Cam's Log

[Nathan]

54 minutes ago, Cam Ogle said:

11 year wedding anniversary

Congrats! 

[Cam Ogle]

Didn't train yesterday so again a double up today. Not an actual double up though as the volume was down. 

Scap and shoulder prep
Wrist prep & bodyline drills

Circuit x 5
Handstand entries x 5
Tuck FL x 5s (had these a little inverted -15-20 degrees- and was able to get serious lat activation going on) 
Planche lean x 5s

Squats-
bar x 10, 60 x 5, 80 x 3, 100 x 1
belted- 110 x 4, 100 x 7, 7

Squats were excellent. Was meant to go to 105 but 80 felt super quick and 100 was pretty easy too. Threw the belt on and will do so for work sets again. After the ball game and running this week the legs were super well recovered so I'm feeling good about this. 

Have been thinking on my nutrition and have been hovering around 89-90 the last few weeks. I'm going to eat for performance rather than just under and around maintenance and see where I land after a few weeks. I have a sneaking suspicion I will end up around the same but with some fat loss so here goes. 

[Cam Ogle]

Spent an hour and a bit going though pancake progression stretches. I'm trying to note how my body is reacting to each stretch and potential limiting factors. I know my HFs both require work and as such did that first. Also hit the couch stretch and piriformis for 2-3 min each side. 

Wide Elephant- this just felt cool. Makes my glutes and hams feel great. Some fatigue in the quads though.

Skandasana- Right side working quite well. Left side the gracilis is super, super tight. Again, need to push bent leg out more to get it out of the way. Otherwise it feels like the HF is getting in the way. 

Tailor Pose- again felt cool. Both HF (predominately right though) cramping afterwards. Quite sharply.

Pancake- focus on pelvic tilt. Got some good stretches through both legs individually. Felt a distinct restriction in the middle of my left hamstring. Pushed a little further and there was some sharpness. Stopped all together.

Was a good stretching session. Interesting to note that things keep cropping up on the left side. Left scap weakness, left glute weakness, left gracilis stiffer. Something to keep an eye on. 

[Cam Ogle]

So...just bought this:

http://www.australianstrengthcoach.com/ebooks/

Couldn't resist as it's reduced to $10. Comes with a 12 week program and access to a heap of instructional videos. Not sure I'll change my program yet but am interested to give this a run at some stage.The videos are worth the price of admission alone

[MattPark]

Cool that's a bargain just bought it myself!! I don't intend on running it but I can't resist the thirst for more knowledge haha.

I've got friends at my gym that have been coached by Sebastian for awhile and they have made very good progress. What I've seen of the program it's pretty basic but has good progression and variation yielding great results if you put in the work. Will get you big and strong.

[Cam Ogle]

10 minutes ago, MattPark said:

Cool that's a bargain just bought it myself!! I don't intend on running it but I can't resist the thirst for more knowledge haha.

I've got friends at my gym that have been coached by Sebastian for awhile and they have made very good progress. What I've seen of the program it's pretty basic but has good progression and variation yielding great results if you put in the work. Will get you big and strong.

My thoughts exactly. So cheap at $10. 

Very nice. I've been following him for a few years now and everyone who goes through the gym comes out strong. No doubt the environment is one thing but like you said, basic but if you do the work you get results. 

[Cam Ogle]

23/01/17- 5pm
BW- 90.4

Scap & Shoulder prep

Incline Press-
bar x 10, 40 x 5, 50 x 3, 60 x 1
65 x 6, 60 x 8, 55 x 10

Chins-
bw x 5, +5 x 3, +10 x 2
+15 x 3, +10 x 3, +5 x 3

Circuit x 5
Chin ecc
Ring Dip ecc
Cuban Rotation- 10kg x 10

Black band reverse flyes x 20, 20
Red band pull aparts- x 15, 15

Decent session. Incline bench strength felt good. Was optimistic on going up in weight on the chins though, especially with the subsequent sets. Will keep that weight for the next session. 

Going to drop the chin up ecc and focus on clean bw reps- target of 25 total initially. Going to go for reps on dips too albeit lower and will end with some ecc if necessary to get the work in. 

