Ben Plotnicki

8/14

1 set current thoracic ext/rot drills

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

+

Additional thoracic extension drills

A1 – Hanging cobra stretch with bar in j-cups x 20-30 sec with controlled breathing (don’t hold your breath!!), rest 30 sec

*I like this setup as you can control the intensity by adjusting the height of the bar

A2 – Blocked thoracic extensions on GHD pads with hands behind head x 8-10 reps, rest 60-90 sec x 4 sets

*Picture trying to segment the flexion/extension movement as much as possible, one spine segment at a time. Try to set this up where you isolate the movement JUST at upper back, everything below sternum stays still. This hopefully allows us a way to ‘own’ the ROM by actively turning on the spinal erectors in that segment

+

Belly to wall HS hold x 35 sec with hands as close to wall as possible and controlled breathing, rest 2 min x 5 sets

Hard today but completed

+

A – Front squat waveload – 4,2,1,4,2,1. rest 3 min bt sets 

*each set heavier than corresponding set from last week

205-245-275-225-265-300 – my plan was to do 295 but I said F it, you’re that close go and fucking get it. 

+

B – 1-1/4 BB hip thrusts x 5 + regular hip thrusts x 8, rest 3 min x 4 sets

235-245-245-245

+

C1 – Banded spanish squats x 8-10, rest 45 sec

C2 – Banded pull throughs from sumo stance x 10-12, rest 45 sec x 5 sets

done

+

Lower body prehab x 3 sets, rest as needed

Seated banded hip abductions x 15-20

Half kneeling adductor dips x 6/side

Feet on row seat hamstring curls x 5-6

Mini band alternating psoas march x 10-12 steps (5-6/side)

done

8/15/2026

I hosted a bourbon tasting last night, so I really level set my expectations today. And this is not the ideal workout today not being at 100%

tttTD (10 min clock)

3 Rounds:

12 Deadlifts @ 115lbs

12 Hang Power Cleans @ 115lbs

12 Shoulder to Overhead @ 115lbs

… 

3 Rounds:

12 Deadlifts @ 165lbs

12 Hang Power Cleans @ 165lbs

12 Shoulder to Overhead @ 165lbs

…

AMRAP in Remaining Time:

12 Deadlifts @ 185lbs

12 Hang Power Cleans @ 185lbs

12 Shoulder to Overhead @ 185lbs

7 deadlifts into round 5 (or round 2 of the 165 barbell) … .the biggest limitation today was barbell cycling on the shoulder to overhead. Even at the 115 bar, I was probably a bit more cautious than I needed to be, or maybe not cautious. Aggressive might be a better descriptor for receiving the barbell in the rack and cycling from there. So the lack of aggressiveness and a little bit of cautiousness at the 165 slowed me down way too much in a workout with a 10 minute time cap…..overall i’m pretty happy with how I did with my breaks and limiting rest with the deadlift and hang clean, just rested too much on the sto, and I also think exposure there was a big deal too. 

+

Ring/OH strength work x 3 sets, rest as needed

Foot assisted segmented strict RMU x 3-4 reps

Dbl DB chest flys x 6-8 light reps with a good squeeze into adduction each rep

Alternating lateral weight shifts from belly to wall HS hold x 6-8/side (can start with just pressing to fingertips on-non working hand, then if moving ok can shift towards alternating hand lifts or shoulder taps)

1-arm DB OHS x 5/side, light to moderate

I can see the chest fly being very valuable. The ring work was hard but it felt good to go through those positions and press out of that bottom position as well. The shifts felt good, but man my shoulders are tired and feel worked today. With the left hand I could go all day, the right hand in the OHS is very very hard, i used a 30 pounder and i was just working at a 8/9 to keep it locked out.

