Cam's Log

[Cam Ogle]

Dropped in on my old hapkido instructor who manages a karate school now. Got on the mats with him for an hour doing some striking for about 20 mins then groundwork for the rest of the time. Was great to get back into it but this just highlighted how unfit I am. Was gassed after about 5 minutes. 

[Nathan]

Conditioning is usually the first to go! 

[Cam Ogle]

13 hours ago, Nathan said:

Conditioning is usually the first to go! 

Oh so true and I never had that much to begin with 

[Cam Ogle]

Hapkido class last night. Surprisingly my dynamic flexibility is still there. Axe kicks easily getting above the head and near vertical. Worked through all my black belt material without too much fuss although I forgot a bit here and there. Got a red belt to throw me about at the end of the class which felt good too. 1hr 45 mins of training and done. Great to be back. 

Haven't done much this week as I've been battling a cold and the class last night put me over the edge. Uncontrollable chills and aching, sore throat, etc. All that good stuff. Will rest up and get a lift in at some stage on the weekend depending on how I'm feeling. 

[Cam Ogle]

28/06/17
bw- ?
Injuries- none
Soreness- calves & feet
Fasted session- coffee and water only

Finally over the virus/flu/whatever I had.

New gym today!!! Got my ass out of bed at 4.45 and went to the Derrimut gym down the road. When I say down the road it's 15 minutes away but it's a beast of a gym and only $10 per week. Equipment is incredible!

Warm up- lots of warm up being so early.

Squats- bar x 10, 60 x 5, 80 x 5, 100 x 3, 110 x 5
Tuck front lever x 5s x 4
Box Jump- 20" x 3 x 4

Dips- bw x 8, 6, 5
Back bridge x 10s x 3

Incline Bench- bar x 10, 40 x 5, 60 x 4, 4, 3

Hollow Body- 30s x 2
Front split rear knee taps- 5kg x 10 x 2

Hanging x 40s

All done in 60m. Felt great. Motivation is back in a big way. Only got 4-5 hours sleep last night but that's ok. I will deal with that later. 
Was able to have my morning coffee without waking the entire house too. Brewed some coffee last night bodum style and put it in a flask to keep warm. Was the perfect temperature this morning to drink before the gym. #winning

[Nathan]

3 hours ago, Cam Ogle said:

Brewed some coffee last night bodum style

Had to Google that. Apparently it's a company and they make several types of brewing devices, but French press seems to be the most common. So I'm guessing you mean French press? I have a French press, but I haven't taken the time to find the right coffee:water ratio and grind to make it will compare with pour over.

[Cam Ogle]

2 minutes ago, Nathan said:

Had to Google that. Apparently it's a company and they make several types of brewing devices, but French press seems to be the most common. So I'm guessing you mean French press? I have a French press, but I haven't taken the time to find the right coffee:water ratio and grind to make it will compare with pour over.

Haha yes. That's it! I have always called it the bodum as that was the brand we had growing up even though mine is something else entirely. 

I found a very good tutorial a few years back which I cannot totally recall but I do remember to stir for quite a while after pouring the water in and to leave for 4 minutes before plunging. I tend to use 2 spoonfuls of coffee for about 400-500ml of water. Stronger than most espressos but tasty nonetheless. 

[Cam Ogle]

Was doing this today (which I called the rear knee taps). Massive stretch in HF and not unlike Kit's solo HF stretch where you focus on extending the back leg. Has anyone else had experience with this one...(sorry still don't know how to embed IG here)

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/-zmxBjSF9V/?taken-by=keegan_smith

[Nathan]

49 minutes ago, Cam Ogle said:

not unlike Kit's solo HF stretch

Other than the weight overhead and some finer positioning details, I'd say it looks about the same. GMBs Focused Flexibility program uses pretty much the same exercise too. I'd consider his excessive body movement suboptimal form rather than calling it a different exercise. You could argue that it shifts the focus more towards the strength side of the spectrum, but then again you could argue anything... 

