Ben Plotnicki

Today I am filled with low mental energy and disappointment, I know I deserve to be in the top echelon of masters athletes, but at times there have been struggles of game time/first time execution. Yesterday I had a plan, and when I compare my pacing times with execution plans I was way ahead skyrocketing my heart rate, i knew that falling for the bait would be an issue but my anxiety/excitement got high in the middle of the workout and there was no turning back. But this isn’t about a write up of what happened in 21.3 & 21.4, this is more a reflection/journaling of my feelings and diving into my awareness of those mistakes that are correctable can help minimize those happening again. I know I am good and can be great, this was a learning experience and I cannot let my perceived failure bring me down. We are in a good place and have some good momentum built through this open of some big wins and some learning experiences. Let me not forget that I have spent some time recovering from COVID and have overcome those struggles of feeling like I lost some fitness. Let us not forget, that we have spent so much time developing gymnastics capacity, last year I’m not sure I would have finished that workout with that much gymnastics volume. Last year we were also dealing with some pretty serious shoulder issues that just completing 20.5 was a win. We have come a long way, and I refuse to let poor execution hold me back from where we are trying to go. We have talked in the past that game day execution being one and done is a major goal, and I still have a lot to learn, even with all the experience I have gained. My energy might be low today but I’m excited to get back on the horse and finish on a strong note for the week. These lessons are only valuable if I can truly reflect on it and truly learn from it, it’s easy to passively say that this was a learning experience, but I make sure I truly learned from it. With that being said, my warm ups for weeks 1 and 2 were great, but this one needed to have a little more emphasis on heart rate elevation, barbell work was good but energy system warm up needed to be better. Go on my time, when the qualifier comes around it will be on me, no class, nobody else but me, warming up for a class is important because that resembles going in an event so the option to learn from there is meticulously chart out the timeline of when I need to start warming up, where i need to be when the class is ready, etc. Fueling and pre-workout routine felt fairly normal, but need to actually plan that out as well, not to the point of being anal retentive, just need to detailed enough to not create any influence that I cannot control. The last thing that comes to mind that I need to learn from, is I am prepared, we have been training hard and being prepared for this season, so go over details but don’t go over them so much that I overthink it. 

Today is a new day and I’m ready to reset my mind and my body. And this reflection and approach is already making me feel better! I’m excited for this day and for what the next 5 weeks of training helps me overcome physically and mentally.

Hinging warmup

done

+

Power Snatch x 1/Hang Squat snatch x 1 – 6 complexes, new complex every 2 min starting around 65-70%, build each set but keep all lifts crisp, no misses

135-145-150-155-160-165 – felt a little slower on power snatch in the beginning but tightened that up, no misses and felt really good as I hit the last 3 sets

+

3 sets

20 GHD Sit-Ups, rest 30 sec

5 ring MU

10 deadlifts @ 275lbs

Rest 2 min

2:20 – 2:18 – 3:23 (my plan from jump on this 3rd set was to do muscle in 3/2 – and I did 3, dropped down and had the sense of urgency for the next set, jumped back up and hit 1 and should’ve come back down right away but missed the next rep.) The lesson from this, (and yesterday) the risk of pushing that muscle is not worth the miss, of time/energy and fear of the time to regroup and hit the next rep. If it’s the last rep in a workout or in an event and the environment is right than go for it, but those misses yesterday and today, cost valuable time. I must try and see into the future and be real with myself if the miss is possible. 

+ (rest to recovery)

4 rounds for time (15 min cap)

Row 500m

50ft HSW

16 alternating pistols

13:19 (row splits -> 1:50.7 – 1:51.8 – 1:51.5 – 1:49.3) avg rest time(hs walk/pistol)  for rower during the splits is 1:34 – 1:33 – 1:31. All hs walks done in unbroken 25ft increments. Felt like row to first 25 was quick, then slightly longer but I told myself I could rest on pistols. Last set of pistols was hardest, I felt like I pushed the pace harder on that row and tried to speed up break time on hs walk. Good win and a nice feeling of confidence I was looking for to close out the training week.