8/10

Part 1

Thoracic drills + Banded activation with your Macgyver setup

+

Lifting deload – 3 sets of lightly loaded movement work, rest as needed

Medball/Dball bear hug hold alternating get ups x 10 steps (5/side)

Bottoms up KB high windmill x 3/side

Prone snatch grip BB liftoffs with training bar x 3-4 – man these made me feel like a little bitch. I could barely move the training bar

25ft forward seal walk + 25ft backward seal walk (feet on slider)

+

A – Accumulate 10 reps of (1 wall walk + 6 alternating shoulder taps from belly to wall hold + walk down), rest as needed

*if you can’t fully control the shoulder taps or do them with good balance, adjust this to just a hand lift or press to fingertips on one side. We want to start building some single arm strength in inverted position, so I just want some lateral shift in weight

I controlled the shoulder taps and I might have shifted a little more than you wanted but it did feel good (and really fucking hard) to be able to load up a single shoulder. 

+

B – Accumulate 10 headstand to pike negatives for control, rest as needed

I used a tuck to help with half of the range of motion because I absolutely sucked at these in the beginniing. 

+

C1 – Single leg tucked ice cream maker for lat activation as you get into front lever position x 3/side, rest 1 min 

C2 – Overhead archer ring rows x 5/side, rest 1 min x 4 sets

*like this for C2, but the extended arm will reach overhead instead of laterally

tough finding the perfect position for the archer but i think i got it dialed in….the ice cream maker’s are some of my fave, but i took a rest between because I feel i do a pretty good job of creating tension in the hold and gets pretty tiring

+

D – Ring pullups – accumulate 30 reps in as few sets as possible, start in pronation and rotate to neutral wrist at the top, trying to squeeze elbows down and back

7-6-6-6-5

Part 2

Self-directed mobility

8/11

Quick note – my shoulder hurts today!!!!! Not a bad hurt, more like, i used muscles that I haven’t used in a long time and they feel very stiff today just because they have been heavily challenged with yesterdays session

TTT gait prep

+

3 Min easy jog

+

3 sets, Rest 2 Min bt sets

600m run

14 bar facing burpees

200m run

4:57-4:57-5:07

*Rest 4-5 Min*

3 sets, Rest 2 Min bt sets

8 bar facing burpees

800m run

20 bar facing burpees

7:38-7:10-7:14

I’d say the heat got to me a little bit today after the first piece. I felt pretty freaking good with run pace and burpee cadence on the first part. But when I started the second part, I got into the run and it felt hot and humid and I started with some negative self talk. Then in the burpee I was contemplating stopping, but I would never allow myself to do that unless I really feared for my health and safety. That was the conversation i was having during the burpee and was just thinking i cannot do this. So after two minutes rest, I told myself it’s only 8 burpee, and just start running, it doesn’t have to be fast, just move consistently. Even though my time was slower on the 3rd set, I felt I was back in a much better place of being smooth and beinig tired. So i was happy to finish it. And after all the rain that hijacked my session last week. I was almost about to do a rain dance mid run just so i could cool things off. I would’ve continued to run in the run this week. Unless it was a flood, then i would’ve probably still run lol. 

8/12

A – Thoracic mobility and front rack prep (let me know what this looks like now and what feels best)

What I have been doing in addition and for the most part to a lot of the work we have been doing is the following

Self myofascial release around the scap and towards the armpit. I feel this is where some of my limitations through my lats originate from. It seems to always be sore even just doing a ton of front rack work, I have always felt this way but when laying supine I struggle to get both arms to touch the ground overhead, but when I dig into my lat fairly aggressively and can gain that ROM so much better. Foam rolling it has not yielded the same results as this soft tissue work has from a ROM perspective

2 sets4/side

2-way half kneeling thoracic rotations against wall

6-8 reps of Foam roller thoracic extension w/d-ball bear hug

4/side Kneeling PVC rotation w/full breath cycle at end range of motion on each rep – i will say, i’m sure someone else has done this but I did steal it and take a few things and make it mine for now

20sec/side single arm front rack pvc contract and relax

+

2 sets

20-30sec/side banded kb chaos ER at 90/904-

5 controlled Jefferson Curl

5-6 prone lying PVC liftoff

5-6 prone lying PVC overhead press

+

B – 7 singles of squat clean thruster @ 135-155lbs, rest 90 sec x 4 sets

*28 total reps, all done as singles, working on strength of rack in the catch and strong drive to overhead

