muscles and break practice

[Jebbo]

So im brand new to break dancing, i am extremely intersted in learning how to do it. im not the kind of person to go to a gym and train to gain muscle mass. Im wondering if jus by merely practicing my basic stuff for now ex. hand stands and freezes will be good enough for me to start. Also my characteristics physically wise im not a fat person im probably only 13% body fat but im not a toothpic muscle wise.


Any feedback?::confused:

[Alex]

Sure, you gotta start from somewhere so you can't go wrong with practicing with hand stands and freezes for now.

What's your workout routine at the gym like?

[luigi_M_]

You don't need to lift weights to build strength, which is more important than building muscle. I know I'm really new to breakdacning, but I have been doing martial arts for quite a while and I just use bodyweight strength training exercises.

One example of amazing strength without lifting weights, are gymnasts, especially the men. If you see the men on the rings in the Olympics, those guys are stacked, and stil completely lean. I can assure you those guys don't lift weights, and have built their strength and muscles through lots of bodyweight exercises.

One of my favourite exercises is the handstand pushup. I can do these without a wall now, but you could start against a wall at first. Just kick up into a handstand against a wall with your hands just a bit more than shoulder width apart. I would recommend just holding this position for time periods at first, as this will build strength in your shoulders and biceps, as well as getting you used to being upside-down. When you feel ready to press, just let your body down gently by controlling your arms as they bend. When you get as low as you think you can (it might not be far for now, but you will improve), and push yourself back up again; a handstand pushup. I guess in the gym this would be the equivalent of an overhead press, but you get a greater range of motion. Once you have improved more, you can have your hands on a stack of books and let your head go down between the books for even more range. This beats the hell out of an overhead press anyday, as you will also be building strength of your core, which I guess must be very important in breakdancing.

I don't know much about professional breakdancers, but I'm sure they don't lift weights, as you can get just as much strength gains from bodyweight exercises. I would also recommend getting a very basic pullup bar from a sports shop that you can screw into a doorway, and start pumping out some pullups and chinups. I do hundreds of pullups and pressups a week, and include a lot of static holds in my exercise routines, and even though I've only been going to breakdancing classes for a few weeks, in a class that is mostly beginners, I have been able to advance pretty quickly, because of the strength that I had already built through bodyweight strength training. If you want some more in formation, I have put a few websites below, or you can PM or e-mail me, and I'll give you an idea of my strength routines, which is full of pullups, one-legged squats, one-arm pressups, handstands, plyometric pressups and various other exercises. The first website I have listed has some really good holds which you can do anywhere, and requires nothing but your own bodyweight:

http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/229

http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Hoffman/YorkHandBalance/yorkhb1.htm

http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Hoffman/YorkHandBalance/yorkhb2.htm - very advanced stuff