Liftin Weights and Beatin Breaks

Training Training Logs
301

5/2/12 - Wednesday

Breakdancing practice.

Backspins
5x3

Windmills
11x3

Handstands
10x2
Got 2 15-second ones and 1 20-second one.

Headswipes
5x3

Airswipe/headswipe combo
6x2
Roll around head. Set up foundation for freeze with left arm. Looking good enough to start learning a new move.

DB hold
15sec, 30sec, 45sec
100s, 2 towels
Performance improved as I went through the sets, probably because I optimized my hand placement on the DBs.

@BuildingUP: Thanks a lot for the post, it’s always encouraging when someone else posts in my log. I started lifting in March 2011 at 115 lbs BW and did SL5x5 from then through June. That’s when I put on most of my weight I have now; 25 lbs in those four months. I decided to do 5/3/1 in around mid-July of 2011 because my OHP got stuck at 95 lbs (which was really depressing because I had been trying to get 100 lbs for a while then). I felt like 5/3/1 was more reliable and directed than SL5x5 from what I’d heard about it, so one day I just decided to quit SL5x5. I looked up the 5/3/1 article on this website, crunched the percentages in Excel, and set some goals for the year.

302

5/3/12 - Thursday
Cycle 11, Week 2, Day 3

Squat
3x155
3x175
7x200 - Can’t compare to 10,3. Happy with this though.

RDL
2x10 - 225
1x7:F - 225
2x10 - 215
1x9:F - 215

Well damn it. I’m making a little too much noise for the kind people of the metro YMCA with this exercise, so it looks like I’m going to have to learn how to set the bar down quietly.

Front squat
2x6 - 170*
2x6 - 170
1x5:F - 170

Pull-ups
5,4,3,3,2
17 total

Windmills
3x3

*Spotter touched the bar on these two sets if I started grinding out a rep. Just fingers on the 5th or 6th reps of a set but I thought I should note it. The other three sets my spotter gave me no help whatsoever unless I absolutely needed it, which is what I prefer.

303

5/4/12 - Friday
Cycle 11, Week 2, Day 4

Bench press
3x110
3x125
9x140 - Beat previous 8x140(10,2).

Bent-over row
4x6 - 180

DB BP
1x5:F - 60s
1x6 - 60s
1x4:F - 60s
2x6 - 55s
1x5:F - 55s

DB row
1x6 - 110

DB hold
110s, 2 towels
1x12sec
1x10sec
1x15sec

Breakdancing
Windmills
3x3

304

5/5/12 - Saturday

Backspins
5x3

Windmills
11x3
Legs straight and wide. Minimize time spent on front. Got one set where I had enough momentum to re-stab twice. Hip consistently bangs on ground, though. That shit gets old quick :confused:

Handstands
10x2

Some Nike practice (new move)
Hand should point behind me when I kick up.

Some practice with headswipes in move sets

305

5/6/12 - Sunday

The numbers:
Weight: 155.5 lbs (no change)
Waist: 30 1/4" (+1/8)
Chest: 38 1/2" (+1/8)
Hips: 36 1/4" (-1/4)

Right bicep: 12 3/4" (no change)
Left bicep: 13" (no change)

Right thigh: 23 1/4" (no change)
Left thigh: 22 1/4" (-1/4)

And for a little entertainment:

306

5/7/12 - Monday
Cycle 11, Week 3, Day 1

Deadlift
5x210
3x235
7x265 - Beat previous 7x255(10,3).

RDL
1x10 - 225
1x8:F - 225
1x10 - 220
1x9:F - 215
1x8:F - 210
1x10 - 200

Clean
1x6 - 155
2x6 - 160 (PR). Also, bodyweight. (I weigh 155.5)
1x4:F - 160
1x6 - 150

Breakdancing
Windmills
3x3
Harder to do after a deadlift day than any other lifting workout. No progress. Considering whether to do them after any non-deload deadlift workout.

307

5/8/12 - Tuesday
Cycle 11, Week 3, Day 2

Overhead press
5x100
3x110
2x125 - Damn. Was expecting at least 4. Can’t compare to any previous PRs.

DB OHP
1x5:F - 50s
2x6 - 45s
1x4:F - 45s
2x6 - 40s

DB skull
1x9:F - 60
3x10 - 55
1x9:F - 55

Pull-ups
6,3,3,2,2
16 total

Breakdancing
Windmills
3x3
Re-stab with hand pointed forwards.

