Ben Plotnicki

6/6

For time (14 min cap)

50 toes to bar

40 bar facing burpee

30 cal row

20 power snatch 115lbs

11:06 – I decided I was going to go for the TTB and see what happens. My goal was to do an amrap -1 set, I got 22, my perception is that it was my grip that gave out, probably not though, a lot of great trunk flexion this week so maybe a tough of fatigue there, but I went 5/5 and knee i wasn’t going to be able to sustain that, then i went 3/3/2 and missed getting the bar for the 3 on the last and quickly went to singles. Burpee took a while for me to feel like I wasn’t going to seize up coming off the ground. Rowing after trunk flexion is always a struggle for me but I was pretty pleased that I kept that around 1150+.

(rest as needed/able)

Accumulate 4 min passive hang from bar with pronated grip

Felt much easier today, also started 5 minutes after workout completion and had a semi controlled work/rest ratio going here. 

+

25 min zone 2-3ish echo/ass bike

Had a hot lunch date poolside so only got 10 minutes here.

6/5

Front rack prep x 2 sets

Blocked thoracic extensions x 5 reps (GHD/medball)

Undergrip PVC stretch x 5 reps with controlled breath cycles at end range each rep

Lat/teres stretch with racked BB x 5 reps/side, controlled breath cycles

Banded external rotations from front rack position x 6-8

done

+

A1 – Paused front squats @ 33X1 tempo x 3 reps, directly into

A2 – Regular tempo front squats x 3 reps, rest 3 min x 5 sets

*idealling building a little from last week

155-160-165-170-175 – my left wrist was the funky one today, kept all fingers on but this was more of a fight today than in the past

B – DB goblet squats – 21 reps @ 70lbs, rest 60 sec x 4 sets

Done – this is getting to be where it’s harder and more fatiguing on my shoulders to hold the DB as opposed to squatting.

C – KB russian swings – 21 reps @ 53lbs, rest 60 sec x 6 sets

done

+

Core flexion finisher x 4 sets, rest as needed bt sets

Plank to pike with feet on row seat x 6

Knee tucks with feet on row seat x 12

V-ups on floor x 6

Tuck ups on floor x 12

Ab mat situps x 18

This was the first i did not feel like my abs were going to explode mid set, that happened only after.

5/29

Front rack prep x 2 sets

Blocked thoracic extensions x 5 reps (GHD/medball)

Undergrip PVC stretch x 5 reps with controlled breath cycles at end range each rep

Lat/teres stretch with racked BB x 5 reps/side, controlled breath cycles

Banded external rotations from front rack position x 6-8

+

A – Paused front squats @ 33X1 tempo x 5 reps, rest 2 min x 5 sets

*mod loading here, posture and rack priority

155 – this is the weight I finished at last week. I almost dropped weight after the first set. It was an uncomfortable fight to keep a good front rack but I kept it. 

B – DB goblet squats – 18 reps @ 70lbs, rest 60 sec x 4 sets

Done 

C – KB russian swings – 18 reps @ 53lbs, rest 60 sec x 6 sets

Done 

+

Core flexion finisher x 3 sets, rest as needed bt sets

Plank to pike with feet on row seat x 6

Knee tucks with feet on row seat x 12

V-ups on floor x 6

Tuck ups on floor x 12

Ab mat situps x 18

Yaaaaayyyyyy more abmat sutups

5/30

On a 15 min clock

5-10-15-20-25 reps each, adding 5/round

Wallballs

Row cals

into, AMRAP in remaining time

1-2-3-4-5…reps each, adding 1/round

Power cleans @ 185lbs

Bar MU

30 total reps on second part…..I pushed the pace on the first part and I was pretty pleased with my effort there. I could’ve easily done all wall ball sets UB, but I broke in the 20 & 25, broke twice in 25, calculated the rest but took it a bit more than I should’ve but that was so I would keep my row pace upper 1100’s and in the 1200’s and from what i remember I might have only dipped below 1100 once but that was when i took my eyes off the screen…..(i think i recall finishing around the 7’s/8 range i just remember thinking I have a lot more time than i expected to hit the second part. On that part, the first power clean felt heavy AF, so that intimidated me a little, and you know me, I am always scared to do high skill gymnastics when i’m that winded so transition from bmu to barbell was good but from barbell to bmu was not. I did take too long from the first transition of bmu to 2 rep cleans but it felt lighter and lighter as I went so i tried to keep that moving fairly quickly. 

