In 2016 I took my initial dive into learning breakdancing properly.
I had a great time with it but need to rest for a while as I did 4 out of the 6 sessions with cracking headaches and often pulled up very sore afterwards.
However it was so much fun and eye opening as we explored several different styles over the 6 weeks.
While I initially wanted to just do breakdancing, learning some hip hop and popping changed my mind a little and here’s why.
Break dancing is very strength focused.
To do the moves in the sport takes a great deal of strength, coordination and endurance. At the time my strength wasn’t as good as I’d have liked it to be.
While I lift weights or do bodyweight strength work regularly, I would really need to be able to practice breaking more and lifting less. I don’t do much volume with my lifting at present as my recovery ability isn’t optimal.
Break dancing also has a need for endurance and my body just didn’t have the capacity for that either.
My strength sessions are short enough to get some muscle stimulation and enough volume that I can get stronger from them.
Finding the time and money to train with a crew regularly isn’t viable at the moment.
I’m training you guys and working and have more important training to do and that’s my priority at the moment. I’ll stick to my strength training schedule for a while longer.
Often you need to train for your sport, outside of your sport, so you can play that sport better.
My hip mobility and hamstring flexibility limit my ability to perform the moves properly.
Most of you know how poor my hamstring flexibility is. But you don’t see the hours of stretching and rehab work I’m doing on them to encourage them to loosen up.
Trying to perform a lot of the moves we learned was very difficult and I was often cramping up. Not to mention how sore I was in the following days.
If I really want to do breakdancing, I need to address my hip mobility and flexibility first.
What do you need to work on so you can do better at your training or sport?
I need to get stronger with static strength before training with dynamic strength moves.
Dynamic strength involves a substantial amount of moving while holding your body off the ground. If you’ve ever seen b-boys floating around, the illusion is performed very well.
Static strength is holding a position without moving. So a handstand or crow hold is a static strength move.
Once static strength is mastered, it’s far easier to do the dynamic stuff.
I recently picked up a study course called Bodyweight Athlete which will help me to learn the static strength stuff.
Plus the guy who designed the program, Mike Fitch, also has a breakdancing background.
I got his hand balancing program which includes break dancing hand balancing drills in there too, so I have something to practice.
Wrist strength is important and needs to be trained more.
My wrist strength is pretty good because of my handstand training, but there’s still room to improve.
Wrist strength is a common issue with many of us, but most people don’t have the discipline to train it every day.
Eventually I’ll get the extra recovery ability to do more wrist strength work as it is a limiting factor of how far you can go with your bodyweight strength training and especially with break dancing.
If your wrists are stopping you from being able to do pushups and other exercises on your hands, let me know and I’ll show you some moves to practice.
I sucked at hip hop dancing.
I just didn’t have the coordination, ability to learn the choreography quickly and speed to make it work. And I hate when I suck at something.
This made me want to not do it on one level, but also to learn it on another.
Again, my hips were a limiting factor here, so that’s my priority for the next few months.
But I’ll probably go back to hip hop at some stage so I can be at least OK at it.
Addressing weaknesses is always good for you. If there’s something you are no good at, practice it more til you are good at it.
Turn your weakness into a strength.
All that practice flexing muscles finally paid off.
I was actually pretty good at popping. Every time I tell you to squeeze your glutes or abs or shoulder blades I flex those muscles.
Every time I demonstrate or perform an exercise I flex my muscles.
Popping is all about flexing your muscles quickly and then letting them go. Who knew it would actually be easy once I had all this practice!
Because of this I really enjoyed it. Not just because I was flexing, but because I could put my skill to use.
It felt good to be pretty good at something new and this is the one I will likely start training regularly once I get back from the US.
Cardio fitness is not cardio fitness.
If you’re a great runner and have amazing cardio capacity at running, that doesn’t mean that you’ll definitely have great cardio for swimming or rock climbing or break dancing.
With each new discipline you train, there’s a new cardio component to it.
You have to train your sport specific cardio.
If I want to be fitter for break dancing, I need to practice break dancing regularly.
Thankfully for you guys, doing your martial arts training which is very dynamic, also transfers well to most sports. It sets you up with a solid base for many fitness endeavors.
But if you want to be fitter for running, go do some extra running.
If you want better cardio for martial arts, go do some martial arts training (I also got smashed with cardio at Krav Maga on Saturday).