[Cam Ogle]

12 minutes ago, Nathan said:

Other than the weight overhead and some finer positioning details, I'd say it looks about the same. GMBs Focused Flexibility program uses pretty much the same exercise too. I'd consider his excessive body movement suboptimal form rather than calling it a different exercise. You could argue that it shifts the focus more towards the strength side of the spectrum, but then again you could argue anything... 

Cool. Before coming here and seeing Kit's stretches I had never seen one like this one before. I got a serious HF stretch here and the last time I played with these my front splits came back quite quickly. Will keep them in and report back. 

[Cam Ogle]

30/06/17
Bw- 90.3
Injuries- none
Soreness- quads, hams, upper back, chest
Fasted session- black coffee only

Warm up- 3min rower

Wide Grip RDL- bar x 10, 60 x 5
DL- 90 x 5, 110 x 3, 130 x 5 (mixed grip last set- no belt)

Pull Ups- bw x 5, 5, 5

BB Curl- 20 x 10, 10

Bag work (punching and kicking combos)
1 min on / 1 min off x 4

Done. Missed my stretching as I spent the extra 15 mins signing up before I started. Still love this gym.

[Cam Ogle]

2/7/17
bw- ?
Injuries- None
Soreness- Upper back
Temperature- 0 (took me 10 minutes to clear the car of ice and another 10 to defrost it- ridiculous)

Warm Up- rower 5 min, banded ankle and hip flexor, pigeon stretch, bottom of squat movements

Squat- bar x 10, 60 x 5, 80 x 5, 100 x 3, 115 x 5 (oly shoes, knee sleeves, belted last set)
Tuck FL- 8s x 5
Box Jumps- 30" x 3 x 5

Dips bw x 5, 5, 5
Back Bridge- 20s x 3

DB OHP- 12.5 x 10, 10
BSS- 7.5 x 10, 10
Lateral Raise- 7.5 x 10, 10

Emmet's Front Fold Protocol
3 position calf stretch (60s each instead of 90 due to lack of time)
Stride Stance Good Morning- 10kg x 10, 10, 10 (skipped the iso's again due to lack of time)
Jefferson Curl- Got two reps in and felt a decent level of discomfort in the left hammy/glute tie in. Right up high. Had a similar thing after deadlifting last week. Skipped as not worth it. 

Felt weird using belt again for squats. I find it takes me a few weeks to get used to it. Especially the extra pressure it creates. 

[Cam Ogle]

Also, challenged my son to a splits contest yesterday. Stretching is the one area of gymnastics he's always said he's not fond of and watching him you can see him phoning it in. Asked him to pick out a toy/book/game that he really wants and if he gets the splits he gets it. We agreed to train together each night. At least do something. Focus will be front splits but we will work the pancake and side splits too. He's not too far off actually. Probably 12-16 inches and he should get there quicker than me. 

[Nathan]

10 hours ago, Cam Ogle said:

Asked him to pick out a toy/book/game that he really wants and if he gets the splits he gets it.

What... beating dad isn't enough?  That's awesome, though. Don't let him win too easily!  

[Cam Ogle]

30 minutes ago, Nathan said:

What... beating dad isn't enough?  That's awesome, though. Don't let him win too easily!  

Haha. He'd love to beat me but I thought an extra incentive would be helpful. 

Oh I intend to give him a good run for his money. I'm far more competitive than he is 

[Cam Ogle]

03/06/2017
bw- 90.2
injuries- none
soreness- hams, quads, upper back

Rower- 2k in 9m

Stretching- 10m

Bag work- punching and kicking- 1 min on/1 min off

Stretching- 10m

Done.

Not sure the rower is such a great warm up for me. Short of going harder and harder I don't seem to get that warm. Maybe I need to wear more clothes idk. Next time I will shorten the rest on the bag work. 1 min was probably too much but not too bad a starting place.

