Ben Plotnicki

AM

Dryland Prep 

*set a 15min timer to get your body prepped and ready to swim

*dryland follow-along: https://youtu.be/qiN2E7-zXuA 

Was harder to go through some of this early this morning as the neck wasn’t quite ready to give up some movement quality yet

Water Prep 

200 Swim, continuous, building smooth –> cruise 

GOLF Baseline Testing 

Every 90sec x 10 sets 

50 Swim @ strong pace 

*GOLF = stroke count + time (i.e. 30 strokes + 35sec = 65) 

Keep in mind there are 3 ways to improve and all of them are indicative of improved swimming metrics:

(a) swim faster, same stroke counts (more speed)

(b) swim same time, lower stroke count (more efficient)

(c) swim faster, and lower stroke count (faster & more efficient — the unicorn 😉

NOTE: Record your LOWEST score and take note of your average for future use

Today was a good day for some efficiency stuff. I forgot my watch for more accurate timing metrics but today my times were slightly slower than they have been in the past, but my average strokes (when i could actually count them and not feel overwhelmed with all the other things to focus on) was down, breathing efficiency and mechanics were much improved. Average times were 20ish on the 25 and then slowed down coming back to finish the 25 but a little more confident.  

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Rest to full recovery

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Kick Testing 

100y Kick time trial w/ board 

Actually moved this first in the day because some of the back end stuff on swimming days has just as much important value and i often miss it because of pool time restrictions. But a couple of bad planning on my part is i left my watch at home and the pool clock is not digital so it’s hard to see when i got about the 100y mark, but it was in the ball park of 3 minutes. It also gave me the feeling based on this and the social kick work that i need to spend a lot of time kicking.

Cool-down

10min “social kick” w/ board (social kick = casual, conversational pace) 

*building leg / kicking aerobic capacity is important for longer swims – the more we develop your ability to shuttle lactate from your upper-body into the legs to use as fuel, the better your endurance will be in the water 

Got about 7 minutes in 

PM (strongman/odd object)

For times

20 1-arm alternating DB power snatches @ 100lbs

Rest 3 min

20 dball squat cleans @ 100lbs 

Rest 3 min

20 sandbag ground over shoulder @ 150lbs

Rest 3 min

20 BBJO @ 40in

2:26-2:31-2:44-2:14 – only have access to a 95 pound db, but i was very pleased with how well i moved that. I wasn’t as confident in the beginning but i found a groove in the rep ranges of 6-13 or so, left arm is way easier to turnover and pull under. 1 missed rep on right hand and it was more of a mental F-up then anything. Dball sqaut cleans took way more out of my legs then i expected, ball got sweaty and that added a difficulty element to it. When i popped the hip good enough and received it high on my shoulder those were smooth and easy. But if i had to kind of front rack/bear hug and bottom out in the squat that made it a little more difficult. Sandbag over shoulder hurt the most and then had 10 bbjo over at the 58 sec mark but then the fatigue was more in my chest where i was trying to really press up and over the box, i just used the blocks that we used the other day and they are set at 42”

AM

Running volume

Speed work + longer running

A. A Match; 20 yards x 2-3 sets; rest as needed

B. B March; 20 yards x 2-3 sets; rest as needed

C. 180/90/45 Degree Cut Practice (shuttles, slaloms, obstacles. dont spend too long here, just 6-8 min)

Done – and did nfl 3 cone shuttle and 5-10-5 shuttle

+

30-40 minute run @ conversational pace

rest 2:00

4 x 20s hill run @ 90%, rest 1:40

The rain drove this indoors…..so hit the air runner for both, the other kicker was the batteries were out and had to rely on the old unreliable watch to give me metrics. The run at conversational pace was no real metrics needed, but also we put on some 80’s jams to make sure it was conversational pace by occasionally giving karaoke impressions and verses. Sprinted for 20sec on air runner, ball park of 100 meters and change

PM

For time

Amanda 21

(21 ring MU + 21 squat snatches @ 155lbs)

8:24 – did my first snatch and looked at the clock and i believe it was 3:14 – didn’t do the 2nd rep super quick but from rep 2-7 was pretty consistently every 9 seconds or so, wanted to do cluster sets in this fashion but started waning around rep 11. Around rep 18 i felt a tightness in my neck/trap/ CT junction, nothing major or serious that we need to worry about, just think it’s more a product of my Wed (I had a pretty good nap on the couch this morning after coaching and may have just slept on the pillow wrong.) missed rep 20 as i was trying to push the last 4, this definitely cost some valuable time as i wanted to not miss again. As the night has progressed it just feels like i need an adjustment or some manipulation to some to the spine.