145 – on quite a few singles I paused in the catch to make sure that my elbow positions were dialed in and locked in. I did feel that when I used extra leg drive through the power position that my rack was so much better so I didn’t want that to be the reason for my good rack, so I wanted to emphasize that but also not use the stretch shortening cycle to help the leg drive out of the squat, I wanted to generate that from the dead stop

+

C – Every 2 min x 5 sets

Snatch grip overhead hold and march x 20 steps 

*125-135lbs

135 – i’m feeling better overhead but man the wrists sure get challenged

+

AMRAP 12 min

12 cal echo

6 strict pullups with lean away negative

12 cal echo

12 toes to bar

4+6 – i set a goal before I started and that was to hold 68+ cadence on bike, so that was my main focus with the bike. The lean away might not have been the most aggressive lean away but it was definitely a lean away. TTB was UB and I did feel pretty confident with them in this set up. I did slow down my transitions around the 7 minute mark

8/8

Thorough positional warmup for overhead/front rack/squatting positions, can use the full sequence we’ve had or adjust as needed for these movements/loads, but ensure you protect a good 15-20 min to prep positions here so you move as efficiently as possible

+

tttTD

4 rounds for time (16 min cap)

15 thrusters @ 75lbs

60 DU’s

15 OHS @ 75lbs

60 DU’s

15:03

*I’d suggest breaks early and often here, maybe even multiple per bar/set. quick sets of 6-5-4 on the BB and even 20’s on the dubs can lend itself to more sustained momentum as long as you stay diligent with rest breaks

Funny because I was already thinking this before your notes – watching the video I found it ironic that in the beginning it was stated that it was too light to break into 3 sets, but towards the end it was stated to slow rounds down and the only option was longer transitions….this would’ve been a nice one to have someone coaching me because I feel I broke and paced appropriately, but probably too long of resting a little bit here and a little bit there….so I went with 6-5-4 on both thrusters and ohs. Except on last round of thruster i went 9-6, i would’ve tried the same with ohs, but I feel at current mobility I have my feet wider in the ohs so I don’t feel as confident going as fast a cycle rate in squatting with that position. I also decided to break DU in 20-20-20 (for the most part, maybe a break here and there at 18 or 19, or I would go to 25 and just shorten the last set)  – probably too conservative but it did help me pick up barbell right away with what felt like pretty consistent and strong transitions. The major negative here was tripping on the 60th rep of the very last rep – i went for 60 unbroken and might have a got a little too confident. I did not track any rounds because I only glanced at the clock a few times, but i feel i was 3:40-3:50 for the first round, and I knew i couldn’t have any attrition to make time cap, but that first uber conservative round set me up to speed up a little as i went, last round I feel might have been fastest round, so with that being said, if someone was coaching me probably could’ve been even a little tighter with rest breaks. 

(rest as needed)

TTT Gait Locomotion Prep – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIiWBJh03ow

+

3 Min easy jog

+

Every 2 Min x 8-10

Run 300m @ 5k ‘effort’

*This shoud be VERY repeatable in this setup

*if your finish times continue to creep up, cut the volume at 8 sets

Bumped distance up to 275 on air runner, kept all rounds under 90sec, right around 1:27-1:29 – with all the running, I probably need new running shoes, but I will say my body doesn’t hurt after being on the runner so I just chose to hit the runner today, I feel my intensity can stay were it supposed to be, can accumulate the volume we are looking for and still really freaking good after. 