Just finished a week of no alcohol, added sugar, grains or dairy. Feeling pretty good. Skin is great. Have been eating too many nuts as snacks though. Am going to add back in whey and greek yoghurt this week as the egg white protein really isn't doing it for me and I'm not getting enough. Also the greek yoghurt is a great after dinner finisher. Everything else will remain as is. Bw got down to low 89's. Want to get much lower but stupid old me is also loading creatine at the same time so will forget about weight for the moment as I'm definitely getting leaner and leaner. 

[Cam Ogle]

04/07/17
bw- 89.4
injuries- sprained right wrist from yesterdays bag work
soreness- glute med, hams (who knew kicking a heavy bag would cause this)

Treadmill walk- 5 mins
HF stretching

Wide Grip RDL- bar x 10, 60 x 10
DL- 90 x 5, 115 x 3, 135 x 5

Chins- bw x 6, 5, 4

Curls- 15kg x 15, 15, 15

Hollow body- 30s x 3

Hanging x 30s

Weird session. Sprained my right wrist during yesterday's bag work. It's not super painful but still restrictive. Didn't notice it too much on deads but definitely did during chins. Glutes and hams were ridiculously sore from the kicking yesterday as well. Not something I usually notice but I went pretty hard on the bag and haven't done that for quite some time. Great that the soreness is contained to glute med and not the HF/TFL area where I normally get it. 

Kind of meh about my program that I'm doing though.  Obviously squats and deadlifts are going well so that's great. The rest feels a little all over the place and not too sure I'm accomplishing much with the rest of the training time. I will try out a few new things over the next couple of weeks and see what sticks. Also, I think I need to do something on my pre-intra workout nutrition. I'm training fasted with black coffee only and that may actually be the problem why I feel meh. Perfect example was this morning. Setting up for my final set of DLs at 135. It's an hour since I woke so that shouldn't be too much of  a problem and I still felt a little substandard. Definitely not focused or pumped to lift. It's so early that there's not a great option for food so thinking a pre-workout and some bcaas maybe. I already have bcaas at home and pre-workout isn't really expensive anyway.

[Nathan]

Working out fasted is fine, but it takes time to really acclimatize and feel like you can really put in the effort. I'd say at least a few weeks, if not a month or so. Not sure how long you've been at it now. (I've done fasted, fed, and even eating during. They can all work, but they take time to adjust to.) As for pre-workouts, nothing really beats coffee. The caffeine works. The other stuff... meh. That said, when the caffeine kicks in can vary a lot depending on the individual. You might try playing with how long you wait between drinking your coffee and working out. BCAAs are okay, but really not great. They will give you some extra energy, and since you have some already you might as well use them. Once they run out you'd be better off spending your money on some whey and just drinking a whey shake pre-workout instead.

[Cam Ogle]

2 hours ago, Nathan said:

Working out fasted is fine, but it takes time to really acclimatize and feel like you can really put in the effort. I'd say at least a few weeks, if not a month or so. Not sure how long you've been at it now. (I've done fasted, fed, and even eating during. They can all work, but they take time to adjust to.) As for pre-workouts, nothing really beats coffee. The caffeine works. The other stuff... meh. That said, when the caffeine kicks in can vary a lot depending on the individual. You might try playing with how long you wait between drinking your coffee and working out. BCAAs are okay, but really not great. They will give you some extra energy, and since you have some already you might as well use them. Once they run out you'd be better off spending your money on some whey and just drinking a whey shake pre-workout instead.

I kind of agree. I've worked out fasted plenty in the past and it hasn't been too bad. I've never really had that focus or consistent energy though that I experience later in the day which is obvious considering I'm now training at 5.30am instead of 7pm. In general my nutrition around workouts has basically been non existent as I haven't bought into any of the hype. I've had the BCAAs for 6 months or so just sitting there. It is hard to ignore though other guys I know who are powering through training in a broscience kind of way stacking up on all kinds of stuff. It has me intrigued.  Now whether or not I want to jam my body with all that stuff is another story. But, and this is where I get stuck, is this stuff (pre-workout) going to help me build my work capacity which will stick after I stop using the stuff? Idk.  