And all the feelings I had to start the day, that went into my reflection writing at the top, I feel were very valuable in resetting my mind and my energy. As I closed out the row/hs walk/pistol I am in a much better place. that little bit of reflection really helped me holistically

Row 5 min easy, 20 s/min or less

It is definitely hard to slow the pace down when you are used to such a cadence

+

Ido Portal squat routine, in full

done

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Row 2k, rest 1:1

Row 1k, rest 1:1

Row 500m

(faster pace/500m with each step, but no grinding)

Done – don’t remember my times but stayed within protocol and got faster each step

+

Bike 4k, rest 1:1

Bike 2k, rest 1:1

Bike 1k

(same rules as above, bring your pace down but no grinding, should have comfortable/calm expression throughout with some sweat and breathing)

Did at home so not sure how my AirBike metrics stack up – also same as above on speeds/efforts

+

Wall assisted glute bridge hold – 60 sec on, 2 min off x 3-4

Got distracted right after but got it in later that night

3/24/2021

8-12 min @ warmup pace

2 wall walks with 5-8 sec hold at the top of each

3-4 strict pullups @ 3 sec dead hang at the bottom of each

6-8 band pull aparts with palms up and down

30 sec arms only ass bike

Body just a little tired today, just from last night not from anything else in the week.

+

3 min cannella cross footwork

Really helped today

+

Back rack split jerk x 1/Front rack split jerk x 1 – new set every 90 sec x 8 @ 65-75%

175×3, 185×3, 195×2

+

Clean pull 4 sets of 2, reset at floor no TNG, rest 3 min (straps ok)

275 across w/straps

+

For time, high effort

12-9-6

Thrusters @ 95/65

C2B pullups

(rest 8-10 min)

For time, high effort

12-9-6

OHS @ 95/65

Toes to bar

1:57 – 1:52 – thrusters felt off but c2b and ttb felt really good today! Was good to get the heart rate up really quick and not care about it. Didn’t do much of an intense warm up going into this so my heart rate got up more than it normally would but also felt good to just trust myself

3/22/2021

3-2-1 min on each machine, easy effort

Row/ski/bike

Played the fish game on the first ski – i did much better on ski erg than I ever do on rower.

+

8-12 min, steady effort

3 inchworms

5 kang squats

8 alternating step ups

12 jump rope speed steps

30 sec/side perfect stretch

Inchworms aren’t pretty right after 21.2 soreness

+

Squat snatch from blocks above knee – 1.1.1, rest 8-10 sec/2 min x 5

135-145-155-160-165

+

Banded box squats – 5×5, rest 2 min, good concentric speed

185 – used some beat up old chains…..I don’t trust any of the bands at the gym to be of similar elasticity

+

5 rounds, not for time

20 sec parallette L-sit

20 sec freestanding HS hold

10/side side plank press ups

3 skin the cat on rings

This was way harder than many of the intensity pieces we do. First 2 rounds of L-sit done unbroken and good ones too. Definitely not unbroken the rest of the way. Did some handstand shaping work for a few holds prior to hitting the freestanding each round. Still not where I need to be but feel it’s getting better.

AM

“Other CF Total”

5 min clock for each, 1 min transition, as many attempts as needed

Bench Press

OHS

Power Clean

235-235-245 – if I had a spotter I would’ve had the confidence to put more on the bar for the bench press. 235 was a small grind but there was definitely a little more there, was it 5 or 10 more, not sure but didn’t want to risk that. Put 245 on the bar for 2 different occasions for OHS but couldn’t jerk it from the back rack, not sure if it was just feeling sluggish or what, in warm up hit 225 easily from front rack (kind of combo’d power clean and OHS), so was expecting a really good number with OHS but was just a mental road block. On power clean, I hit 245, felt just really slow elbows coming through and made the elbows feel some pain. Elbows have been really really trending up and when I felt this just decided it was a good place to call it. Definitely was more there if I needed/really wanted it so I was happy with that overall.

MIdday/PM

For time

150 wall ball (20lbs)

25 burpee ring muscle ups

16:35 – (6:24 on wall ball) – couple of big wins here, at times I wanted to stop my original plan but I said no, just stay with plan and see what happens with brmu….wall ball plan was 25-25-25 – starting next set on the minute mark, 15’s I wanted to start a new set every 45sec, so got a little more rest but still stayed consistent with plan. At that point shoulder fatigue was real but I didn’t deviate off plan even though I wanted to on last 2 sets. BRMU general plan was 1 rep every 30sec for the first big chunk and then start hitting 1 rep every 20sec (did that on 2 different occasions for I’d say an overall 12 reps) and then when I got to 21 just went, starting to feel a little fatigue that I might could miss a rep but just focused on my mechanics in those situations.

