5/11/13 - Saturday
Squat
somexbar
3x135
2x185
1x225
1x255
1x275
0x280:F
Last week I was stuck at the bottom with 280. This time I got it up almost high enough to get good leverage against it with my legs.
Front squat
3x225:F - 4x220 last week, I’m happy with this
Pull-ups
3x+40 - finally. PR
Monkey flips, ~60min
Getting better, still suck.
Chained headspins, ~30min
More consistent.
Did get a better video than yesterday… on someone else’s phone. -.-
5/12/13 - Sunday
Bench press
somexbar
5x95
3x135
1x175
1x185
1x190
0x195:F
190 was hard last week so I went to 185 first. 190 was easy this week and I was able to at least get 195 off my chest, so next week I can do 195.
BB row
3x135
1x185
3x230 - 4x225 last week, so
DB BP
3x80s:F - seriously felt like I had #4. 
Breakdancing
Chained headspins, ~60min
Keep the left leg to the side, otherwise my weight will shift towards my belly side and make me fall. This helped me get 3xheadspins. spin, catch, spin, catch, spin, catch, without wasting time winding up again.
Monkey flips, ~15min
sucked, tired. shouldn’t have bothered
The only big lift I made progress on this week was deadlift, the other three stayed the same. Some assistance progress too, though. I’ve done well with at least recovering my level of strength before my shoulder problem by maxing out as I’ve been doing, so I’ll stick with it until I hit enough of a stall that I convince myself that I don’t know what I’m doing.
5/13/13 - Monday
Crickets, ~40min
Got boring and started to hurt my wrist and elbow. But I did improve, more of them, more speed, more consistently.
Handglide spin, ~20min
Handglide freeze and spin, stabbing hand inside my beanie. Was pretty easy, don’t know why I wasted so much time with this.
1990s, ~60min
Better. Learned something new about balance, can’t explain it but I’m better at centering myself over my right arm. Also, I can spin well even on a dry floor if I just put my hand in my beanie and spin on that.
Also, measurements from yesterday. For the morning after prom, I was very pleasantly surprised.
Weight: 161.5 (-2)
Waist: 31 1/4 (-1/4)
Chest: 40 7/8 (+5/8)
Hips: 36 5/8 (-1/4)
R bicep: 13 1/4 (-1/8)
L bicep: 13 1/2 (-1/8)
R thigh: 24 1/4 (-1/8)
L thigh: 23 3/8 (0)
Which means that my chest/waist ratio has officially broken 1.3! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay
Although I don’t know wtf happened to bring about such a change. We’ll see if I become a fat lard next Sunday just for the lulz.
5/14/13 - Tuesday
1990s, ~60min
Getting better, experimented with the details of hand placement with leading into it but really it’s just about getting on top of that right arm for me.
Monkey flips, ~60min
Also getting better. Took a video and compared to 3 days ago I’m definitely doing a better job of going directly over instead of to the side. But it’s not perfect yet, I’ll post when it’s where I want it.
5/15/13 - Wednesday
Deadlift
somexbar
1x135
2x185
2x225
1x275
1x315
1x355
1x375
1x380 - +5 lbs over last week
0x385:F
Clean
3x135
2x185
2x230 - +1 rep over last week
Pull-up
1x+45:F
Didn’t mean to go to failure. I was halfway up on #2 when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to do two full reps.
Monkey flips, ~10min
REALLY short on time because of a stupid dumbass mistake I made that will never happen again. But still did pretty well for what it’s worth once I got into it.
Alright, let’s take a look at the goals I set on 4/29/13 for the week of 7/29/13:
Deadlift: 2.25xBW - ACCOMPLISHED (380/165 = 2.3)
OHP: 1xBW - 155, need 165
Squat: 1.75xBW - 275, need 290
Bench: 1.25xBW - 190, need 210
Clean: 1.5xBW - 2x230, need 250
Pull-up: 1x+45 - ACCOMPLISHED (just today)
So how about pushing the bar up a little bit:
Deadlift: 2.5xBW
Pull-up: 1x+55
Which leaves the question: When will I go back to 5/3/1 so that the title of this log is appropriate again?
As soon as I stop making progress.
5/16/13 - Thursday
Overhead press
bar
3x95
1x135
1x155
0x160:F
DB OHP
4x65s
Dips
2x+70
Breakdancing
monkey flips, ~60min
sucked
mill>headstand and barrel mills, ~30min
With these I’m about where I was before injury, if not a little better.
Overall pretty lame day.
5/17/13 - Friday
Monkey flips
Marginal improvement. Keep hips extended, back arched, for as long as possible to make it look good.