[Cam Ogle]

24/01/17 - 5pm
BW- 89.9

SAS Day

Shoulder & Scap prep
Wrist prep & bodyline drills (expanded bodyline to around 5mins total)

Circuit 1- x 4
CTW handstand x 20s
False grip hang x 10s

Circuit 2- x 4
Tuck FL x 5s
Planche lean x 5-10s

Hanging knee raise- 2x8

Ring push up support- x 30s x 2

 

25/01/17- 12.30pm
BW- 89.9

quick warm up & stretch

Hang power clean- 
bar x 5, 40 x 3, 50 x 3, 60 x 3

Squat- 
60 x 5, 80 x 5, 100 x 3, 
belted- 120 x 1 

Deadlift- 
60 x 5, 80 x 5, 100 x 3, 120 x 1, 130 x 1, 140 x 1

 

Two pretty good days of training. Still kind of have no idea if I'm doing the SAS thing right but my body is liking this combination. I'm visibly bigger around the chest, shoulder and upper back and leaner around the mid section. 

Squats felt quick and easy. 120 probably didn't require a belt but I'll still use it for top sets. The 120 was quick though. Deadlifts weren't too bad. 140 was a slow one but I haven't deadlifted much lately so it's no wonder. Need to get back to that comfortable 160-170 range and take it forward from there. 

Skipping ball this week but have agreed to fill in for my brother in law's mixed netball team so this should be interesting. Expecting to hear plenty of "obstruction GS" tonight lol

[Cam Ogle]

25/01/16- 6pm

Mixed netball game. Lol. Forgot how bitchy men can be. Almost worse than the girls on the other team that were threatening to punch another girls face in. #goodtimes
Surprisingly good run though. Netball is so much quicker than basketball with less rest. Sweating bullets and on the go for 40 mins with minimal rest. Knees pulled up pretty shit but can't decide if it was all the lateral movement or the shoes I was wearing. Cleared up in a day so it's not too bad. 

28/01/16-  4pm

scap and shoulder prep

OHP-
bar x 10, 30 x 5, 40 x 3, 
47.5 x 4, 40 x 6, 35 x 8

BB Rows (parallel)
5 x 10 @45

Chins-
bw x 5, 5, 5, 5, 4 (24 reps)

Ring Dips- 
bw x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 (12 reps)

Red band tricep push downs x 40 reps
BB curl (bar only) x 40 reps

First time doing dips in a long, long time. Felt solid. ROM was good. Will try to add a rep each session and build towards 5 reps before adding weight. 

Haven't been diligent with my stretching lately though and am noticing the difference. Fixing this ASAP. 

[Cam Ogle]

29/01/17

Spent just over an hour exploring various stretches. Body feels tight in areas that it shouldn't but I got some decent relief through this session. It has occurred to me that I am getting caught in that same old trap. Spending plenty of time in the gym but not moving enough or doing the things that are likely to make me athletic. Food for thought and will add/remove some elements in the next few weeks. 

Also, have eaten my way through the last few days. Kind of fun but noticing those same old pains when I over-consume sugary foods. Did get a chance to catch up on movies though. Watched Trolls with the kids which is a great movie. Love the music and I see it becoming a favourite of my daughter. Re-watched Fong Sai Yuk for probably the 30th or 40th time. Jet Li movies really never get old for me. Then watched Stephen Chow's Journey to the West. Not too bad but prefer his movies when he is actually in them. Did have some laugh out loud moments though.   

30/01/17- 6.30pm

1 hour of foam rolling earlier in the day. 

Warm up-
Ido's squat clinic 2, banded ankle dorsiflexion, banded hip flexor, 

Some moderate intensity jumps- some VJ and 1 step jumps. Around 20" which wasn't too bad considering I am not jumping a great deal these days. 

Squat-
bar x 10, 60 x 5, 80 x 5, 100 x 3
belted- 115 x 4
(no back off sets due to left knee pain)

Single Leg DL to Press
15 x 6, 6, 6 (each side)

Pull throughs (purple band)
x 10, 10

Weird session. Legs felt great going in but not so great after the top set of squats. Going to assume it's the lack of attention to my body the last week or so plus the shit I've been eating. Will get back on it and potentially pencil in a massage later in the week. This is my 4th week so will deload next week. I think I'm due. May just deload legs and leave upper going as I don't seem to have the same issues there. 

Watched Once upon a time in Shanghai last night. Predictable story line but good action and nice cinematography. I used to watch a heap of HK movies and haven't done so much in the last few years. Have realised how much I miss them. They more often than not have silly story lines and missing links but that's part of the appeal. 

[Nathan]

4 hours ago, Cam Ogle said:

Re-watched Fong Sai Yuk for probably the 30th or 40th time. Jet Li movies really never get old for me. Then watched Stephen Chow's Journey to the West.