Not feeling great today, my early day and haven’t adjusted to daylight savings time change of winding down at night yet. Going to meditate a little tonight and really try and get dinner earlier so the wind down process can start. Elbows are achy but have been giving them a lot of attention. Staying positive though and going to do everything i can to get things back swinging in the right direction for daily rhythms and health. 

A. Speed Squat Clean/Jerk: Work to a tough single for the day, w/ no reset in the front rack. Drive straight from clean into split jerk. Stop when you have to start pausing in front rack.

255 

+

B. EMOM x 6-8:

Min 1: 3 TnG Hang Squat Clean Thrusters – 185lbs

Min 2: 3 Squat Snatch – 185lbs

Just didn’t feel good on the hang squat clean thruster, rack position was a little off at times and through off my rhythm and felt slow and not powerful out of the hole. Squat snatch was at least focused but was slow out of the hole on rep 3 on each set. 

+

Front Squat: 3 singles @ 85-90%; rest as needed b/t each

305 – probably quite a bit higher than my current max, but it’s been such a rough week and didn’t feel great day, just wanted to go for it and have a personal victory for the day.

+

2-3 sets

B-stance hip thrusts x 6/side

Side plank press ups x 10/side

American KB Swings: 25 reps – 2pd

Rest 45-60 sec b/t movements; Rest as needed b/t sets

3 sets – after not swinging kb in feels like forever i liked the big sets. And for some crazy strange reason it actually felt a little therapeutic on the elbow by the end of the 3rd sets.

4 sets

400m run, directly into

15-12-9 reps each

Row

Ski

AB

rest 5 min bt sets each

10:33 – 10:41 – 10:26 – 10:24 – felt good to run (but calves are pretty sore (Wednesday) – just pushed the paces a little more on the ski towards the end, stayed pretty sustainable on the bike and row. 

+

Body saw planks 45 sec on, 1:15 rest x 4

This was much harder than i was expecting.

Today was a tough day to get a double in but I made it work. And was pretty good to have to get the work in when I was feeling a little off from the time change and tired. A little earlier than I wanted to, and having to get revved up. Great prep for hitting sessions when not feeling 100% physically and having to force the mind to get right. Also I cut my finger yesterday in the garden, no stitches needed but it’s a nice little cut.

AM

For times

1 snatch each @ 145-165-185-205lbs

rest walk 3 min x 3 sets

First set I missed 205 twice and just decided to call that set. 2nd one I also missed 205 twice and hit it a little after 3 minutes. On the 3rd set (2:10) , i decided to slow down a little for the first 3 lifts. In set 1 and 2 I was speeding through the 185 bar by 45-48 seconds and rushing the 205. Last set I just decided to wait a good 30-40sec bt lifts and then I smoked 205. 

+

EMOM x 10

Odd min – 5 front squats @ 65-70%

Even min – 3 power cleans + 3 shoulder to overhead @ 205lbs

225 on front squat and actually felt fast there. And holy shit this got dense. Front rack didn’t feel great on elbow but got better as I went. First rep of sto didn’t get enough leg drive but know we have a piece coming up in a few days so can get some practice there. 

+

BB hip thrusts x 8-10, with 2 sec pause at top of each, rest 2 min x 4

205 was convenient and went from the ground because didn’t see with shoulder support

PM

2 rounds for time

15 C2B

15 bar facing burpees

15 thrusters @ 75lbs

(rest 2 min)

2 rounds for time

14 OHS @ 75lbs

15 toes to bar

16 lateral box jump overs

4:01 & 3:26 – I rested 1:59 before starting the second part so i want some credit for that. I would say my biggest (in my perception of the moment) limiter in the 2nd round for the thruster was my rack position (wrist/thoracic mobility felt effected a little here, not sure if this is one of what could be many causes for elbow issues – or if this is just me searching for a hindsight or confirmation bias)……pace on first set of burpee were good. I think I glanced at the clock and time was 1:16ish….not as quick a transition to thruster as we need to have. But my whole plan was a fast transition back to c2b and break that up but I felt good and stayed in it. 2nd set of burpee took 2 quick stop and breath breaks but tried to move a little faster when I was moving. I did something that I have never down before and one of my fingers got caught in my shoelace. Not sure how. Last set of thruster had I pushed for all 15 at fast pace could’ve been sub 4, did 7 fast and then 4 with the breath at the top, and then finished 4 fast. 2nd piece instead of focusing on fast ohs made sure hips were open. Box jump overs was the only one I could improve my speed on. 2nd set was quicker with bounding over the last 10 reps.