308

5/9/12 - Wednesday

Breakdancing practice:

Backspins
5x3
Face forwards, power off right leg, legs wide, hands close, avoid collapsing on right forearm. Made improvement today.

Windmills
11x3
Roll high, legs wide, re-stab with hand forwards, roll over quickly once re-stabbed. Made solid improvement today. Had multiple sets where I made two consecutive re-stabs.

Handstands
10x2
Got at least one 20-second one. Someone accidentally sent a basketball in my direction. It collided with my arms but I didn’t lose my balance.

Some Nike practice
Practicing against a wall helps with focusing on leg placement. Still figuring out how to get the balance right on my arm without any help.

Some headswipe practice
Experiment with popping up out of a hangglide freeze.

DB hold
2 towels, 100s
1x40sec
2x25sec

At the gym where I do my breakdancing, 100s are the heaviest DBs available. This is fine with me as one of my goals for this year is to walk down and back in said gym while holding said 100s, so when I do these DB holds it’s like I’m training for that.

309

5/10/12 - Thursday
Cycle 11, Week 3, Day 3

Squat
5x165
3x185
6x210 - Can’t compare to any previous PRs.

RDL
2x10 - 225
1x6:F - 225
1x10 - 215
1x9:F - 215
1x10 - 205

Front squat
1x6 - 175
1x6 - 180 - (PR)
1x3:F - 180
2x6 - 170

Pull-ups
6,5,4,1
16 total

Decrease in strength with pull-ups perhaps due to recent addition of occasional deadstops between reps to minimize accidental swinging of legs. I always keep them locked but somehow after doing 3-4 pull-ups I end up getting this circular motion towards and away from the bar, so I do a deadstop at the bottom of the pull-up to stop this motion, then continue with the set.

Breakdancing
Windmills
3x3
Focused on turning over more quickly.

310

5/11/12 - Friday
Cycle 11, Week 3, Day 4

Bench press
5x120
3x135
5x150 - Can’t compare to any previous PRs.

Bent-over row
1x6 - 185
1x3:F - 185
1x6 - 175
1x6 - 175 - Last 2 were cheated.

DB BP
1x4:F - 65s - Damn it.
1x6 - 60s
1x5:F - 60s
2x6 - 55s
1x5:F - 55s

DB row
1x6 - 110
Form improved. Moving up to 115 next cycle.

DB hold
2 towels, 110s
40sec, 32sec, 30sec

Breakdancing
Windmills
3x3
Just gotta keep at it to turn what is now flopping into what should be rolling.

311

5/12/12 - Saturday

Breakdancing practice:

Backspins
5x3

Windmills
11x3

Handstands
10x2

Nikes practice
No need to continue doing them against a wall - it’s just a crutch.

some headswipe practice
some kip-up practice

Nothing really new to report, just gotta keep my nose to the grindstone.

312

5/13/12 - Sunday

Weight: 157 lbs (+1.5 lbs)
Waist: 30 3/8" (+1/8")
Chest: 38 3/8" (-1/8")
Hips: 36 1/4" (no change)

Right bicep: 12 7/8" (+1/8")
Left bicep: 13 1/8" (+1/8")

Right thigh: 23 1/2" (+1/4")
Left thigh: 22 3/4" (+1/2")

My waist is bloated. I measured 30 1/2" at the beginning of the session, then released a couple burps while doing the other measurements, and measured my waist again at the end of the session and got 30 3/8". It can’t be fat because I still have the same “turtle-shell” when I’m not flexing my abs and flat six-pack when I am. Even my low-back looks as lean as it always does.

Chest may have been measured wrong last week.

Happy about increase in weight, biceps, and thighs.

313

5/14/12 - Monday
Cycle 11, Week 4, Day 1

Deadlift
5x110
5x140
5x165

RDL
3x10 - 100
3x10 - 110

Clean
3x6 - 75
2x6 - 80

Breakdancing

Windmills
5x3
Did 2 more sets since this the lifting was easy. No special sciencey reason there, just thought if I had the extra energy I might as well use some of it so I can get this move down more quickly.

Try to kick self in face with right leg to maximize rotation and chance of successful subsequent windmills. Helps a lot.

314

5/15/12 - Tuesday
Cycle 11, Week 4, Day 2

Overhead press
5x50
5x65
5x80

DB OHP
6x6 - 20s

DB skull
5x10 - 25

Breakdancing
Windmills
7x3
Thinking about each individual form cue while doing the move helps.