Yes! I love Jet Li, and have watched many of his movies repeatedly. I love Fong Sai Yuki too, but Fist of Legend and Twin Warriors are probably my favorite. Hard to say, though! I really like some of the newer ones too. Also love Stephen Chow! God of Cookery and Shaolin Soccer are probably the two I like best 

I enjoyed Once Upon a Time in Shanghai too. Have you watched the Ip Man movies with Donnie Yen? Love those! If you have and you enjoyed them (or even if not), you should check out The Grandmaster, which is fairly recent and related story-wise.

[Cam Ogle]

10 minutes ago, Nathan said:

Yes! I love Jet Li, and have watched many of his movies repeatedly. I love Fong Sai Yuki too, but Fist of Legend and Twin Warriors are probably my favorite. Hard to say, though! I really like some of the newer ones too. Also love Stephen Chow! God of Cookery and Shaolin Soccer are probably the two I like best 

I enjoyed Once Upon a Time in Shanghai too. Have you watched the Ip Man movies with Donnie Yen? Love those! If you have and you enjoyed them (or even if not), you should check out The Grandmaster, which is fairly recent and related story-wise.

Yes! Fist of Legend is my all time Jet Li favourite alongside Once upon a time in China 1 & 2. Twin Warriors (tai chi master over here) is very cool too. God of cookery is my go to Stephen Chow movie but I love most of his earlier films. I only wish I could speak Cantonese so I understood them fully.  

I haven't watched Ip Man 3. Have the DVD but just haven't gotten around to it yet  

The Grandmaster looks cool though and I will definitely check it out. One of my early Tony Leung favourites was Tokyo Raiders. More style than substance but the early cane fight was very cool.  

 

[Cam Ogle]

Played ball last night. We won but more importantly I felt great and bouncy going into the game. A few light pre-game dunks off 1 foot help that too. Tried a couple of 2 but just couldn't grip the ball well enough to land it. Funny how the body was feeling so average earlier in the week and this happens. Pulled up really well from the game. I was going to deload next week but given I have only lifted once this week I'll get another upper session in and maybe call this week the deload. Will see how the body feels on Sunday and call it from there. 

Super excited as I'm trying out my first MMA class tonight and then BJJ tomorrow night at the same school. I've done plenty of martial arts so not too intimidated but will still be interesting going to a new school. The MMA is called Tactical MMA and is more MMA style training with a focus on self defense as well. Can't wait.

[Cam Ogle]

Did the MMA class last week. Was a well run class and had a lot of fun. It's also a lot of stuff that I've done before which is not a bad thing but not quite what I'm looking for. Lots of kicking and punching in combos with some good tips that I hadn't come across before. Really though, I am more interested in BJJ for my own training. I like the idea of being able to train BJJ and Hapkido alongside each other and think there's a great synergy between the two if trained properly. 

I was due to try the BJJ class the next night but didn't end up making it. My wife came off her bike going about 40km/h on the morning I did the MMA class. There was a large rock (melon sized) that she didn't see and ended up riding straight into it. She was super lucky and didn't hit her head or upper body but her knees and left hip was pretty banged up. Her bike came off okay but could be pretty exxy to repair. Obviously the main thing is that she is okay. She's pissed at the injuries but glad they weren't any worse. 

So last week kind of ended up being my deload anyway. Not the way I wanted it to and certainly not enough activity for my liking but what can you do. Back into it this week. 

[Cam Ogle]

07/02/17- 8pm
bw- 90.7
Calves, feet, quads and hips super tight

Shoulder prep
Bodyline drills- hollow body into plank variations

A1) Chins- bw x 3, 3, 3, 3
A2) Ring Dips- bw x 3, 3, 3, 3

B1) Klokov press- 20kg x 10, 10
B2) Purple band ab crunch x 10, 10
B3) Cuban Rotation- 10kg x 10, 10

Had 30 mins to get something in and didn't want to miss again. Feeling good and back on track. Will do lower volume this week and back to normal next. 

Threw the klokov press in after reading through Nathan's log yesterday. I used to do the normal btn press about 2 years ago and had some good success with it. I started light will ramp it up over the next few weeks. 

[Cam Ogle]

What a night. Did my first BJJ class in 36+ degree heat. Lucky for me it was no gi training but I was still sweating bullets by the end of the class. I drank at least 3 litres of water during and before the class and was still dehydrated after. First 45 minutes was rolling for 5 min periods changing partners each time. Then for the last 15 mins it was a Q&A with some instructional thrown in. Pretty good class and I will definitely be back. Have a pretty sore right groin which is mainly from a massive Fijian dude in my guard putting pressure on my hips. Training at this place http://www.evolvedojo.com/ they do both martial arts and strength/fitness training. Very cool facility and super nice people. It also helps that the head instructor has solid credentials. 