(rest as needed/able)

Accumulate 3:30 min passive hang from bar with pronated grip

done

+

20 min zone 2-3ish echo/ass bike

Done – but due to scheduling shortened this and then got home and took the dogs for a long zone 2 stroll

5/31 – OFF

6/1

Part 1

Front rack prep x 2 sets

Blocked thoracic extensions x 5 reps (GHD/medball)

Undergrip PVC stretch x 5 reps with controlled breath cycles at end range each rep

Lat/teres stretch with racked BB x 5 reps/side, controlled breath cycles

Banded external rotations from front rack position x 6-8

+

A – Front rack walkout x 21 sec, new set every 2 min x 5

*kinda heavy, but no sharp pain. We want all fingers under the bar here to try to open up position with the load

230

B – Back squat @ 30X1 tempo x 4, rest 2 min x 6 sets

*build again slightly from last week

260 x 1, 265 x 3 

C – Hand release deadlifts x 4, rest 2 min x 6 sets

*build again slightly from last week

275×2, 285×2, 290×2

+

5 sets of 16-20 GHD situps, rest 60-90 sec to recovery

20-20-18-18-18

Part 2

Self directed mobility work

done

6/2

EMOM x 9 (warmup)

Min 1/4/7: 30 sec Row + 15 sec Ski

Min 2/5/8: 15 sec Ski + 30 sec Bike

Min 3/6/9: 45 sec run, getting faster each round

+

For time @ strong effort:

75 cal row

500m run

50/40 cal ski

500m run

*rest 3 min*

For time @ strong effort:

500m run

50 cal ski

500m run

75 cal bike

28:27 – my goal was to hit paces that I feel i should be hitting at a minimum for retest. Even though the run was 500m and much shorter than the full effort, i didn’t want to push that harder just because it was shorter, i wanted to feel what I think that needs to be. There is more there for the run, row pace was good, I didn’t put the hammer down on the bike but will be able to on retest. Ski, my goal was to stay above 1000 and i did dip to high/upper 900’s – goal on retest will be to never dip too wild, this will be where I need to find some range of highs and lows that will keep me just below threshold. 

6/3

1 set, rest as needed

Tall kneeling thoracic extensions against wall x 3-4 reps with 3 breath cycles/rep

2-way half kneeling thoracic rotations against wall x 3 ‘reps’/side

1-arm KB snatch to high windmill x 3 reps/side

+

A – Seated BB sots press @ 3112 tempo x 6 reps, rest 2 min x 4 sets

*as light as you need to go here to keep control, could be training bar if needed

50 x 2, 55x 2

B – Belly to wall HS hold with deep breathing x 30 sec, new set every 2 min x 4

I slept on my wrist wrong the other night or something and this was very irritating but I made it. And the 30sec didn’t feel as bad as i thought it would

+

EMOM x 20 (4x through)

1+2 – 26 cal echo bike

3 – 60 DU’s

4 – 20 wallballs @ 20lbs to 10ft

5 – Rest

This was the worst of all the emoms only because the bike, tried to keep it above 400. 

+

Accumulate 4 min hang from pullup bar, pronated grip

Did 40sec sets, and was good for the first 2 and the end of the 3rd set of 40 was when i felt this in my grip more than i had on any other hanging piece in this progression.

5/22

Front rack prep x 2 sets

Blocked thoracic extensions x 5 reps (GHD/medball)

Undergrip PVC stretch x 5 reps with controlled breath cycles at end range each rep

Lat/teres stretch with racked BB x 5 reps/side, controlled breath cycles

Banded external rotations from front rack position x 6-8

+

A – Paused front squats @ 33X1 tempo x 4 reps, rest 2 min x 5 sets

*mod loading here, posture and rack priority

3 @ 135 – 2 @ 155 – weight was definitely moderate, I feel today if I went higher I might not be able to keep 4 fingers under the bar. It might have felt like my pinky was slipping on the 4th rep but it stayed under the bar. 

