5/22/12 - Tuesday
Cycle 12, Week 1, Day 2
Overhead press
5x90
5x100
7x115 - No PR.
DB OHP
4x6 - 45s
1x5:F - 45s
1x6 - 40s
DB skull
4x10 - 55
1x6:F - 55
Pull-ups
4,1,2,0 - palms out
1,2,2,2,2 - neutral
16 total
Breakdancing
Windmills
3x3
Not the best day ever. No PR and small progress in assistance exercises. Pull-ups got weaker, which may be because I worked my back a lot yesterday (deadlifts/cleans).
5/23/12 - Wednesday
Breakdancing practice.
Backspins
5x3
Windmills
11x3
Handstands
10x2
PR: 44 seconds.
Nikes
Pop into them, don’t “slide” up. Keep legs straight.
Headswipes
DB hold
20sec, 9sec, 25sec, 30sec
100s, 2 towels
Don’t know why I did so bad with DB holds, might have been just that I didn’t grab the DBs properly.
5/24/12 - Thursday
Cycle 12, Week 1, Day 3
Squat
5x150
5x170
10x195 - Beat previous 9-10x185(11,1).
RDL
2x10 - 225
1x7:F - 225
1x10 - 215
1x8:F - 215
1x10 - 205
Front squat
1x5+1S - 180 - Was grinding out the 6th one and I could’ve got it but the spotter grabbed it before I could lock it out.
1x5:F - 180
1x6 - 175
1x5:F - 175
1x6 - 170
Pull-ups
6,4,3,2,3
18 total
Windmills
3x3
5/25/12 - Friday
Cycle 12, Week 1, Day 4
Bench press
5x105
5x120
9x140 - No PR.
Bent-over row
1x6 - 185
1x4:F - 185
2x6 - 175
DB BP
2x6 - 60s
1x5:F - 60s
1x6 - 55s
1x4:F - 55s
1x6 - 50s - Was really easy.
DB row
1x6 - 115
DB hold
19sec, 17sec, 8sec
115s, 2 towels
Breakdancing:
Windmills
3x3
5/26/12 - Saturday
Backspins
5x3
Windmills
12x3
Got some clean doubles.
Handstands
10x2
Max: 34 seconds
Also did some walking ones. Walked from the free-throw line to the 3-point line.
Nikes practice
“Pop” up. Legs wide and straight. Balance goes through shoulder, arm, and wrist. Got some solid ones from footwork, much better than before.
Headswipes
Few. Just a set of five to make sure I can still do them.
Memorial Day is coming up on Monday, 5/28/12. The YMCA is closed for this day, which means I have to get creative on how to get in my deadlift workout. So far my options are:
Option #1:
Sunday: Deadlift
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: OHP
(rest of week as normal)
Option #2:
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Deadlift at a gym other than the YMCA
Tuesday: OHP
(rest of week as normal)
Option #3:
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Deadlift and OHP, either both in one session with some assistance cut out or both workouts in the same day
(rest of week as normal)
Option #1 would be great but I’ve got a rigid arrangement from noon-3pm and the YMCA is only open from noon-5pm, so I’d have to change quick, get there quick, but otherwise I’d have solid time to do my workout.
Option #2 is more complicated than it sounds being 16 with no money.
Option #3 sounds tough. But I can make it happen.
Pushing my workouts back a day is NOT an option, because then I’d have to do breakdancing on next Sunday, and the only gym I can breakdance at is closed on Sunday.
5/27/12 - Sunday
And here’s the numbers.
Weight: 153 (-4.5)
Waist: 29 7/8 (+1/4)
Chest: 38 3/8 (+3/8)
Hips: 36 1/8 (+1/8)
Right bicep: 12 3/4 (no change)
Left bicep: 13 (+1/8)
Right thigh: 23 1/4 (+1/8)
Left thigh: 22 3/8 (no change)
Downright shocked by the loss of 4.5 pounds. Although I still got a typical amount of PRs this week.
I baked some simple whole wheat biscuits to replace bread at my breakfast every day to remove some monotony (yes, they were good). I checked the macros from every ingredient 2-3 times to make sure they went with what I normally ate in a day and I made sure I got every last bit of each ingredient of the counter, out of the bowl, and into each biscuit for scientific accuracy.
Last time I dropped substantial weight in a week I ate 3/4 c. oats instead of the 1 c. I should have. But all my measurements dropped then, too. Here it’s just weight. I have one of those biscuits left now so I’ll eat it today and tomorrow I’ll go back to the bread I’m used to eating.
Update: Decided to do deadlift and OHP workouts on Tuesday and rest Sunday and tomorrow(memorial day). I figure I won’t have enough time to get my full deadlift workout in today and it’s better I wait until Tuesday anyways so that I know I’ll be fully recovered.
5/28/12 - Monday
I can pay $16.05 for a guest workout at a nearby gym and with one of my parent’s signatures I can do my deadlift workout there today.
Or I can do my deadlift workout tomorrow morning for free at the YMCA.
The nearby gym closed by the time I got there. The opening hours I found for that gym’s website were drastically cut for Memorial Day, and I only found that out when I showed up. Looks like I saved about $15 and I’m doing deadlift tomorrow morning with OHP in the afternoon.
