamameasurements.
Weight: 152 lbs (+2.5)
Waist: 30" (+1/8)
Chest: 38" (+1/2)
Didn’t change diet or exercise at all, which is why I’m confused about the sudden burst in growth. This happened last cycle too; at the end of 7,1 I was 150.5 lbs, and then my weight came back down to 149 lbs after 7,2.
Either way, my chest/waist ratio increased, which I’m happy about, and more weight just means I’ll fill out my shirts and be able to lift heavier.
Finally, the increase in waist bugs me but I’m pretty sure its just constipation because I tried to take a duke after waking up today and I felt that something big was in there but I just couldn’t push it out. I also had lots of gas this whole week.
2/6/12 - Monday
Cycle 8, Week 2, Day 1
Overhead press
3x80
3x95
8x105 - No PR, but at least I didn’t get weaker.
DB OHP
1x6 - 45s
1x3:F - 45s
3x6 - 40s
1x6 - 45s
DB skull
1x10 - 50
1x6:F - 50
2x10 - 45
1x9:F - 50
Pull-ups*
3,2,2,2,2
11 total
*Ended up with less reps/set on these because I’m sure to go all the way down now. It hurts my elbows less, and I feel the pulling in upper back a lot better.
2/7/12 - Tuesday
Cycle 8, Week 2, Day 2
Shortened workout today. Car accident (luckily not my fault, and I didn’t get injured) has me at the mercy of my parents’ willingness to cart me back and forth to the gym, perhaps for the next week or so.
Deadlift
3x175
3x200
9-10x225 - Counting and lifting is hard. Can’t compare to any previous PRs.
RDL
1x10 - 180
1x10 - 185
1x0:F - 195
1x6:F - 190
3x10 - 100
Clean
1x6 - 130
1x4:F - 135
3x6 - 100
Only did about 1/2 the sets of assistance work, so I went as heavy as I could for the little bit of volume I had to work with. After I came home I did the rest of my assistance sets with the 100 lbs of barbell weight in my basement. Easy, could call it junk work, but I figured it was better than nothing.
2/8/12 - Wednesday
Breakdancing.
Windmills
5x4
Getting better. Inter-mill pauses are shorter and my left leg is coming around more before pausing. Focused on keeping my legs locked and wide and it helped. Took a video but I don’t want to post anything until I get a set of continuous ones.
Handstands
12x2
Got a 10-second one.
Headswipes
3x2
Airswipe + headswipe combo
3x2
Move sets
3 - just combining moves I know into a set. Footwork, moves, finisher.
DB hold
70 seconds
95s
1 drop at 45-second mark.
2/9/12 - Thursday
Cycle 8, Week 2, Day 3
Bench press
3x100
3x115
8-9x130 - I should start counting out loud or something. Either way, for sure beat 7x130(6,3) and maybe 9x125(7,2), depending on if I actually got 8 or 9.
Bent-over row
2x6 - 155
1x5:F - 155
1x6 - 150
DB bench press
2x6 - 55s
1x3:F - 60s
1x6 - 55s
1x4:F - 55s
1x6 - 50s
DB ‘kroc’ row
1x15:F - 100
DB hold
60 seconds
95s
2 drops at 25 and 45
2/10/12 - Friday
Cycle 8, Week 2, Day 4
Squat
3x135
3x155
10x175 - Beat previous 7x175(7,3).*
RDL
3x10 - 180
1x7:F - 185
2x10 - 180
Front squat
1x6 - 165
4x6 - 100**
Pull-ups
3,2,1,1,0 - 7 total
Got a lot less pull-ups than the 15 I was hoping for; was focusing on quality instead of quantity.
*Holy crap. I had no idea I would get this many reps today; I was hoping to just get 8. I think it has something to do with how I did a lot less intensive assistance work on Tuesday because of how little time I had for that particular workout.
I might be working too hard on assistance work, given how often I go to failure. Decreasing assistance work volume is definitely on my mind for next cycle.
**School gym closed, had to go home and finish up with 100 lbs front squats.
2/11/12 - Saturday
Late update, forgot to post yesterday.
Breakdancing practice:
Windmills
5x4
The first set was the best, and felt pretty good. After that set though my performance seemed to just go downhill from there.
Handstands
13x2
max: 15 seconds
Unless my sweatpants are rolled up, they get in the way of how my legs kick up into the handstand. Might seem like it shouldn’t matter but it does.
Headswipes
3x2
Airswipe/headswipe combo
3x2
Getting more consistent with these.
Move sets
3
Practicing with how to get up from a headswipe.
2/12/12 - Sunday
Measurements:
Weight: 151 lbs (-1)
Waist: 29 1/2" (-1/2)
Chest: 38 1/4" (+1/4)
Seems to be no negative effects from not having done some assistance sets in my deadlift and squat days. I guess I should have measured leg circumference or some other lower body measurement before and after this week, but oh well.
2/13/12 - Monday
Cycle 8, Week 3, Day 1
Overhead press
5x90
3x100
7x110 - 110 was my 1RM right after cycle 4. I love coming back to what used to be my 1RM and banging it out for reps.
DB OHP
2x6 - 45s
1x1:F - 45s
1x6 - 40s
1x8 - 40s
1x3:F - 45s
I am at a loss in terms of what to do to progress in this exercise.
DB skull-crusher
1x10 - 50
1x10 - 55
1x8:F - 55
1x6:F - 50
1x7:F - 50 - Thought I could get it if I just rested more.
Pull-ups
3,3,2,2,1
11 total
No particular method to pull-ups, just do better than last time, don’t hit failure, go all the way down, and don’t kip.
I’ll stop hitting failure so often.