B – DB goblet squats – 15 reps @ 70lbs, rest 60 sec x 4 sets

done

C – KB russian swings – 15 reps @ 53lbs, rest 60 sec x 6 sets

done

+

Core flexion finisher x 3 sets, rest as needed bt sets

Plank to pike with feet on row seat x 5

Knee tucks with feet on row seat x 10

V-ups on floor x 5

Tuck ups on floor x 10

Ab mat situps x 15

Ummmm if you ever watched me do abmat sit ups you would think I am a scaled athlete. During Annie I have to kip my abmat sit ups because my abs cramp so bad. 15 per round wasn’t bad but I definitely had to move slow and sets 2 and 3 got harder and slower and you better believe i rested as I needed

5/23

For total time:

400m run

30 chest to bar

15 power cleans @ 155lbs

rest 2 min

15 power cleans @ 155lbs

30 chest to bar

400m run

I think i recall it being around 14:33…..I have this feeling in my left forearm, it feels to me there what shin splints feel like. I only feels this in CTB pull ups, and it had started to flare up the last week or two prior to semifinals. It’s maybe about a 3-4 on the pain scale, and is more annoying than painful. Since it is somewhat of a newer situation I haven’t figured out to warm it up and see if that minimizes it. With the rowing volume we’ve been accumulating I might feel it once and when rowing it’s abut a .5 or 1, so I don’t put them in the same category. In life sometimes i might feel it if i’m carrying groceries with a bent elbow for a long walk through the parking lot. So I’m aware but not too worried. And in this case in the workout, I never felt it jumping up but when I got into the first set of pull ups I did 4 felt it and dropped from the bar. So it threw off my rhythm, focus and even my confidence. I was able to finish the 60 reps of course but I never really pushed them like I could’ve, barbell was fine and I pushed that but just being mindful of that. 

(rest as needed/able)

Accumulate 3 min passive hang from bar with pronated grip

done

+

20 min zone 2-3ish echo/ass bike

done

5/24 – OFF

5/25

Part 1

Front rack prep x 2 sets

Blocked thoracic extensions x 5 reps (GHD/medball)

Undergrip PVC stretch x 5 reps with controlled breath cycles at end range each rep

Lat/teres stretch with racked BB x 5 reps/side, controlled breath cycles

Banded external rotations from front rack position x 6-8

+

A – Front rack walkout x 18 sec, new set every 2 min x 5

*kinda heavy, but no sharp pain. We want all fingers under the bar here to try to open up position with the load

225

B – Back squat @ 30X1 tempo x 5, rest 2 min x 5 sets

*build slightly from last week

255 – this was good but staying as strict to the tempo as my brain could count what was hopefully true seconds o would be had a hard time at this weight sling one more set at load/tempo

C – Hand release deadlifts x 5, rest 2 min x 5 sets

*build slightly from last week

275 across

+

5 sets of 14-18 GHD situps, rest 60-90 sec to recovery

15 across

Part 2

Self directed mobility work

Being a holiday it did a much lighter/shorter version of my work today

5/26

EMOM x 9 (warmup)

Min 1/4/7: 30 sec Row + 15 sec Ski

Min 2/5/8: 15 sec Ski + 30 se c Bike

Min 3/6/9: 45 sec run, getting faster each round

+

2 sets

60 cal row (work to stay above 1150)

600m run

rest 2 min bt sets

6:14 – 6:27 – not real sure how/where i fell off – it felt better and smoother on the run and I hit all my paces and i’m pretty sure row time was almost exactly the same

+ (rest 4-5 min)

2 sets

60 cal ski (work to stay above 1050)

600m run

rest 2 min bt sets

7:10 – 7:13 – I accidentally overachieved and ran an extra 150 lap (156m to be exact) on the 2nd interval but I already subtracted the time so that 7:13 is accurate 

+ (rest 4-5 min)

2 sets

600m run, into

60 cal bike erg

rest 2 min bt sets

*bike deliberately after the run here to simulate that transition

6:44-6:49 – today was a major struggle to stay in the target range of cal/hr on the bike. I just got to where it was survival today