Now your other comment on the time taken to adapt may be spot on correct in which case I may just have to suck it up.  I'm having black coffee at the moment and I will use the BCAAs in the interim and just see how I go. 

[Bumanov]

Have you tried doing some sort of breath work before your sessions? For example a couple rounds of yogi skull shining breath followed by breath retentions. Or my new favorite called kumbakha where you break the breath into a square: inhale-retention-exhale-retention, start with say 4 seconds on each then move up by 1 count each cycle and see how high you can go. I always feel more energized after I do these and mentally ready/focused to train. 

[Cam Ogle]

8 hours ago, Bumanov said:

Have you tried doing some sort of breath work before your sessions? For example a couple rounds of yogi skull shining breath followed by breath retentions. Or my new favorite called kumbakha where you break the breath into a square: inhale-retention-exhale-retention, start with say 4 seconds on each then move up by 1 count each cycle and see how high you can go. I always feel more energized after I do these and mentally ready/focused to train. 

I have not. Have never really done any breath work. Have good breathing patterns from years of playing the trombone which required correct breathing mechanisms but nothing focused. Just googled and it looks like there's plenty of links out there. Do you have favourite resources?   

[Nathan]

Pre-workout is a huge catch-all term, so can't really say without details. Examine.com is your place to go for checking out individual ingredients, but the evidence is only really there for caffeine as a truly effective pre-workout supplement. You could make arguments for citrulline, beta alanine, and sodium bicarb (baking soda), but they're all case-specific and are only going to be tiny in terms of overall effects. Creatine has the evidence, but it's not a pre-workout and I know you're already taking it. Training time has a huge effect on your workout too. That one will also get better over time, although there is evidence that suggests there is a (more) optimal time for training based on circadian rhythms (tends to be a bit after noon with some individual variation, IIRC).

In the end, why mess with tiny fractions of possible improvement from costly supplements unless you're 100% sure your nutrition, recovery, and program are near optimal?

[Bumanov]

Most of my experience comes from taking yoga classes, such as the Rocket or Hatha where the teacher either begins or ends the class with a breathing meditation. The main types I've encountered are Kapalabhati or Skull-Shining Breath (Yoga Journal gives a decent explanation of the technique https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/skull-shining-breath) , Bhastrika or Bellows (https://yogainternational.com/article/view/learn-bhastrika-pranayama-bellows-breath), Khumbakha and Naudi Shodhana (http://www.chopra.com/articles/nadi-shodhana-how-to-practice-alternate-nostril-breathing). The first two are what I would call Yang techniques meant to warm the body by hyper-oxidation and are useful for repaying "Oxygen Debt" as Steve Maxwell likes to call it. For example, if you go for a breath retention and your measuring your max time you are building O2 debt. Our bodies monitor CO2 levels, which increase during that period. These first two yang techniques are great for quickly restoring normal (and slightly more alkaline)  O2-CO2 levels by quickly pumping the CO2 out of the system. 

Khumbakha is what I am currently playing with. Basically the breath is broken up into four parts: inhale:retention:exhale:retention. Start with a 1:1:1:1 ratio of parts, for example 4 count inhale, 4 count retention, 4 count exhale, 4 count retention. Then slowly build up the ladder 5:5:5:5, 6:6:6:6 and so on. In the sutras Patanjali mentions using a 1:4:2:1 ratio (please correct me if I'm wrong with this I don't have my source text with me). You can play with the ratios however you want. You can do this seated, and you can do this as a walking meditation (which is what I've been doing for the past several months) where each count is a step. 

The last one, Naudi Shoda is more of a yin technique meant for restoring alignment, centering and balancing the body. Each nostril corresponds to the yin or yang elements of your being so the point is to create harmony between the two. Very useful after a practice or before going to bed. All of the above Khumbaka techniques apply to this last one. For example say you start the cycle by breathing in through the left nostril on a count of 4, you hold for a count of 4, exhale through the right for 4, hold for 4, inhale through the right for 4, hold 4, exhale left 4, etc 

I am planning on writing a detailed post about my experiment with walking khumbakha. Let me know if you have any questions in the meantime. Sorry I don't have concrete videos demoing the techniques. 