Dryland Prep

*set a 15min timer to get your body prepped and ready to swim

*dryland follow-along: https://youtu.be/qiN2E7-zXuA

+

Water Warm-up

300m Swim @ cruise

*cold, no water-warm-up

*take note of your time here

+

Pace + Bodyline

8 x 25 / 40sec interval – free swim, holding 300 TT pace

4 x 25 / rest as needed – kick w/ board, head down, bodyline focus

…rest to recovery

10 x 25 / 40sec interval – free swim, holding 300 TT pace

4 x 25 / rest as needed – streamline kick on back, bodyline focus

…rest to recovery

12 x 25 / 40sec interval – free swim, holding 300 TT pace

4 x 25 / rest as needed – 1-arm lead kick w/ board, head down, one shoulder in the water / one out

…rest to recovery

Bodyline work, adjusted free swim intervals down just a little in order to get them in and the social kick in. good start but not the best finish. Got tired quicker but what i found is that when i’m tired and turn and rotate to breath i’m lifting my head just enough to throw everything off, it’s causing me to panic with my left hand and start to pull before i should. So the kick board head down and 1-arm arm lead kick with the board was good practice to focus on that.

+

Kick Development

12min “”social kick”” w/ board (social kick = casual, conversational pace)

*building leg / kicking aerobic capacity is important for longer swims – the more we develop your ability to shuttle lactate from your upper-body into the legs to use as fuel, the better your endurance will be in the water

Got a chance to get about 8 minutes here and holy shit it’s really hard to keep kicking that long

AM

2 sets

Banded ankle dorsiflexion x 10/side

Banded ankle plantarflexion x 10/side

+

Dynamic Activation (10yds each):

Knee Hug March

Lunge to Lizard

Single Leg RDL w Toe Touch to Kick

Carioca (each side)

Side to Side Lunge

Ankle to Elbow

Butt Kicks

High Knees

Power Skip

+

Run 200m progressive intensity, rest walk 2 min x 2-3

+

Broken 5k time trial

Run 1600m unloaded, rest 3 min

Run 1200m with 14lb vest, rest 2:30

Run 1000m with 14lb vest, rest 2 min

Run 800m with 20lb vest, rest 90 sec

Run 400m with 20lb vest

6:39 – 6:04 – 5:07 – 4:01 – 1:50 (23:41 total) – legs felt super super heavy on the 800 and the 400. 

+

5 sets of bent knee hollow hold 50-55 sec, rest 90-120 sec bt efforts, skinny band under tension under the small of back to ensure you stay hollow

done

+

Spend 5 minutes walking around barefoot on soft surface as possible

Done – love being barefoot so this is never a problem

PM

Every 4 min x 6 sets

Odd sets – 20 cal echo bike + AMRAP rope climbs to 3 min mark (15ft)

Even sets – 20 cal ski + AMRAP heavy DU’s to 3 min mark

RC -> 6-5-4 – first round i missed a foot clamp and had to drop off the rope. I got a groove and figured some things out in the 2nd round on my foot clamp, but it caused me to rush it a little and force the issue too much on the 3rd set. Also on the 3rd set i tried to take about 7 second break bt climbs and the 2nd accent wasn’t bad in that cluster but it forced a poor descent and that took a ton of energy out of me. Heavy DU – (scout rope) – 113-103-99 when the time comes i will be exactly where i want to be on the rope climb!

+

Every 4 min x 6 sets

Odd sets – 500m row + AMRAP BBJO over jerk blocks @ 4ft to 3 min mark

Even sets – 20 thrusters @ 135lbs, AFAP

10-9-9 on bbjo – the highest my blocks can go to is 42 inches. I figured out better footwork on the fly as i was going and my row’s slowed down. Thruster times were 1:42 (10/6/4) – 2:00 (4-4-4-4-4), 1:41 (6-6-8)

+

Back squat 6,6,4,4,2. rest as needed, heavy after intensity

185-235-275-285-300, the 300 felt pretty easy especially after i felt like the 285 was a grind.