+

Serratus/scap series x 2 sets for quality

8-10 band resisted scap pushups

5-6/side banded archer pullbacks with mini-band

6-8 band distracted light DB front raises 

6-8 scap pullups

Took so long on warm up for rack/squat patterns I decided I wanted to call it at the gym and did everything at home a few hours later

8/5

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

+

Additional thoracic extension drills

A1 – Hanging cobra stretch with bar in j-cups x 20-30 sec with controlled breathing (don’t hold your breath!!), rest 30 sec

*I like this setup as you can control the intensity by adjusting the height of the bar

A2 – Blocked thoracic extensions on GHD pads with hands behind head x 8-10 reps, rest 60-90 sec x 4 sets

+

B – 5 singles of squat clean thruster @ 135-155lbs, rest 90 sec x 4 sets

*20 total reps, all done as singles, working on strength of rack in the catch and strong drive to overhead

Goal was to keep all singles completed under 50sec and used 135

+

C – Every 2 min x 5 sets

Snatch grip overhead hold and march x 20 steps 

*115-125lbs

115

+

EMOM x 10 (5x through)

Odd min – 14 cal echo (will need to pop the start a bit, then can hold 66-68 RPM)

Even min – 14 toes to bar

If we are being very technical and literal then last round was the only round I did not do UB of TTB, on the 14th rep you could have barely slid a piece of paper between my toes and the rig….around rep 9/10 of that round I knew it was going to be a fight for rep 13 & 14, but told myself this is it and fight for it. And I did but came down and did one more to make it legit 14 per round. But this was very confidence building for my capacity in a little more dense TTB set. Finished each round of 14 around 41 seconds

+

4 rounds for time @ strong effort

15 cal row (keep this above 1100)

60 DUs

7:04 – only had one clean round of DUs so that was frustrating. But after 3rd pull of rower stayed above 1100

8/6 – OFF

8/7

Quick note on today, i have a really weird schedule today so today will be turned into 3 sessions to just get in what I can when i can….i will get it all, but the thoracic work will be repeated as a warm up for most sessions and at this point the front squat is my last completed work. But about to go back to the gym and finish up the hip thrust/spanish squat and pull throughs and then the prehab. 

1 set current thoracic ext/rot drills

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

Windmills are starting to feel good, and notes of importance. I was demoing a thoracic bridge bear to bridge and my right shoulder could support full hip extension, i haven’t been able to do that I feel in over 14-16 months, also tossed the football and aired it out and zero pain tossing and quite a few 40 yard passes and no residual soreness today from that. Really good wins outside of training that are very valuable in the big picture.

+

Additional thoracic extension drills

A1 – Hanging cobra stretch with bar in j-cups x 20-30 sec with controlled breathing (don’t hold your breath!!), rest 30 sec

*I like this setup as you can control the intensity by adjusting the height of the bar

A2 – Blocked thoracic extensions on GHD pads with hands behind head x 8-10 reps, rest 60-90 sec x 4 sets

*Picture trying to segment the flexion/extension movement as much as possible, one spine segment at a time. Try to set this up where you isolate the movement JUST at upper back, everything below sternum stays still. This hopefully allows us a way to ‘own’ the ROM by actively turning on the spinal erectors in that segment

done

+

Belly to wall HS hold x 30 sec with hands as close to wall as possible and controlled breathing, rest 2 min x 5 sets

Done – and will repeat again for 3 sets when heading back to the gym

+

A – Front squat waveload – 5,3,1,5,3,1. rest 3 min bt sets 

*each set heavier than corresponding set from last week

175-215-265-195-245-285

+

B – 1-1/4 BB hip thrusts x 4 + regular hip thrusts x 6, rest 2 min x 5 sets

+

C1 – Banded spanish squats x 8-10, rest 45 sec

C2 – Banded pull throughs from sumo stance x 10-12, rest 45 sec x 5 sets

+

Lower body prehab x 3 sets, rest as needed

Seated banded hip abductions x 15-20

Half kneeling adductor dips x 6/side

Feet on row seat hamstring curls x 5-6

Mini band alternating psoas march x 10-12 steps (5-6/side)

Or dedicated and determined to not get wet would be a more accurate description

8/4

TTT gait prep

+

3 min easy jog

+

3 sets, rest 1:30 min bt sets

400m run

14 bar facing burpees

200m run

3:49-3:36*-4:29**____ *I more aggressively ran the last 200 as the rain came rushing in and I had to get my windows rolled up, so that threw off the stimulus because it wasn’t sustainable and rested longer for the rain to pass. 