5/29/12 - Tuesday (AM)
Cycle 12, Week 2, Day 1
Deadlift
3x200
3x230
11x260 - Beat previous 11x250(11,2).
RDL
1x10 - 225
1x8:F - 225
1x10 - 215
1x8:F - 215
1x9:F - 205
1x7:F - 200
Clean
1x6 - 160
1x4+1S:F - 160
2x6 - 155
1x5:F - 155
Breakdancing:
Windmills
3x3
An S means that the person spotting me helped me during the rep when I think I would have had it without his help. So 1x4+1S:F means I got 4 reps on my own, I think I would’ve got the 5th rep but the spotter helped me up on it anyways, and I hit failure because I tried for a 6th rep but I couldn’t get it.
I hit failure a lot. At least I was pretty close to the target number of reps on most of those failed sets.
OHP this afternoon.
5/29/12 - Tuesday (PM)
Cycle 12, Week 2, Day 2
Overhead press
3x95
3x110
4x120 - Got weaker from 5x120(10,3). But I’m pretty sure that’s just because of the deadlifts this morning. Or the fact that “It’s Raining Men” was playing over the gym speakers.
DB OHP
6x6 - 45s
DB skullcrusher
4x10 - 55
1x7:F - 55
Pull-ups
6,4,2,2,2,3 - 19 total
Used wide grip on the last set. It gives more height and better lats contraction, so I’ll use that from now on.
Breakdancing:
Windmills
3x3
To avoid shoulder burn: let right hand spin on ground and take my time to collapse onto upper back.
To avoid hip-ground slam: Focus on rolling high off of the re-stab. Think legs high, contracting abs.
Can get doubles reliably now.
5/30/12 - Wednesday
Breakdancing practice.
Backspins
3x3
Get rid of them. I’ve got the hang of collapsing and rolling high onto my upper back now. The collapse for getting a good backspin I find is different from that of getting a good windmill. The backspin is about spin while the windmill is about roll. So I’ll drop these.
Windmills
11x3
Got a triple. Got a double where I froze with my legs in the air. Great progress today.
Handstands
8x2
Best: 30sec
Don’t swallow. Don’t turn head. Any little unnecessary motion has the power to kill a solid handstand.
Handstand walk
3x2
These are just plain fun to do. A rep counts as at least three steps being taken.
Nikes
Getting more consistent. Focus on balance through the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand.
Headswipes
Got a move set with:
footwork+nike+headswipe+front handspring
It was pretty sweet.
DB hold
115s, 2 towels
10sec, 8sec, 10sec
Fell back from last Thursday. 
5/31/12 - Thursday
Cycle 12, Week 2, Day 3
Squat
3x160
3x185
7x205 - Beat previous 7x200(11,2).
RDL
3x10 - 225
1x10 - 215
1x7:F - 215
1x10 - 205
Front squat
1x6 - 180
1x4:F - 180
1x6 - 175
1x3:F - 175
1x6 - 170
Pull-ups
7,3,3,2,1
16 total
Breakdancing:
Windmills
3x3
I’m starting to feel a little beat up from breakdancing in the various points of impact where my body collides with the ground. But I’m really close to getting these windmills. I’ve made solid progress and I’ll get them if I just keep at it.
Finally, May is finished. Damn I thought it would never end.
6/1/12 - Friday
Cycle 12, Week 2, Day 4
Bench press
3x115
3x130
7x145 - Can’t compare to any recent PRs.
Bent-over row
1x6 - 190 (PR)
1x6 - 195 (PR)
1x3:F - 200
2x6 - 190
DB BP
2x4:F - 65s - Tried 65s twice because I thought the mess up on the first set was just a stability/focus thing. Guess not.
1x6 - 60s
1x5:F - 60s
2x6 - 55s
DB hold
17sec, 23sec, 27sec
115s, 2 towels
Breakdancing:
Windmills - 3x3
Improved from yesterday’s suckage, still not as good as Wednesday. Probably just because I was tired out from the lifting.
I dropped the DB row and just put another set on bent-over row. This is because twice when I was doing DB row I went all the way down with the weight for full range of motion, but it seemed to have pulled something in my mid-back on whatever side I was doing the DB row for. Don’t worry, I feel fine now, it just panged for a couple of days. Bent-over row feels like a better contraction anyways.
6/2/12 - Saturday
Windmills
18x3
Progress. Got four in a row. Need to stay in the same place while milling though. Emphasizing rolling high helps get enough power to chain mills. Keeping legs wide helps too.
Handstands
8x2
best:33sec
Handstands walk
3x2
Nikes
Headswipes
Nike/headswipe move set (video)
It was all around better the first time I did it, I was a little tired out by the time I actually asked someone to record me. I always do worse on camera D:
After dropping the backspins I had a lot more energy and time to put into windmills.
6/3/12 - Sunday
Measurements:
Weight: 153.5 lbs (+.5 lbs)
Waist: 29 7/8"
Chest: 38 3/8"
Hips: 36 1/8"
Right bicep: 12 3/4"
Left bicep: 13"
Right thigh: 23 3/8" (+1/8")
Left thigh: 22 3/8"
From now on measurements with no +/- number next to them had no change since last week.