5/27

1 set, rest as needed

Tall kneeling thoracic extensions against wall x 3-4 reps with 3 breath cycles/rep

2-way half kneeling thoracic rotations against wall x 3 ‘reps’/side

1-arm KB snatch to high windmill x 3 reps/side

Windmill is slowly and slowly starting to feel better and better

+

1 set, rest as needed

Thoracic bridge flow against wall x 3/direction

Alternating sky reaches from squat x 4/side

1-arm KB sots press from low seated x 5/side (rotate T-spine)

done

+

A – Seated BB sots press @ 3112 tempo x 5 reps, rest 2 min x 4 sets

*as light as you need to go here to keep control, could be training bar if needed

45lb bar today

B – Belly to wall HS hold with deep breathing x 24 sec, new set every 2 min x 4

done

+

EMOM x 20 (4x through)

1+2 – 24 cal ski

3 – 16 box jump overs @ 20in

4 – 12 dbl DB thrusters @ 45lbs/hand

5 – Rest

I appreciate not adding 5 more pounds on each hand for the db thruster

+

Accumulate 3:30 min hang from pullup bar, pronated grip

done

5/20

1 set, rest as needed

Tall kneeling thoracic extensions against wall x 3-4 reps with 3 breath cycles/rep

2-way half kneeling thoracic rotations against wall x 3 ‘reps’/side

1-arm KB snatch to high windmill x 3 reps/side

first time I have done any kind of windmill with no pain in the shoulder, it felt very sticky especially around the scap, and weak but I was able to do it and that is a huge win.

+

1 set, rest as needed

Thoracic bridge flow against wall x 3/direction

I hate these – going left hand first is the absolute hardest. Going right first is much more manageable . I also did find that if i placed my hand on the wall a little lower than I had been it felt a slight bit better and more effective.

Alternating sky reaches from squat x 4/side

1-arm KB sots press from low seated x 5/side (rotate T-spine)

+

A – Seated BB sots press @ 3112 tempo x 4 reps, rest 2 min x 4 sets

*as light as you need to go here to keep control, could be training bar if needed

Empty 35lb bar – with being in a seated position, i tried to mimic a little more than I ever had with this of what my torso position would look like in the full depth of the positions. 

B – Belly to wall HS hold with deep breathing x 20 sec, new set every 2 min x 4

20 sec was the perfect amount today – right shoulder felt really fatigued towards the last few seconds but stable.

+

EMOM x 20 (4x through)

1+2 – 24 cal row

3 – 18 wallballs

4 – 12 burpees to touch pullup bar

5 – Rest

This was a fun emom, i tried to finish the wall ball and the burpee by the 30sec mark but was always about 1-3 sec behind on each set.

+

Accumulate 3 min hang from pullup bar, pronated grip

45-45-30-30-30 – i know there was no major damage at all in my shoulder but I definitely feel some restriction troughout the lat, no pain of course but it feels as if it got so tight over the months to protect it and loosened as the time under tension went on

5/19

EMOM x 9 (warmup)

Min 1/4/7: 30 sec Row + 15 sec Ski

Min 2/5/8: 15 sec Ski + 30 sec Bike

Min 3/6/9: 45 sec run, getting faster each round

+

2 sets

50 cal row (work to stay above 1150)

500m run

rest 2 min bt sets

5:04 – 5:08 – stayed above 1150 for 98.7% of the 100 cals

+ (rest 4-5 min)

2 sets

50 cal ski (work to stay above 1050)

500m run

rest 2 min bt sets

?:?? – 5:17 i accendtally did not change the damper when I hopped on the ski and it was at 10 and I actually felt like I stayed closer to the range of 1050+ the whole time – i closed my eyes for big chunks at a time and might have dipped under during those but for the most part I would say I was 89-94% on

+ (rest 4-5 min)

2 sets

500m run, into

50 cal bike erg

rest 2 min bt sets

*bike deliberately after the run here to simulate that transition

Goal on bike was just to get started. Total working time minus rest  on this interval was 11:21, so much math under oxygen deprivation and 90 degree temps is asking a lot.