AM

tttTD (sprint workout, bike/burpee/DB)

5:24 (was thinking that beating the cap was going to be tough, but i flipped a switch and didn’t really care about it), had a set up as if i had a starting line and had to run to get on a bike. First 15 was off at 33 seconds or so, burpee was done at 1:33, did a step off on that first set of 13, wanted to conserve a little because i knew the db was going to be tough. Did snatch on first devil press and just didn’t think i could keep that up, so went to c&j, in my head i had a plan to do a few, take a quick break and then get back on it, but in the heat of the action i told my self don’t let go of the db’s, even if you move slow don’t stop, i was thinking to myself if i broke then i would rest much longer than i wanted to/needed to and much longer than i think it would feel like. Not sure what time i finished the db work but first 4 reps I stepped down and then bopped off for the last 9 reps, was back on bike @ 4:33 and 5 cals in at time cap, and it was at that point my legs felt functional again and sold out for the last 10 cals. Overall pretty pleased with this workout, devils press were heavy, and even though speed per rep was slower than it needed to be i just stayed moving. And was happy that i moved pretty well on that last set of burpee

PM (long chipper)

For time

100 cal row

80 chin over bar pullups

60 wallballs @ 30lbs

40 lateral burpees over sandbag

15 sandbag ground over shoulder @ 150lbs

(walk forward every 5 reps)

22:26 – row was really good, could’ve been more aggressive but stayed in the 1300’s and off rower sub 5 for sure but don’t remember exactly. Quick transition and did sets of 12’s until 60, then did 10-5-4-1 – i was a little too wrapped up in the heat and humidity and not able to block it out enough completely to be good at suffering today. Those 60 wall balls, i don’t remember much. I know i was trying to do cluster sets as soon as i settled down a little. The burpee i did a pretty good job of getting down and off the ground quickly but was trying to conserve a little energy for that lateral jump over which felt like it took a lot of energy. Thank you for not keeping the rep scheme theme for the sandbag over shoulder. Here i wanted to try and do 1 rep every 10sec, was doing an ok job of this in chunks. But also felt i was good at getting my first rep in after walking the sandbag forward. The last 5 i just pushed it and didn’t care about strategy i just went.

6/4

AM (swim session, kick focus)

Dryland Prep

*set a 15min timer to get your body prepped and ready to swim

*dryland follow-along: https://youtu.be/qiN2E7-zXuA

+

Water Warm-up

250m Swim @ cruise

*cold, no water-warm-up

*take note of your time here
6:20ish……interputed sleep last night, but knew it was going to be that way just with some uncontrollable things going on. Nothing stressful by any means just knew there would be a disruption

+

Bodyline –> Swim Progression

2 Rounds:

25 Streamline Kick on back

Rest 10sec

25 Free Swim w/ “Overkick” (over-emphasize your kick here, slowing your stroke cadence)

Rest 10sec

50 Fist Swim (focus on grabbing water with your forearms)

Rest to recovery b/t rounds

Fist swim was awkward but see the value big time, i’m comfortable on back with kicking but i’m slow but today i was much better utilizing legs.

+

Stroke Efficiency

3 Rounds of “GOLF”

3 Sets; rest to recovery b/t sets

4 x 50 / 90sec Clock

*GOLF = stroke count + time (i.e. 30 strokes + 35sec = 65)

***compare scores to best from lalst week***

Since last week i only got in 25m for scoring i scored my stroke count but went for a turn around for 50m today. Brought my stroke rate down to about 10 on the average and 12 on the high end, kicking efficiency and power was much better today, but with that came much greater leg fatigue. Lowered time as well to right around 20 seconds the best i could tell, trying to use pool clock (it’s not digital) instead of watch since i was trying to time and track the 25m and then quickly turnaround and go for 50. 

+

Kick Development

2 Sets:

Every 50sec x 6

25 Kick w/ board holding UNDER 35sec

Rest 2-3min b/t sets

Got in 3 sets here, but legs were getting pretty toast at this point

PM

Squat clean + Jerk – 3 tough singles, no misses, rest as needed

255-265x 2 – really wanted to hit 275 today but something was just feeling off. Not sure if it was the time between the pool and the pm session, i did feel strong in the whole but felt like I struggled to create good tension in the dip and drive, which really doesn’t make sense but there was a disconnect today. 

+

Squat clean thruster – 20 reps for time @ 155lbs

2:38 – wanted to be sub 2:30 but wasn’t going to plan a rep/second strategy at all just wanted to go. I think i looked at the clock and was around 1:3 or 1:08 at 10 reps, and felt my leg drive slow down around 13 or 14.

+

Clean pull x 1/Below knee hang clean pull x 2, rest 90 sec

225-245×3 – 225 speed felt crisp, smooth and fast, 245 didn’t feel as fast but positions and tension felt good, the speed was the only reason i didn’t add any more weight.

Bottoms up front squat x 1.1.1, rest 8-10 sec bt reps, 90 sec after the set x 4 sets

215-235×3 – only have access to the metal blocks so getting deeper took adding plates to my set up so this was some tweaks i had to adjust on the fly. 