** well the rain came and the radar said not going away any time soon. So instead of going to the other gym with the air runner I used a calculator to determine the close amount of shuttle runs and went with 20 shuttle + 14 bfb + 10 shuttle – 26 would be more accurate and I was at the 2:30ish mark at 20 and thought fuck this. Also i didn’t not want to do shuttles like that again so i used more calculations. The rain sucked today because I really felt good on the first two rounds, my body felt good, my lean and pace felt good so I know the adjustments don’t really help in the progressions but at least some of the volume is consistent.

*rest 4-5 min*

3 sets, rest 1:30 min bt sets

8 bar facing burpees

600m run

16 bar facing burpees

5:16-5:02-4:54

I measured out a safe 91 foot loop around the rig meaning 21 laps to get close to 600 meters – did try to alternate clockwise and counter clockwise to not put that many turns on my body.

*rest as needed/able*

I was actually waiting as long as i could and someone came into the gym during my rest and I talked to them for a bit, so this bought time for the monsoon to pass through which was kind of a catch 22, i cooled down quite a bit and really needed another warm up, but was afraid that if I did another warm up the rain would come again…..so I jumped in semi cold and went for this part. Tried to get as close to 500 as i could probably about 10 meters short but I don’t freaking care today. 

3 sets, rest 1 min bt sets

800m bike erg

500m run

*negative splits!

4:23-4:06-3:56

8/3

Part 1

Thoracic drills + Banded activation with your Macgyver setup

+

A – Empty bar burgener snatch warmup x 1 set

done

+

B – Muscle snatch x 1/Hang muscle snatch x 1/OHS x 1, new complex EMOM x 3 @ light load

85

C – Power snatch x 1/Hang power snatch x 1/OHS x 1, new complex EMOM x 3 @ light to mod load

115

D – Hang squat snatch x 2, new complex every 90 sec x 5

*keeping this as is but with slightly more rest, seeing if we can hold a little more loading across the sets this week

130-135-135-135-135-140

+

E – Squatting sots press x 2-3 reps, rest 90 sec x 5-7 sets as needed to achieve video diary needs

Sots press work 3_8_2026 – I was very curious about my positions – first set was very grindy but heavier than I have been going and on the 2nd set on I wanted to try to go into an overhead squat first, lower the bar to my back from that position and go into it. I look like a whole different dude. I was curious if there is something you have seen from this scenario that is nervous system related, positional related? I mean i know i’m getting healthier and we’re improving those positions but it shouldn’t be that much that quick

+

3-4 sets for quality on the chest to bar pullups

15 cal ski

8 1-arm alternating DB snatches @ 60lbs

15ft/side 1-arm DB OH walking lunge @ 60lbs

15 chest to bar pullups (maybe we shoot for 6-5-4 here with an eye towards sustainability)

rest 3 min bt sets

3:00-2:49-2:56-3:06 – I almost didn’t do the 4th set, but I wanted the volume so I backed off the intensity a very slight touch and I finished very close to calling these sustainable bouts. For the most part I pushed the ski +1200 cal/hr, the 60 was heavy enough I couldn’t fuck around and wasn’t consistent with smooth step through lunge steps on every one, the one thing I made sure of was to get my set of 6 pretty quickly after finishing my last lunge. Not ideal distance for fast logistical transitions from the ski to the rig but just made sure I was efficient with the lunge to the first micro set

8/1

tttTD

10 rounds for time (10 min cap)

10 TTB

10 1-arm alt DB snatch @ 50lbs

I decided even if I wasn’t going to finish this under the cap I was going to finish it. 10:45 my time. What slowed me down, I knew my TTB had the potential to break down somewhere on the +70-80 range so I made a decision to break up from the start in 6-4 sets, but I felt like I was resting too much so in round 4 or 5 I went to a 4-3-3 and I think that worked for a few rounds then the time started slipping away. My transitions were pretty tight only from bat to db and back to bar but those rest breaks on TTB without watching a video got a bit linger than I internally perceived. As far as TTB breakdown, I felt on control from rep 70ish on and only a few of them were a bigger fight than I wanted but not a whole lot so that is a win I am taking away. In hindsight I think I could’ve kept the 6-4, but I do feel that rest would’ve gotten longer as I went. I also should’ve done one full round of the 6-4 and snatch, round 1 took me :48 seconds at what felt like a sustainable pace (on paper), had I done that in warmup I might have approached the workout differently, at 48 seconds thats really hard to finish the workout because you know there will always be some attrition.