Mill>headstand/barrel mills
Keep practicing, but stop when I start to feel myself turn off.
finished up with ~5min chained headspin practice, whole day took about 2.5 hrs as a rough guess at volume in practice today
5/18/13 - Saturday
Squat
somexbar
3x135
1x185
1x225
1x255
1x275:S - the whole “keep your hands off me unless I need it” discussion, followed by his storming off >_>
2x275 - +1 rep over last week
Front squat
3x135
1x185
4x230 - +1 rep and +5 lbs over last week
Pull-up
2x+45 - +1 rep over Wednesday
WELL THAT WENT WELL I’D SAY. But squatting heavy is starting to become a problem because spotters are unreliable and the squat rack bar is fixed too high so if I squat inside the rack then I won’t be able to squat all the way down.
Breakdancing
Monkey flip, ~45min
keep at it
Chaining headspins, ~30min
Going waaaaay too slow. But I did figure out how to chain them reliably, keep the right leg bent to minimize the moment about my hips towards the floor, and split legs every time I pause. Video. lol@failed nike and ego beanie throw
5/19/13 - Sunday
Bench press
somexbar
3x95
1x135
1x175
1x190:F - Wanted to get 2. Could’ve stayed more tense.
BB row
3x235
sloppy
DB BP
4x80s - +1 rep over last week
I’ve put 5 lbs on my bench since 4/21/13.
I’ve also gone from 3x+55 dips to 2x+70, and my chest measurement is bigger than it’s ever been. Plus, +5 lbs in a month is what I would expect from 5/3/1. So I’m not worried.
Breakdancing
Flares, ~60min
Yeah, you read that right. Mills make me bleed out the back of my left shoulder, which is… incompatible with my… laundry situation. I’m prepared to put down another year of my life to learning these like I did with mills.
Lightning speed chained headspins, ~15min
Like headspins but lightning speed PSHOOO. Yeah, went faster and it’s actually not so hard to keep balance while going faster, too.
Measurements, too:
Weight: 164.5 (+3)
Waist: 31 7/8 (+5/8)
Chest: 41 1/4 (+3/8)
Hips: 36 7/8 (+1/4)
R bicep: 13 3/8 (+1/8)
L bicep: 13 3/4 (+1/4)
R thigh: 24 5/8 (+3/8)
L thigh: 23 5/8 (+1/4)
So it appears I was hit with a burst of SWOLE this week.
5/20/13 - Monday
Breakdancing.
Monkey flips, ~60min
Not sure where to go to keep progressing. I haven’t gotten any like, “damn that was good.” They all keep going to the side to some extent. I’m going to watch some video tutorials, something I normally don’t do because I figure I should just shut up and practice, but I’ll see what they have to say.
1990s and chained headspins, ~120min
Get tired of one, switch to the other. Had to relearn getting stable over my spinning arm with 1990s but they weren’t bad, not good but not bad. I had one set of chained headspins with four spins, fast ones too. Alright.
5/21/13 - Tuesday
Breakdancing.
Monkey flip, ~60min
Makes more sense if I start from a squat position and go from there. STILL can’t go directly overhead though.
“Rubber-band” kip-ups, ~30min
Start in a squat, jump back, land on upper back, and kip back up. It hurt at first, but I got used to it and had some pretty quick bounces.
1990s, ~60min
Got a full turn. Don’t just clap the feet together, whirl them around like for a headspin.
Deadlifts tomorrow. But not just any deadlift day. It’s deadlift-and-hide-the-chalk-because-liquid-chalk- will-take-a-week-to-arrive-and-I-have-to-use-the-normal-kind-this-time day.
5/22/13 - Wednesday
Deadlift
somexbar
2x135
1x185
1x225
1x275
1x315
1x355
0x380:F - squeeze the bar idiot
1x380 - there you go
0x385:F - guess who’s sleeping in tomorrow. but this time it got off the ground at least; last week it wouldn’t budge.
Wasn’t too hard to hide the chalk, just wipe it off and don’t get it on plates.
Clean
2x135
1x185
1x230 - -1 rep since last week. Don’t know what to say. Whenever I do these my right wrist flares up and makes me really NOT want to continue a set, plus my back was unusually sore (not in a muscle-pump way either) after deadlifts.
Pull-up
1x+45:F - well shit.
Breakdancing
1990s and headspins for who knows how long.
1990s: More power helps
Headspins: Got an OK video if you’ll excuse the shirtless. (it was hot D:) The upper body has to whip around before the lower body does so that I can catch the headspin and keep it going. When my phone stops tripping I’ll upload it. I know it seems like I’ve been pulling up as many excuses as possible not to post videos.
5/23/13 - Thursday
Going to start working up to 3RMs instead of 1RMs and stop going to failure.
Overhead press
somexbar
3x95
3x135
3x140
3x145
1x150
DB OHP
4x65s
Dips
3x+70 - +1 rep over last week
Breakdancing
Monkey flips, ~60min
I want to say I’m getting better because it feels like it, but I’m not there yet.
Flares, ~60min
Shift the load from right arm to left arm to get more rotation. More rotation as in, crash-land on my belly instead of on my butt. For now.
Here’s some of those headspins from yesterday.
5/24/13 - Friday
Breakdancing.