5/18

Part 1

Front rack prep x 2 sets

Blocked thoracic extensions x 5 reps (GHD/medball)

Undergrip PVC stretch x 5 reps with controlled breath cycles at end range each rep

Lat/teres stretch with racked BB x 5 reps/side, controlled breath cycles

Banded external rotations from front rack position x 6-8

found your vidoe of the ghd blocked thoracic extension and then killer music in the background 🙂

+

A – Front rack walkout x 15 sec, new set every 2 min x 5

*kinda heavy, but no sharp pain. We want all fingers under the bar here to try to open up position with the load

215 – wanted to try and hold the hook grip as well, but nowhere near that on the right side, left side was close. I’m excited for this because this will be easy to see the gainiz

B – Back squat @ 30X1 tempo x 6, rest 2 min x 4 sets

245 – didn’t give myself much runway here, felt about an 8 or 9 RPE

C – Hand release deadlifts x 6, rest 2 min x 4 sets

255-265-265-275 – there is more here, after not giving myself some runway on the back squat I didnt’ want to set myself up for nowhere to go

+

5 sets of 12-15 GHD situps, rest 60-90 sec to recovery

15-15-12-12-12 – i’m sure the more exposure here and I will get less dizzy, I’m hoping this will help the dizziness i feel when I’m doing hs walk sometimes 

Part 2

Self directed mobility work

Getting ready to get as we speak

5/5

Part 1

Rope climb tech work – 5-6 min

Can get touches tomorrow with workout 1 prep

+

Deadlift warmup – build to a single @ 9/10 RPE, as moving well for the day, no big grind. Picture leaving at least 10lbs in the tank

405 – this was a my perception vs what someone else would’ve see had they watched or i video, it felt about like an 8 or 9, but in reality there was no grinding, it had constant vertical acceleration. Now of course the difference will be the previous 8 singles when I get to that point. 

+

Quick TNG clean prep @ 135lbs, do 2 sets of 5-6 TNG reps working on hitting the standard well and moving efficiently

done

+

EMOM x 4

1 deadlift 

*by set, we can go something like 315-335-355-375

*after the last rep, immediately move to 135lbs bar and do as many cleans as possible to the 30 sec mark on the clock

Done + 7 reps – done as all singles

(rest as needed/able)

Part 2 

1 set for time @ 85-90% effort

750m row 

35 thrusters @ 65lbs

25 chest to bar pullups

500m row

*we just want to get a feel for the movement combination and how the thrusters and pullups feel, so we can come up with a strategy for pacing and rep scheme as needed

*capture the time this took and rep scheme used if you broke anything up

Forest row was about 1:49-1:51 for the first 250 then i pulled back to around 1:55-1:58 didn’t force the issue, was going about 20-22 spm and focusing on leg drive. Thruster did 20 & 15, and CTB did 8/7/5/5 – didn’t rest long between the last 5’s a little bit longer but between the 8 to the 7 and the 7 to the 5. But i hated how i felt going back to the row. It was work to keep it between 1:56 and 1:58 so I’m glad I pushed this a little bit here with these numbers.

5/1

Thorough upper body warmup

Stand alone rmu felt good and felt like the warm up had me really prepped. 

+

For time @ strong effort

1-2-3-4-5 reps each

Ring MU

Snatches @ 155lbs

In the round of 3 I started failing some snatches and I never warmed up squat snatch so I started having a ton of negative self talk and never got angry just got really down frustrated and I called it. But because i’m stubborn I didn’t call it for the day just for this piece. My body feels tired and a little beat up today. I’ve been sleeping well, eating a lot of food. Not sure if the week of not being 100% and coming into this week feeling a little better and maybe pushing some more intensity. I feel the volume has been tapered back a little so not sure if I just haven’t been pushing the pedal to the metal and when I have gotten after it this week I have felt it a little. idk

(rest as needed)

For time @ strong effort

1-2-3-4-5 reps each

BMU

Thrusters @ 155lbs

5:06 – after the first piece I was fighting negative self talk and a little mentally fearful of hanging on to all thrusters at the 4 and 5, so to try and minimize a set of 3 or so, i did a few singles and tried to rest “less”

(rest as needed)

Every 4 min x 3 sets

36 cal row @ strong effort, into easy recovery jog in remaining time in 4 min window

Don’t remember times but kept the whole set above 1150 and tried to keep the first half above 1200

+ (rest as needed)

Every 4 min x 3 sets

36 cal ski @ strong effort, into easy recovery jog in remaining time in 4 min window

1:57–1:56-1:53 – i felt much better here today for damn sure than I did on tuesday. 