(rest as needed)

TTT Gait Locomotion Prep – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIiWBJh03ow

+

3 Min easy jog

+

Every 2 Min x 6-8

Run 300m @ 5k ‘effort’

*This shoud be VERY repeatable in this setup

*Start with 300m repeats, if your Rest time drops below 30 sec then lower the distance to 250m so we can keep this feeling more aerobic

*if your finish times continue to creep up, cut the volume at 6 sets

It was raining this morning when I went to the gym so I had to pivot for this and used the runner, and before I started I knew that consistently finishing 300m across 6-8 sets was going to be hard on the runner, so I pivoted to 250 from the jump. I could’ve finished a couple of 300m intervals but I would’ve probably been left with 10 seconds maybe more maybe less to rest

So the 250 across 8 sets each time i checked was about 1:22….I do feel the pace i was running was a bit faster than my 5K, but I do feel i could’ve done 3-4, maybe 5 more sets in this set up and would’ve still stayed around or below the 90sec goal

+

Serratus/scap series x 2 sets for quality

8-10 band resisted scap pushups

5-6/side banded archer pullbacks with mini-band

6-8 band distracted light DB front raises 

6-8 scap pullups

done

7/29

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

+

Additional thoracic extension drills

A1 – Hanging cobra stretch with bar in j-cups x 20-30 sec with controlled breathing (don’t hold your breath!!), rest 30 sec

*I like this setup as you can control the intensity by adjusting the height of the bar

A2 – Blocked thoracic extensions on GHD pads with hands behind head x 8-10 reps, rest 60-90 sec x 4 sets

+

B – Every 120 sec x 5 sets

(Hang muscle snatch x 2 + Paused OHS x 1) * 3 reps 

*paused OHS = 3 sec pause at depth

75

+

C – Every 2 min x 5 sets

Snatch grip overhead carry x 100ft

*105-115lbs

115 – the 115 is a little more spicy than last week and must be very slow and careful on the turnaround

+

EMOM x 20???

1 – 45 sec echo bike @ 60-63RPM

2 – 45 sec dbl KB front rack alternating low box step ups

3 – 45 sec echo bike @ 60-63RPM

4 – 45 sec dbl KB front rack squats

5 – Rest

I just made an assumption for a 20 min EMOM based on the cumulation that we have gone through in th e previous weeks – 18 across on the step ups w30/hand and that became a fight on the last round as cycle speed started slowing down big time- check on the echo pace – 19’s & 20’s on the rack squats – just tried to stay smooth and steady there, like in the step ups my cycle rate slowed down on the last set and had to fight for those reps

+

5 min easy ski cooldown

7/30 – OFF

7/31

1 set current thoracic ext/rot drills

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

don windmills aren’t perfect yet, but pain/discomfort is no longer a limitation

+

Additional thoracic extension drills

A1 – Hanging cobra stretch with bar in j-cups x 20-30 sec with controlled breathing (don’t hold your breath!!), rest 30 sec

*I like this setup as you can control the intensity by adjusting the height of the bar

A2 – Blocked thoracic extensions on GHD pads with hands behind head x 8-10 reps, rest 60-90 sec x 4 sets

*Picture trying to segment the flexion/extension movement as much as possible, one spine segment at a time. Try to set this up where you isolate the movement JUST at upper back, everything below sternum stays still. This hopefully allows us a way to ‘own’ the ROM by actively turning on the spinal erectors in that segment

I can feel way more thoracic movement here than I can with the tall kneeling extensions against the wall

+

Belly to wall HS hold x 25 sec with hands as close to wall as possible and controlled breathing, rest 1:35 x 5 sets

done

+

A – Front squat waveload – 6,4,2,6,4,2. rest 3 min bt sets (goal will be to get heavier each set inside of a wave, but also to build in load for each corresponding set on the second wave)