Then I played ball at 10pm. Aside from being ridiculously late and tired it was a pretty shit game. Game was tied with 1 second left and we ended up losing by three when one of their guys was fouled on the final buzzer but the refs pretty much ruined the game with bad calls. I played ok for being so tired but had zero spring in the legs. Won't be doubling up too much in the future. Was good for the run but I'm wrecked now. 

On a side note I'm pretty excited about martial arts again. Trained solidly for about 10 years and then have trained sporadically over the last 5-6 and have some good opportunities to get right back into it. 

[Cam Ogle]

Have definitely strained my right groin. Notice it only when in anterior pelvic tilt but it’s there. Not a lot of pain but some weakness and discomfort. Was due to squat tonight but will do an upper session instead and see how the squatting goes tomorrow.

Goal for next week is to restart my morning routine. Last year and the year before I routinely woke at 5.30am to train even during the winter months. I have struggled with this the last 6 months even though it’s a lot warmer right now. I woke at 6.30 (pre-alarm) this morning and felt ok so will nudge it back to 6 for the next week and take it from there. I have had a virus (hand, foot and mouth - sounds worse than it is but kind of like chicken pox) on and off since December last year and I’m assuming this is partly to blame. The other part is no doubt pure laziness haha.

Have also set myself a couple of substantial goals in learning two languages at the same time. I have dabbled in learning Korean over the course of the last 3-4 years. I never quite got past the advanced beginner stage though which was mainly due to lack of Korean people to practice with. I’m back into that and am adding Cantonese on top of it. I developed a love for the Korean language through my years learning Hapkido, finding new Korean friends and exploring the culture. Cantonese is pure and simple for my love of HK cinema. I do have a lot of friends who speak Canto so there is a natural crossover there. There are so many great language learning resources out there that I’m really excited to get stuck into these.

[Nathan]

Good luck with the languages! I took a couple of Cantonese courses at uni. The tones are tough, but it's a lot of fun. Like you said, actually using it makes all of the difference. I've never actually attempted Korean, but it has a lot of similarities to Japanese, so I might give it a go someday 

[Cam Ogle]

45 minutes ago, Nathan said:

Good luck with the languages! I took a couple of Cantonese courses at uni. The tones are tough, but it's a lot of fun. Like you said, actually using it makes all of the difference. I've never actually attempted Korean, but it has a lot of similarities to Japanese, so I might give it a go someday 

Thanks. I studied TCM (herbal) at Uni nearly 20 years ago and did about 12 months of Mandarin so got used to the tones back then. Planning to focus on speaking only with no writing so hopefully I can progress a bit quicker than I did all those years ago. The great thing about Canto is it's used in pretty much every Chinatown in Melbourne so finding people to talk to will be no problem at all. 

Korean may be a bit easier for you then. It has the same sentence structure as Japanese and the alphabet is ridiculously simple to learn. 

I have two friends who are fluent in English, Cantonese, Japanese and Korean which is the end goal. Will give me something to work on for the next 10-20 years anyway. If nothing else I have an excuse to rewatch every classic HK movie from 1970-1995 haha

[Cam Ogle]

10/02/2017
Scap and shoulder prep
Bodyline Drills

Incline bench- 
Bar x 10, 40 x 5, 50 x 3, 60 x 1
70 x 4, 60 x 10, 50 x 12

Ring Dips
Bw x 5, 5, 5

Front plate raise
15 x 10, 10

First two sets of dips were to 90 degrees but not quite to the depth I have been using. Allowed more reps but I’m not sure this is a good thing or not. 

11/02/2017
Ido’s squat clinic, banded hip flexor, banded ankle dorsiflexion

Squats-
Bar x 10, 60 x 5, 90 x 5, 110 x 3
120 x 4, 110 x 5 (was meant to do 2 sets of 7 but hips were not liking it)

Banded RDL (band in front for lat activation)
60 x 10, 10, 10

Purple band pull through x 10, 5 (stopped due to hip pain)

May have gone a little too far too early with the squats. Speed was good and RPE was around a 7 but I may have progressed a little too quickly again when I had not planned to. Maybe not idk. Knees were quite sore following this but that could also be a leftover from BJJ and basketball too.  

http:// https://www.instagram.com/p/BQXZb5YDJEL/?taken-by=pretty_fly_for_a_life_guy

13/02/2017
Scap and shoulder prep

Incline bench-
Bar x 10, 40 x 8, 50 x 5, 65 x 3
75 x 3, 3

DB Row- 
Warm ups (forgot the weights here)
30 x 10, 10

Ring Dips-
Bw x 3, 5

Chins-
Bw x 5, 5

Spent 10-15 mins rolling and stretching and doing some single leg work and then 15 minutes in the pancake working through various positions. Got some good elbow action on the gracilis which was interesting/super painful. 