[Cam Ogle]

1 hour ago, Nathan said:

Pre-workout is a huge catch-all term, so can't really say without details. Examine.com is your place to go for checking out individual ingredients, but the evidence is only really there for caffeine as a truly effective pre-workout supplement. You could make arguments for citrulline, beta alanine, and sodium bicarb (baking soda), but they're all case-specific and are only going to be tiny in terms of overall effects. Creatine has the evidence, but it's not a pre-workout and I know you're already taking it. Training time has a huge effect on your workout too. That one will also get better over time, although there is evidence that suggests there is a (more) optimal time for training based on circadian rhythms (tends to be a bit after noon with some individual variation, IIRC).

In the end, why mess with tiny fractions of possible improvement from costly supplements unless you're 100% sure your nutrition, recovery, and program are near optimal?

Again you're right. The tiny fractions from costly supplements aren't worth it. The placebo effect however is something I'd be willing to take. 

My nutrition isn't too bad at the moment. My nutrition around training is non-existent though. I have always wondered if I'm leaving results on the table due to that. There's really only one way to find out isn't there. I got a few samples yesterday for some pre-workout stuff. Figured it would be worth a try and see what effect it has. 

On another note and something I forgot to put in the previous post is that for the last 2 weeks I've had no alcohol, added sugar, grains and limited dairy (greek yoghurt and whey just this week). Have been feeling pretty good overall but have had some low energy as well. This obviously could be a big factor in workout motivation. I'll be adding rice and oats back in this weekend so that could give me a buck up too. 

[Cam Ogle]

1 hour ago, Bumanov said:

Most of my experience comes from taking yoga classes, such as the Rocket or Hatha where the teacher either begins or ends the class with a breathing meditation. The main types I've encountered are Kapalabhati or Skull-Shining Breath (Yoga Journal gives a decent explanation of the technique https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/skull-shining-breath) , Bhastrika or Bellows (https://yogainternational.com/article/view/learn-bhastrika-pranayama-bellows-breath), Khumbakha and Naudi Shodhana (http://www.chopra.com/articles/nadi-shodhana-how-to-practice-alternate-nostril-breathing). The first two are what I would call Yang techniques meant to warm the body by hyper-oxidation and are useful for repaying "Oxygen Debt" as Steve Maxwell likes to call it. For example, if you go for a breath retention and your measuring your max time you are building O2 debt. Our bodies monitor CO2 levels, which increase during that period. These first two yang techniques are great for quickly restoring normal (and slightly more alkaline)  O2-CO2 levels by quickly pumping the CO2 out of the system. 
 

Khumbakha is what I am currently playing with. Basically the breath is broken up into four parts: inhale:retention:exhale:retention. Start with a 1:1:1:1 ratio of parts, for example 4 count inhale, 4 count retention, 4 count exhale, 4 count retention. Then slowly build up the ladder 5:5:5:5, 6:6:6:6 and so on. In the sutras Patanjali mentions using a 1:4:2:1 ratio (please correct me if I'm wrong with this I don't have my source text with me). You can play with the ratios however you want. You can do this seated, and you can do this as a walking meditation (which is what I've been doing for the past several months) where each count is a step. 

The last one, Naudi Shoda is more of a yin technique meant for restoring alignment, centering and balancing the body. Each nostril corresponds to the yin or yang elements of your being so the point is to create harmony between the two. Very useful after a practice or before going to bed. All of the above Khumbaka techniques apply to this last one. For example say you start the cycle by breathing in through the left nostril on a count of 4, you hold for a count of 4, exhale through the right for 4, hold for 4, inhale through the right for 4, hold 4, exhale left 4, etc 

 

I am planning on writing a detailed post about my experiment with walking khumbakha. Let me know if you have any questions in the meantime. Sorry I don't have concrete videos demoing the techniques. 

 

 

Yoga Journal has a nice explanation of Skull-Shining breath

 

Great thanks. I will check these out and let you know if I have any questions.