Windmills, ~30min
Thought I’d go in and brush up on these just to make sure I still have them. Turns out they’re “migrating” - I end the set about 10 feet from where I start. To fix this I focused on rolling high.
Monkey flip, ~60min
Starting the jump directly from a squat, instead of jumping while my hand is on the ground, helped. Feel closer today.
Flares, ~30min
Whoosh-plop. Keep at it.
5/25/13 - Saturday
Squat
somexbar
2x3x135
1x185
1x225
2x250 - slap myself in the face a couple times
3x250 - felt like there was more
1x255:F - did not feel like there was more
Front squat
1x235 - last week was 4x230
Pull-up
2x+45:F
Today was worse than I thought it would be, likely because my low back still is stiff from failing 385 this week. Will be working around 90% of my max for the coming week on main lifts though, so I don’t plan on throwing my back out. I want to give what I’m doing one more week to see if I can make progress before going back to 5/3/1.
Breakdancing
Monkey flips, ~60min
They feel better. Will get a video.
Flares, ~30min
Not a lot of ways to get better other than keep at it.
graduating tomorrow AMGAD
5/26/13 - Sunday
Graduation ceremony today killed the entire afternoon, gym opens at noon. So I literally had less than 30 minutes to train today.
Bench press
somexbar
3x95
3x155
3x170
3x175
2x180
So, alright here.
Pull-ups
11xBW - Felt like there was more in me, just wanted to see what I could do. I was more impressed with how high I could pull myself up than the number I did. Shouldn’t hurt my recovery any more than a heavy triple with BB rows.
5/27/13 - Monday (late update)
Gyms closed, so I did “breakdancing” outside. Put on red shoelaces, white t-shirt, and blue sweatpants. Was going to practice human flags and get a picture taken for memorial day but I was foiled by rain and nobody to take the picture. So:
Frontflips
~90min
Was not that hard or scary. Practiced rolling forward directly over my head, then rolling without hands touching ground, then jumping and tucking. Got to be able to land square on my butt.
Human flag (stopped raining by then)
~30min
Tore a callous. So badass. Can “stall” it for an instant, but not really hold it for time.
Also messed around on parallel bars.
Measurements:
Weight: 164.5 (0)
Waist: 31 5/8 (-1/4)
Chest: 40 7/8 (-3/8)
Hips: 36 7/8 (0)
R bicep: 13 3/8 (0)
L bicep: 13 3/4 (0)
R thigh: 24 5/8 (0)
L thigh: 23 1/2 (-1/8)
5/28/13 - Tuesday
Breakdancing.
Monkey flips, ~90min
Start from a squat. Right hand points behind and grabs ground behind, but close to feet. Left arm starts hanging between legs. Jump as hard as possible from legs while extending hips. Shoot left arm overhead. Go directly overhead. Keep hips extended for as long as possible, only contracting abs to bring feet to ground and land it. Before/after videos.
Headspins, ~30min
Can consistently chain sets of four. Go fast, make sure the upper body whips around more quickly than the legs do.
Messed around with parallel bars at the park some more. Basic freezes that I would do on the ground in breakdancing, like handglide, frog, and turtle, but on the bars. I feel like getting good at parallel bars would be a safer way to progress into doing flares instead of constantly crashing my body into the ground.
Before (god it hurts to watch)
After (first one is the best)
5/29/13 - Wednesday
Today, was bad.
Deadlift
somexbar
3x135
1x185
1x225
1x275
3x315
2x340 - had to stop halfway up #3 because of sweat penetrating the chalk
0x355
Looking at how shitty deadlifts went I thought it prudent to avoid cleans today.
Pull-up
1x+45
I should’ve taken the hint with how shitty Saturday’s squats went; my low back is spent.
Breakdancing
1990s, ~10min
Went badly, and had to get home quick (not my choice).
5/30/13 - Thursday
Overhead press
somexbar
3x95
3x135
3x150 - PR
2x145
4x140
DB OHP
4x65s
Dips
2x+75 - last week was 3x+70 so I’m happy here
Looking at how lifting went today makes me hesitant to just jump on 5/3/1 next week. My max must be greater than 155 by now if I can push 3x150. My only mistake was going too heavy too often on deadlifts and burning out my back. So here’s the plan. To prove to myself whether I can handle myself in the weight room or I need to get on a program, I’m going to give myself until the end of July to make progress with just basic heavy lifting using the ideas outlined here:
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=5451364
Until then, no discussion will be had of any program changes.
Breakdancing
Monkey flips, ~60min
This time I started out in kind of a deadlift position instead of a squat, with my hands between my knees. From there I swung back into the flip. It felt like I had even more power than before. It seems like all my progression here has come from starting from a position that requires me to rotate through more range of motion before jumping off into the actual flip.
Flares, ~30min
Still by no means presentable, but I made progress.
1990s, ~30min
Lock myself in place in a handstand before launching off to give myself time to get centered over my spinning arm.
And, finally: Because of some business next week the schedule will be:
Saturday: Squats
Sunday: Bench
Tuesday: DL
Wednesday: OHP