+

1-arm BB farmer carry 50ft/side, tough, rest 45 sec bt arms x 4 sets/arm

95

AM

2 sets

Banded ankle dorsiflexion x 10/side

Banded ankle plantarflexion x 10/side

+

Dynamic Activation (10yds each):

Knee Hug March

Lunge to Lizard

Single Leg RDL w Toe Touch to Kick

Carioca (each side)

Side to Side Lunge

Ankle to Elbow

Butt Kicks

High Knees

Power Skip

check

+

Run 200m progressive intensity, rest walk 2 min x 2-3

check

+

800m @ 84-86%, rest 4 min

600m @ 88-90%, rest 3 min

400m @ 90-92%, rest 2 min

600m @ 88-90%, rest 3 min

800m @ 84-86%, rest 4 min

600m @ 88-90%, rest 3 min

400m @ 90-92%, rest 2 min

600m @ 88-90%, rest 3 min

800m @ 84-86%

(total 5600m)

Efforts on 400 felt strong, don’t have splits written down but was around 85-90seconds, overall time was around the 45 minute mark, forgot to hit watch to stop and get accurate amount. On several of the distances, michelle got a head start and my goal was to catch her or at least close the gap effectively. This worked very well in the beginning but do think efforts were a little outside of the target which made it a little hard on the very back end 400-600-800.

+

5 sets of bent knee hollow hold 50 sec, rest 90-120 sec bt efforts, skinny band under tension under the small of back to ensure you stay hollow

Done at home

+

Spend 5 minutes walking around barefoot on soft surface as possible

check

PM

For time

30-20-10 kipping HSPU

7-5-3 ring MU

directly into

Row 50 cals

9:12 – baby deficit on hspu, burned out triceps a little. Biggest bottleneck was in the round of 20. In 1st round tried to prepare for it a little and get comfortable with mini sets and small break. Felt it helped a little on rmu but triceps definitely felt some burning. Small sets were 8-8-8-6, 4-3 on rmu and then UB on 5 sprinted to walk for set of 10, knee I wasn’t going to be able to go straight through but wanted to push some urgency. Rings are 44ft from wall so there’s not much I can do about distance on transitions, either run/jog or use that as time for chalk and go right into next movement. 50 cals sub 2 (I think around 1:52????) held 1500 for whole first minute and thought about kicking right there but didn’t think I could hold higher than that straight at that point so got into 1600’s and 15 cals left and just settled into the 1700’s to finish.

Dryland Prep

*set a 15min timer to get your body prepped and ready to swim

*dryland follow-along: https://youtu.be/qiN2E7-zXuA

Water Prep

200 Swim, continuous, building smooth –> cruise

GOLF Baseline Testing

Every 90sec x 10 sets

50 Swim @ strong pace

*GOLF = stroke count + time (i.e. 30 strokes + 35sec = 65)

Keep in mind there are 3 ways to improve and all of them are indicative of improved swimming metrics:

(a) swim faster, same stroke counts (more speed)

(b) swim same time, lower stroke count (more efficient)

(c) swim faster, and lower stroke count (faster & more efficient — the unicorn 😉

NOTE: Record your LOWEST score and take note of your average for future use

Today was the first day that in the pool i actually felt like i knew what the fuck i was doing. I was getting good rotation from my torso, breathing didn’t feel like a chore, and actually felt rhythmic, and there were even times that i missed a breath or a position and i didn’t panic just made it up on the next few strokes……only negative today was i was in the 25m pool so i didn’t get any metrics on 50m. I chose to keep the 25m distance since i didn’t want to take away from not having an efficient kick turn, just wanted to keep building on the confidence and the momentum of the day. Strokes were 11/12, times were 21-25, i need to get more out of my kick, that’s the next challenge i plan on conquering. so lowest score in the 25m format is 32. 

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Rest to full reocvery

—————————

Kick Testing

100y Kick time trial w/ board

Not enough time

Cool-down

10min “”social kick”” w/ board (social kick = casual, conversational pace)

Not enough time

AM (replace running here due to sat volume)

3 min echo bike nasal breathing only

2 min echo bike inhale through nose, exhale through mouth

1 min echo bike, regular breathing, allow intensity throughout to be dictated by breathing comfort

done

+

Echo bike 90 sec progressive intensity, faster every 30 sec

rest walk 2:30 x 3

Done – unfortunately i do not have access to an echo bike, don’t know any gyms close by that have one either. But will keep looking into it as i know this will be important to get some exposure on one

+

Echo bike 15 cals @ 330-375 watts

Echo bike 12 cals @ 400-450 watts

Echo bike 9 cals @ 500+ watts (push this, short of full sprint but make it hurt)

rest walk 3 min x 4 sets

2:00-2:00-2:05-2:08 – tried to get out of the 700’s on the 9 cals but just couldn’t tap into enough power to get there. But still pushed the pace the best i could

+

2-3x through

Banded high to low wood chops from half kneeling x 8/side, squeeze through obliques

1-arm tough farmer carry 50ft/side, rest 15 sec bt arms (can use a KB or farmer handle)

Posterior sling march x 12-16 alternating steps, fight to stay square throughout

1-arm KB drag throughs from front plank x 10 alternating reps

Love the posterior slang march…..95 pounds on the carry, might have been a little too tough but was able to grind through, having actual handles helps a buch. 