315

5/16/12 - Wednesday

Breakdancing practice:

Backspins
5x3
Got one that almost went all the way around.

Windmills
11x3
Legs wide and straight helps with momentum.

Handstands
10x2
No really long ones but had one where I collapsed onto my forearms before my feet hit the ground. Hm.

Nikes practice
Looking solid, my friend took a video. I’ll post it if he sends it to me. Working on going into them from a standing position and transitioning out of them now.

Headswipe practice
Just a couple of move sets with headswipes. Got winded quickly… too quickly. Not sure what to do about that.

316

5/17/12 - Thursday
Cycle 11, Week 4, Day 3

Squat
5x90
5x110
5x130

RDL
2x10 - 100
2x10 - 105
2x10 - 110

Front squat
4x6 - 85
1x6 - 90

Breakdancing:
Windmills
5x3

317

5/18/12 - Friday
Cycle 11, Week 4, Day 4

Bench press
5x65
5x80
5x95 - This used to be my working weight. Heh

Bent-over row
1x6 - 80
2x6 - 85
1x6 - 90

DB BP
4x6 - 25s
2x6 - 30s

DB row
1x6 - 55

Breakdancing
Windmills
5x3
Slight progress.

318

5/19/12 - Saturday

Me versus gravity - here we go.

Backspins
5x3
Didn’t go as well as Wednesday. Could be due to friction against the ground; for some reason my back was really sweaty before I walked in the gym. Oh well.

Windmills
11x3
I got this - just have to keep at it.

Handstands
10x2
Got a 22-second one.

Nikes
Practiced transitions into and out of them. Getting better at splitting my legs more. Got some nice move sets where I combined them with footwork before and a headswipe after.

Headswipes
Practiced smoothing them out.

Airswipe/headswipe combo
Practiced going more quickly from the airswipe to the headswipe.

I don’t count how much volume I do for nikes and the stuff after them. I just go by feel - if I feel myself tiring out then I’ll end a set. Once I feel like I improved I’ll move on. Not to put too fine a point on it but the whole workout took a little under 3 hours, and I spend about the first hour and a half of the workout on the backspins, windmills(mostly), and handstands. The last hour and a half is mostly nikes, with headswipe stuff thrown in to make sure I can still do it, and to perfect it.

Today I decided to have a little fun so, after my workout, instead of eating lunch (chicken, rice and greek yogurt) and my standard late-afternoon snack (oats, chocolate whey, peanut butter, milk), I just drank a gallon of milk instead. It took me about one and a half hours. Every time I got sick I threw the milk in the car (A/C on full blast), took a drive, and then came back to the store to drink what I could.

I finished the full gallon, kept it all down, and the macros from it work out to what they would normally be for the day. Not to mention I got ~1800 calories of that organic dairy goodness for just $6.48. I gotta say I’m pretty proud of myself.

319

5/20/12 - Sunday

Measurements:

Weight: 157.5 lbs (+.5 lbs)
Waist: 29 5/8" (-3/4")
Chest: 38" (-3/8")
Hips: 36" (-1/4")

Right bicep: 12 3/4" (-1/8")
Left bicep: 12 7/8" (-1/4")

Right thigh: 23 1/8" (-3/8")
Left thigh: 22 3/8" (-3/8")

Waist got de-bloated. Could be due to how I intentionally dropped additional salt in everything I ate, or because that gallon of milk I drank yesterday gave me the serious shits.

As usual for a deload week I lose measurements everywhere yet mysteriously gain weight.

320

5/21/12 - Monday
Cycle 12, Week 1, Day 1

Deadlift
5x185
5x215
14x245 - Beat previous 14x235(11,1).

RDL
1x10 - 225
1x6:F - 225
2x10 - 215
1x5:F - 215
1x10 - 205

Clean
2x6 - 160
1x6 - 155 - Second set was really tough, I almost got stuck at the bottom.
1x4:F - 155
1x5:F - 150

Breakdancing
Windmills
3x3
First set sucked, but my mobility improved for the other two sets and I got some “good” ones in.

I tore a couple of calluses today. I also received plenty of advice on how to do my cleans (don’t catch them deeper than parallel, lower the weight, etc), which I disregarded. I did learn one neat tip though: If I keep the bar close to my body when I’m letting it down, letting it touch/hit my thigh/knee, I can make the bar hit the ground very quietly. So that’s one step forward to better gym citizenship right there.