165-205-245-185-225-265 – after the set of 245 I wasn’t sure about the second wave, it just felt heavy in that first wave. Then the 225 felt pretty good, wasn’t confident to go for 275 but the first rep felt easy at 265, but the eccentric on the 2nd rep went a little faster than i would’ve like so i’m glad I stayed there, was tough but not a problem at all

+

B – 1-1/4 BB hip thrusts x 3 + regular hip thrusts x 5, rest 2 min x 5 sets

225 – almost went up after the first set, but the 2 min rest bt sets made me glad that I did not as I felt quality stayed pretty high

+

C1 – Banded spanish squats x 8-10, rest 45 sec

C2 – Banded pull throughs from sumo stance x 10-12, rest 45 sec x 4 sets

done

+

Lower body prehab x 3 sets, rest as needed

Seated banded hip abductions x 15-20

Half kneeling adductor dips x 6/side

Feet on row seat hamstring curls x 5-6

Mini band alternating psoas march x 10-12 steps (5-6/side)

done

7/28

TTT gait prep

+

3 min easy jog

+

3 sets, rest 1 min bt sets

200m run

14 bar facing burpees

200m run

2:43-2:36-2:40 – I was afraid of the rain/storms coming so I expedited my warm up – definitely not the most thorough warm up but it was that or get soaked/drenched. Which in hindsight i’m thankful for because we ended up having some tornado watch alerts

*rest 4-5 min*

3 sets, rest 1 min bt sets

8 bar facing burpees

400m run

12 bar facing burpees

3:06-3:05-3:08 – I actually liked this piece the best – the burpee were a treat compared to the run,

*rest 4-5 min*

3 sets, rest 1 min bt sets

600m bike erg

400m run

*negative splits!

3:11 – 2:59 – 2:44 – I will say, I definitely sandbagged thee bike as I knew I was pretty tired from all the work today, but felt strong, So I sandbagged becuase I wanted to see what kind of pace on the run I could hold and I got more comfortable there pushing and pushing. The good thing today I just felt good leaning into the run, sometimes I could feel myself take my foot off the gas but I would remind myself to just lean and trust your training, and that was uncomfortable but good

all day I tried to get as close to the exact distance number as I could, well I measured a lap that made it out to 200 meters, however there was definitely some laps I did not stay in the exact lane to make it exactly 200/400 meters but at least I was pretty dang close. I just thought it was smarter to not have some kind of turn around in training that would affect pacing adjustments, acceleration and deceleration adjustments as well.

7/22

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

+

Additional thoracic extension drills

A1 – Hanging cobra stretch with bar in j-cups x 20-30 sec with controlled breathing (don’t hold your breath!!), rest 30 sec

*I like this setup as you can control the intensity by adjusting the height of the bar

A2 – Blocked thoracic extensions on GHD pads with hands behind head x 8-10 reps, rest 60-90 sec x 4 sets

+

B – Every 90 sec x 5 sets

Hang muscle snatch x 5 reps with a 3 sec hold overhead each rep

75

+

C – Every 2 min x 5 sets

Snatch grip overhead carry x 100ft

*maybe 95-105lbs?

105

+

D – Dbl KB front rack hold with alternating low box step ups x 90 sec, rest 2:30 min x 4 sets

28-28-29-29

+

15 min echo bike for calories @ 7/10 RPE

Check….i forgot what my calories as at this point, i think 152

7/23 – OFF

7/24

1 set current thoracic ext/rot drills

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

+

Additional thoracic extension drills

A1 – Hanging cobra stretch with bar in j-cups x 20-30 sec with controlled breathing (don’t hold your breath!!), rest 30 sec

*I like this setup as you can control the intensity by adjusting the height of the bar

A2 – Blocked thoracic extensions on GHD pads with hands behind head x 8-10 reps, rest 60-90 sec x 4 sets

*Picture trying to segment the flexion/extension movement as much as possible, one spine segment at a time. Try to set this up where you isolate the movement JUST at upper back, everything below sternum stays still. This hopefully allows us a way to ‘own’ the ROM by actively turning on the spinal erectors in that segment