A. Deadlifts 4,4,2,2,1. rest 3 min, building, but leave some in the tank

315-325-355-375-405

+

4 sets for times

6 DL @ 315lbs

8 dbl DB box step overs @ 35/hand

15 GHD situps

rest walk 2-3 min bt sets

1:28-1:25-1:25-1:28

+

3 rounds for time

30 wallballs @ 20lbs

30 row cals

3 rope climbs (15ft)

14:45 – took the rope climb very very conservative. I kind of looked at it like practicing rope climbs in a mixed environment. The elbows had been really irritated all week but with getting better at the lean back this actually felt decent. There was one point in the first round that I lost my feet completely at the top so i wasted quite a few seconds just trying to get my feet back on the rope. That made me more nervous for my elbows but was fine. Ascent in the 3rd round was great, it felt like what we’ve been trying to achieve all along, 2 pulls! Just the decent was a little off today. Row pace tried to do a mix of ⅓ at 1200 and never dropping below 1100.

3 sets

Reverse bear crawls with banded KB drag x 50ft

1-arm KB high windmills x 4/side

Teacup change plate rotations x 3/direction/side

Active arch/hollow hang from bar x 3 iterations for control (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj-ibFuHVXC/)

rest as needed

done

+

High hang muscle snatch x 1/above knee muscle snatch x 1/below knee muscle snatch x 1 – new complex every 45 sec x 6, light load

Stayed at 75

+

Dip squat snatch x 2 – new complex every 90 sec x 8, building every 2

95-115-135-155

+

Below knee paused squat snatch x 1.1, rest 8-12 sec bt lifts, 2-3 min bt sets x 4-5 working sets

155-165-175-185 (missed 2nd one, technique miss) – 185

+

Every 2 min x 6 sets

Odd sets – 12 c2b + 12 thrusters @ 95lbs

40-41-42 – c2b didn’t feel super crisp and smooth but also didn’t do a ton of movement prep for it

Even sets – 40 DU’s + 12 PC/PJ @ 95lbs

1:00 – :58 – 1:02 tried push press/press/push jerk combinations to see what I could use to speed up pace/rep and evaluating heart rate relative to movement

+ (rest to recovery)

For time @ high effort

15-12-9 bike cals

10-8-6 BBJO @ 24in

4:30 – this was a fun, quick good hurt

AM

intent of this session is NOT speed, its mindful breathing and volume work at low intensities. ensure you treat it as such, should be at conversation effort throughout.

Reperfusion session

3 min bike @ 75%

2 min row @ 75%

1 min ski @ 75%

45 sec foam roll per major body part on each side (hamstrings, quads, lats)

x 3-4 sets. HR should stay around 120-130 throughout

This was amazing and I felt so good….and I even foam rolled, i hardly ever foam roll with structure.

PM

Burgener CJ warmup

check

+

A – Clean and jerk doubles @ 75-80%, rest no longer than 20 sec bt reps, to recovery bt sets x 3 sets

230 – 245×2, mindlessly pulled the 2.5’s off and had the 10’s close by, so didn’t mean to jump that but rode with it. Not sure if it’s not used to lifting at home, but everything felt a little bit heavier this evening. Was all clean and high quality but not as crisp and as “easy” as I had wished

B – Push Press – 4 sets of 2 TNG reps, rest 2 min (only last set tough)

165-185-205-225

C – Front squat – 3×3 @ 85-88%, rest 2-3 min

255 – speed was good but just felt grindy, but it didn’t look grindy, that old it felt heavier than it looked deal

D1 – Twisting GHD hip extensions x 5/direction

D2 – GHD situps x 12-15 for quality, rest as needed x 3-4 sets (just touches for the day, adjust volume as you see fit)

Did these 2 in the am just because I was at the gym and was planning on lifting at home in the garage for the pm so just streamlined…..went for 15 ghd and starting to feel confident again in this controlled environment