Not sure what’s up with the drop in weight from 157 of a couple weeks ago. But I kept getting stronger and eating the same way, plus my measurements are all the same and my main goal is lb/lb strength, so I’m not worried.
6/4/12 - Monday
Cycle 12, Week 3, Day 1
Deadlift
5x215
3x245
6x275 - Can’t compare to any previous PRs.
RDL
1x10 - 235
1x9:F - 235
1x10 - 225
1x6:F - 225
2x10 - 215
Clean
1x6 - 165 (PR)
1x4:F - 170 - Fell backwards on the second rep when I caught it at the bottom. Yes, it happens. So I pushed out 3 more and that was it.
3x6 - 160
Breakdancing:
Windmills - 3x3
6/5/12 - Tuesday
Cycle 12, Week 3, Day 2
Overhead press
5x100
3x115
2x130 - Beat previous 2x125(11,3). Wow I was happy about this PR. I would’ve been fine with 1x130 because I was a little unsure of whether I would get the prescribed one rep with this weight. It’s also the only +5lb PR I’ve had on either upper body lift in way too long.
DB OHP
2x6 - 50s (PR)
1x3:F - 50s
3x6 - 45s
DB skull
1x10 - 60 (PR)
1x6:F - 60
2x10 - 55
1x7:F - 55
Pull-ups
7,4,3,2
16 total
Breakdancing:
Windmills
3x3
6/6/12 - Wednesday
Windmills
17x3
Too much volume. Performance starts out well but dies towards the end, not to mention the constant abrasion and collision of my body against the ground that comes with the drop in performance. Not sure how I did so many last Saturday. I should pay more attention to know when I need to stop before I get tired and start reinforcing the wrong movement patterns.
Going for clean doubles - having two windmills in a row where my legs don’t touch the ground whatsoever, then I’ll go from there. I’ve gotten close but nothing great. My legs need to stay wider and I need to roll higher off the re-stab. Also consider contracting abs on second roll to bring legs up. I figure it’s better to work on getting two solid windmills than a bunch of shitty ones where I just roll/flop/roll/flop.
Handstands
8x3
best: 42sec
Handstand walk
3x2
On the basketball court where I practice, I walked on from the baseline to the 3-point line, along the theoretical line that connects the two baskets. I was pretty impressed with myself. Saturday I’m getting to the half-court line.
Nikes/headswipes move sets
Don’t set up hand at directly 90 degrees for nikes. Around 45-70 is better.
6/7/12 - Thursday
Cycle 12, Week 3, Day 3
I have a confession to make. The “RDLs” that I have been doing all this time have actually been just deadlifts with lighter weight for sets of 10. So from now on I’ll log them as “Light DL”.
Squat
5x170
3x195
1x220 - I was expecting to do better than this.
Light DL
1x10 - 235
1x3:F - 235
2x10 - 215
1x10 - 225
1x8:F - 225
Front squat
1x6 - 185 (PR)
1x2:F - 190
1x3:F - 180
1x6 - 170
1x6 - 175
Pull-ups
6,2,3,4,2
17 total
Breakdancing
Windmills - 3x3
This was definitely one of the rougher workouts. All I got was an assistance lift PR.
I feel uncomfortable with squat technique, so starting next cycle I’ll replace the 6x10 “light DL” with 6x10 light squats.
6/8/12 - Friday
Cycle 12, Week 3, Day 4
Bench press
5x120
3x140
3x155 - Can’t compare to any previous PRs.
Bent-over row
1x1:F - 185
1x6 - 165
1x6 - 175
1x5:F - 185
1x6 - 180
I pulled something in my left mid-back when I did that 6x195 PR last week, the same feeling I got if I stretched too far down on heavy DB rows. Next cycle I will do sets of 10 instead of 6 so the weights don’t get heavy enough to cause another problem like this. Good the deload is coming up so I can recover from stupid mistakes like this.
DB BP
1x6 - 55s
1x3:F - 65s
1x6 - 60s
1x5:F - 60s
2x6 - 55s
DB hold
2 towels, 115s
22sec, 28sec, 3sec
Breakdancing
Windmills - 3x3
Consider starting with hand already pointing backwards instead of forcing it to spin that way while collapsing.
I’m not hitting PRs nearly as often as I used to so starting next cycle I will be eating more. I currently do about 2800 cal/day, so I’ll add about 400, nothing crazy, just enough to get my strength up.
6/9/12 - Saturday
Breakdancing:
Windmills
15x3
In starting hangglide freeze, have right hand pointed backwards instead of to the right side. This allows for higher rolling.
Progress from previous suckage this week, getting more doubles.
Problem: Not staying in the same place.
Handstand
8x2
best: 28sec
Couldn’t focus on these for some reason.
Handstand walk
6x2
More than intended b/c I couldn’t even get to the 3-pt line today. Once again, couldn’t focus on these for some reason.
Nikes
Headswipes
Got a solid move set. Nikes are great as long as I fall backwards when I land them, not forwards. I will have a video if my friend who took it e-mails it to me.