14/02/17
Kurz style dynamic stretches upon waking this morning. Legs were stiff AF and didn't really get much better. I expect some decent increases in ROM over the next few days though. 

Am on day 6 of no sugar and no alcohol which is really no junk food as I am not avoiding all sugars. I had bread the other day but apart from that it’s been pretty solid. Feeling good and like shit at the same time. Mornings are hard at the moment but am glad for this change and both my wife and I are doing it which makes it that much easier. Thinking we will go all in on the no alcohol thing with maybe the occasional drink for a special occasion or something like that. I don’t really miss it which is great and strange at the same time. 

Still working on the early morning thing though. Not sure if the body is simply getting used to/getting rid of stuff from my system but I am waking between 6.30 and 7 which is fine but I’m just dead tired for about the first 30 mins or so. Will see how I progress over the next week or so and fingers crossed this improves. 

[Cam Ogle]

It's funny how it can take some time for a concept to sink in. I have been doing the solo HF stretch that Kit speaks about in numerous videos and even though the concept is explicit (posterior tilt of the pelvis) and I thought I was doing it I don't think I ever really "got it". Listening to a podcast with Emmet yesterday on propane fitness and again he talks about posterior tilt of the pelvis (related to rec fem, psoas and HF). Got home and did a simple floor based HF stretch. Like couch stretch without the couch. Hardly had any stretch going on and got into as much pos pelvic tilt as I could. Wow! As Kit says my body has been lying to me. Hips and quads felt incredible after. This has led me to believe I haven't even been stretching my HF at all the last 15 years I've been doing these types of stretches. Makes me feel a little silly but grateful for the awakening now. I also tested my HF strength as per the podcast. Can hold both legs above parallel for 15+ seconds quite easily. Absolutely no cramping or fatigue in the left one. Some cramping around 15s and fatigue in the right one so something to keep an eye on. 

Spent a good 10+ mins working through the tailor pose last night and then another 10 in pancake exploring. Post tailor pose I have been finding my HFs feel cramped though so not sure if I need to stretch them before or after for the best result. Plan for the weekend is to get right through the pancake program and explore all the movements. 

[Kit_L]

Get a heavy mate (my training partner by choice was 125Kg) and get him to follow all directions for the stretch below: it will change your life. Most tension in people's spine and neck is unnecessary, but required to balance toe body against an anteriorly tilted pelvis. Until you have both HFs stretched properly, you can't know this. It took our group two years of weekly work for everyone to get this.

And then add this:

You must do the partner versions if you are strong, or tight, or want a stretch that cheating is impossible in!

[Cam Ogle]

On 2/16/2017 at 7:05 AM, Kit_L said:

Get a heavy mate (my training partner by choice was 125Kg) and get him to follow all directions for the stretch below: it will change your life. Most tension in people's spine and neck is unnecessary, but required to balance toe body against an anteriorly tilted pelvis. Until you have both HFs stretched properly, you can't know this. It took our group two years of weekly work for everyone to get this.

And then add this:

You must do the partner versions if you are strong, or tight, or want a stretch that cheating is impossible in!

This looks great...and slightly painful 

Thanks for the advice Kit. I will rope someone into this and let you know how I go. Just thinking if I put my wife and two kids together I would have around 90kgs. I'll put a call out to my heavier friends. 

[MattPark]

Can confirm both those stretches are amazing and have massive effects in the body afterwards. I remember the first time I did them with a friend we just kept walking around afterwards exploring how we felt because everything felt so different in a good way, especially the level of glute activation that became available.

Just remember to breathe haha.

[Cam Ogle]

10 minutes ago, MattPark said:

Can confirm both those stretches are amazing and have massive effects in the body afterwards. I remember the first time I did them with a friend we just kept walking around afterwards exploring how we felt because everything felt so different in a good way, especially the level of glute activation that became available.

Just remember to breathe haha.

Haha I have a feeling that my stretches are nowhere near the level of intensity that this will bring. I may channel my inner Wim Hof during this experiment. 

You mention the post stretch glute activation here and the question begs- is doing glute work (as everyone prescribes) the cure for inactive glutes or are we spinning our wheels due to other factors getting in the way like our hip flexors?