+

Belly to wall HS hold x 20 sec with hands as close to wall as possible and controlled breathing, rest 1:40 x 5 sets

done

+

(Squat deload)

A – Front squats 8 sets of 3 @ 45-55% 3RM, rest 60 sec

125

B1 – Banded spanish squats x 8-10, rest 45 sec

B2 – Banded hip thrusts x 15-18, rest 90 sec x 4 sets

done

+

Lower body prehab x 3 sets, rest as needed

Seated banded hip abductions x 15-20

Half kneeling adductor dips x 6/side

Feet on row seat hamstring curls x 5-6

Mini band alternating psoas march x 10-12 steps (5-6/side)

Done and added in some reverse sled drags….because I really didn’t feel like I deserved a deload squat day because of missing last friday’s squat session and missing the saturday as prescribed piece. So today I added a few accessory things, i started off with some knees of toes volume, I had access to a sissy squat machine so i used that kind of in coordination with the spanish squat and banded hip thrust. And like i mentioned the reverse sled drag…..i will say over the course of the past month my knees have good days and bad days, more from being on my feet for big chunks of my days but after this my knees felt amazing. So very pleased with this work today and how i felt afterwards

7/25

18 Min AMRAP:

2-4-6-8-10…etc…

Row Calories

Double DB Step Overs – 50lb to 24inch 

Double DB Devil Press – 50lb per hand

14 row cals + 7 step overs. That is hands down one of the hardest throwdowns I’ve ever done. It’s dense, like one of the team said on the video, this is not the workout to do in a bad head space. I wasn’t in a bad head space per se, just when this workout punched I went into the fetal position and didn’t punch back. And fuck it got dense quick. The one thing I did do, and it was about my only win was saying hold am 1100 on row. In overall time you’re not going to be there much but I knew I would struggle with the other two so I had to fine something positive to strive for and much like the workout I didn’t do last Saturday, you said set a minimum pace and fight to stick to it. The only other win was when I got to the last devils press I knew it was the last time touching that movement so i just mentally pushed for a consistent pace and rhythm. 

(rest as needed)

EMOM x 10

Odd – 3 strict pullups with lean away negative

Even – 3 wall walks with 3 sec hold at top of each

done

+

Serratus/scap series x 2 sets for quality

8-10 band resisted scap pushups

5-6/side banded archer pullbacks with mini-band

6-8 band distracted light DB front raises 

6-8 scap pullups

done

7/26 – OFF

7/27

Part 1

Thoracic drills from Fri + Banded activation with your Macgyver setup

+

A – Empty bar burgener snatch warmup x 1 set

Done

+

B – Muscle snatch x 1/Hang muscle snatch x 1/OHS x 1, new complex EMOM x 3 @ light load

75

C – Power snatch x 1/Hang power snatch x 1/OHS x 1, new complex EMOM x 3 @ light to mod load

110

D – Hang squat snatch x 2, new complex EMOM x 5

*same series here, and pending how it went last week and the state of the body, we can open up for some more loading here on D

115-120-125-130-125 – the set at 130 something felt a little off, so just pulled back for the last one so I could dial in quality

+

E – Squatting sots press x 2-3 reps, rest 90 sec x 5 sets

*removing box here to really challenge strength/control a little more. Go as light as needed with bar.

Did about 7 sets as I just want to keep video diary here. I actually went up slightly in weight only to 25 and I could feel that overhead position a little more. 

+

3 min clock

12 deadlifts @ 185lbs

12 toes to bar

36 DU’s

AMRAP C2B in remaining time

rest 2 min x 3 sets

19-18-11 – I did the first set of TTB unbroken. I knew that wouldn’t be a problem, but the very first CTB pull up felt terrible so the second set I broke up the ttb and felt a little more fluid on that round of chest to bars, and then the third round, I broke up the TTB again lost a little more time there and when I got to the CTB, I did not feel a rhythm just felt like I was overpulling and struggling. So not the CTB day I wanted but there was some quality in there at times.