+

Echo bike 9 cals @ 500+ watts

Echo bike 12 cals @ 400-450 watts

Echo bike 15 cals @ 330-375 watts

rest walk 3 min x 4 sets

1:52-1:54-1:52-1:56 – this one hurt WAY more than the first one. But it was more trying to hold the 330-375 pace for that rough minute. 

PM

3 sets

2 min working window, 2 min rest

20 GHD situps

AMRAP ring MU in remaining time

10-8-7 – did not move ghd to a super close proximity to rings, about a 8 sec transition so tried to move that a little quicker, definitely felt the abs on the rings a little on 2nd set, but definitely on 3rd set. GHD also slowed down ever so slight on the 3rd set but volume of 60 reps total and 20 at a time felt pretty good today. 

+

3 sets

2 min working window, 2 min rest

75ft HSW

AMRAP Drag rope or heavy cable DU’s in remaining time

(scout rope – couldn’t find zeus rope at gym) – 70-53-72 – on the last set I think i did a really good job of as soon as i passed the 25ft mark, i came down and went right back up….never had the confidence to push that aggressively stay that close to the line and go right back up

+

3 sets, 

2 min working window, 2 min rest

3 rope climbs to 15ft

AMRAP row cals in remaining time

15-19-17 – today the ascent was much improved and even minimal discomfort in the elbow, i did a pretty good job of leveraging good position with the lean. But my descent is still shit.

+

Every 5 min x 4 sets

Bike erg 2k @ high aerobic effort

Forgot to mark times but was sub 4 each round…..aerobic effort was fine my legs were just done at this point and it was harder to manage that

5/28

tttTD

For time:

20 OHS @ 135lbs

15 squat snatch @ 175lbs

10 power clean and jerk @ 205lbs

5 squat cleans @ 255lbs

11:13 – the only part I struggled with really was the squat snatch. It was more of my shoulder discomfort and being able to get consistently get in a good position. Power clean and jerk fired up the elbows for the first 2 reps but then found a groove. The squat cleans were fun as it took about 1 minute to do the first 2 reps but the last 3 reps got those completed in about 35 seconds

+

EMOM x 20-25 (CF movement capture)

Min 1 – 14-17 wallballs

Min 2 – 12-15 toes to bar

Min 3 – 13-16 row cals

Min 4 – 12-15 kHSPU

Min 5 – rest, actively on bike

(start at lower end of rep range, add 1 rep/round for each movement)

25 minutes total minutes. Pushed the row and tried to stay in the 1500’s, and that made the hspu a little harder than probably normally would’ve

5/29 (in Knox, lower equipment)

TTT gait prep

+

Run 550m with weight vest, directly into

Run 550m unloaded

rest walk 4 min

Run 550m unloaded, directly into

Run 550m with weight vest

rest walk 4 min x 2

(4400m total for the day, assuming there is a place midway on your natural loop that you can dump the vest and continue on)

Running felt solid today. This was also a good experience for a few things, making sure weight vest is tight and secure that it doesn’t effect my running. It was also good practice to transition out of the vest to get into the unvested run. 

+

2 sets

15 sandbag ground over shoulder

100m swim across inlet

30 burpees on far side

100m swim back across inlet

rest to full recovery between. use this as sighting practice in open water, try to stay on a true course without spending extra time treading water and finding bearings. if this distance is too aggressive in this format, remove the extra 100m at the end, and do 3 sets of sandbag/swim/burpee, burpee/swim/sandbag, sandbag/swim/burpee.

The double 100m was too much in this format, a couple of things, not sure if just being in open water or the mixed format but i had a harder time kicking, and being out of breath struggled to keep the head down in the water to reduce drag. Also divinig into water took my goggles off the first time so that was a good thing to pay extra attention. Sandbag over shoulder in the first round but our poor little old wooden dock sounded like it wouldn’t be able to take another round of the sand bag slamming into it. So went bear hug squats and did 3 sets, changing order each set per your recco.