+ (rest as needed)

Every 4 min x 3 sets

36 cal bike erg @ strong effort, into easy recovery jog in remaining time in 4 min window

Unfortunately at the time I had to go I had to do this on the Echo. first set was 1:56 – and then after that I got tired of cruising and pushed the pace a bit more, 1:45 – 1:39 – I know the recovery runs were recovery but all done on the runner and final run total was 2222, should I play the lottery and choose some combination of 2’s. 

4/28

EMOM x 9 (warmup)

Min 1/4/7: 30 sec Row + 15 sec Ski

Min 2/5/8: 15 sec Ski + 30 sec Bike

Min 3/6/9: 45 sec run, getting faster each round

+

3 sets

60 cal row (work to stay above 1150)

600m run

rest 2 min bt sets

6:16–6:12–6:10 – held all paces 97.6% of the time. Never went past 3 strokes below. When I went below it really was because I was down shifting a little bit. Set 2&3 my goal was to hold 1200+ for the first 20 cals and I held it for the first 30, and after that tried to settle in between 1250-1200

+ (rest 4-5 min)

3 sets

60 cal ski (work to stay above 1050)

600m run

rest 2 min bt sets

7:33–6:44–6:37 – i fought really hard to hit the target numbers but about halfway through on the first one it started punching back and i literally felt like it was the end. So on the second round I targeted just above 1000+ and slowed my stroke rate down and just tried to crank on the ski a little harder on each pull. I didn’t hit the 1050 for as long as we would like but I didn’t come as close to dying.

+ (rest 4-5 min)

Every 5 min x 4 sets (work to stay above 1150)

Bike erg 60 cals

3:03.9 – 3:02.2 – 3:03.0 – 3:01.2 – There must just be something about the buildup in fatigue, stand alone on the bike I can put the hammer down. but in this set up I can keep the 1150 but I do have to work for it

+

5 sets not for time

5-8 strict lean away pullups with controlled negative

12-14m heavy sled push

18-22 GHD situps

No time or juice

4/29/2026

A – Thruster: Build to a triple @ 85% effort, rest as needed – from a rack

*The goal here is to hit this with good SPEED both through the squat and to lockout

185 – one of the reps wasn’t as fast as we want at lockout, 165 was smoked, but 2 of the 3 at 185 were pretty solid

+

B – BB push press waveload – 5,3,1,5,3,1 rest 3 min

125-155-175-155-185-205 – these actually felt really good. Warm up for shoulders and front rack was pretty dialed in and coming out of thruster I felt I was really prepped, 

C1 – Strict rope pullups x AMRAP (-1), rest 30 sec

Didn’t know so i hit both sides – 5/4/4

C2 – 3 rope climbs with legs for speed, rest 3 min x 3 sets

Wednesday there is just really no way to get to a 15ft rope, so I did 2 started from seated legless rope climb, rope is only 10ft but from seated i thought that was plenty

+

Every 2 min until failure:

4 Power Cleans @ 175lbs

10 Cal Echo Bike

4 Bar Facing Burpees

*60 sec cap on each set

*For each set completed, add 1 burpee and continue until you’re no longer able to finish within the 60 sec window.

I couldn’t have got as far as I did without taking advantage of rollover calories. Finished 7 full, and was 5 burpee inito the round of 8. The great thing was the barbell felt the way a 175 clean should feel. I didn’t touch and go but i followed every rep down and was quickly on it so i was pretty excited about that 

4/30 – OFF

I also will have limited access to training on Saturday. I’m thinking of taking some DBs with me but can definitely get some running in, it might be a last minute decision but could opt to drop in somewhere.