Ben Plotnicki

tttTD (DB/BJ)

17:50 – piss poor effort.did the throwdown at 9:45 which is way earlier than normal training time, but did this for 2 reasons, so I could do the second part as if a second competitive workout, and also an attempt to mentally prepare for possibly doing open workouts earlier and maybe in a competitive environment. So the rhythm of the day was definitely off, but this was a great wake up call of what time I need to go to sleep, wake up, eat breakfast and all other pre-training routines to set myself up for the best performance possible. Workout itself, I didn’t want to come out to slow on the first set of snatches so tried to do bigger sets than I should’ve when the burpee make or break this workout and the snatches on the back end were just how much are you willing to suffer wanted to hold 10 burpee/minute and at times just didn’t want to work that hard, and times I got about 11 and just couldn’t mentally sustain that effort and took a few breaks instead of just keeping moving even if it was slower. I just need to grind a workout like this out and set myself up for better pacing. Just can’t have a shitty effort like this, should’ve been more mentally prepared with a plan and eating etc.

+ (rest to recovery)

For time

6-5-4-3-2-1

Bench presses @ 185lbs

Squat cleans @ 155lbs

Ring MU’s

9:14 – all bench press and rmu unbroken, the only long transitions were going to muscle up, was hitting quick singles with clean and was trying to have some urgency with a high heart rate starting ring work, but not too much. Bench press got grindy, during the set of 3 or 4 (don’t remember) I think I thought about breaking, but just said grind through it and only break if you really think you can’t get it. 

so annoyed by the throwdown effort that the thought crossed my mind to do it again, but for what, only to prove to myself I can execute a better plan and go faster. but not worth it

Mcgill big 3

+

3 rounds at warmup pace

3/side TGU @ 35lbs

5 6-point burpees

10 air squats

10 overhead KB swings @ 53lbs

TGU take so long and are so slow urggggg, but felt good to create that tension and go through the movement. 

+

2 min running clock, 1 min rest/reset x 3

8 power snatches @ 95lbs

10 bar facing burpees (must finish these in <35 sec)

AMRAP row cals in remaining time

22-21-21 – was hard to do the quick math after finishing the barbell, but I believe each round was about 30sec, was done with the barbell at 17-19 seconds each time and done with burpee by 50 seconds, 47 for sure on the first one but was a little hazy after that. Not the best transitions into the rower, but was good about getting to mid/upper 1100’s pace within 3 strokes each time

+

2 min running clock, 1 min rest/reset x 3

8 deadlifts @ 225lbs

8 deficit kHSPU (same standard as the old AGQ workout we talked about)

AMRAP row cals in remaining time

25-23-27 – the last round was higher because I actually quit making the rookie mistake of making sure the rower was on and reset at zero. Was trying/wanting to hold mid 1200 each time, deadlifts and hspu felt really good. Would definitely like to keep getting some volume accumulation with these deficit hspu

2/23

10 min @ warmup pace

10 cal row

6 ring rows

4 ring dips

5-10 sec freestanding HS hold

done

+

J-hook practice with hands on pullup bar – do 5 sets of 3-4 reps, goal of using leverage from pullup bar to lean away a little more and get feet higher for the hook. rest as needed

(https://www.facebook.com/pamelagnonGym/videos/506201559795226)

+

3 rope climbs for ‘efficiency’, not necessarily for speed but dont take too much time between either. think about big jump to start, arms long as you lock in your high hook, then stand with legs. new set every 3 min x 3

Set 1 was ok, set 2 got caught up on the clocked and started rushing things, set 3 really slowed down and felt great here, but descent was a little off. Did 2 extra reps and felt much better. (update from Wednesday, elbow is a little flared up so will spend a ton of time doing some eccentrics and isometrics)

+

Dip swings on rings x 5-6, rest 60 sec x 4 (goal will be to feel some upward elevation as hips open, https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUCDN1sR31E6uSu6TJvaTijQ&v=3MzTsLrYSNo&feature=youtu.be)

done

+

Aerobic support

10-20-30-40-30-20-10 cals each of

Row

Bike

Ski

not for time but move steadily throughout, holding sustainable paces at each step, allowing breathing rate to rise comfortably

Took just under 40 minutes…..row comfortably was in upper 1000’s with not a ton of effort. Bike was around 288 watts, just couldnt dig in there and comfortably push in the 300’s and feel sustainable. Ski was in upper 900’s

2/24

10 min @ warmup pace

Row 250m

3 muscle cleans

3 zombie squats

3 strict presses from front rack/3 strict presses from back rack

3 close grip OHS

(start empty bar, add light load as you go)

Close grip OHS is slowly starting to feel like the mobility I had previously

+

Power clean triples x 3 sets, less than 6 sec bt reps, rest 3 min x 3

185-205-22

Power clean doubles x 3 sets, less than 10 sec bt reps, rest 3 min x 3

235-240-242.5

Power clean singles x 3 reps, rest 3 min x 3

245-250-255 – 255 actually felt way better than the 250

+

DSGN overlap

For Time:

100-ft. dumbbell overhead lunge – 50#/35#

25 dumbbell box step-ups (1DB to 24/20)

25 strict handstand push-ups

100-ft. handstand walk

25 strict handstand push-ups

25 dumbbell box step-ups (1DB to 24/20)

100-ft. dumbbell overhead lunge – 50#/35#

18:31 (9:27 at finish of handstand walk 15:2? To finish 2set of strict Hspu. 1st shspu was 6-3(came off walk) 1 and then reset a little snd didn’t want to burn out before hs walk. Quick transition and only got 10ft so decided to pull back a little b/c I knew that next set of shspu was going to be really really tough and it was. I think I finished the first set of hspu @ 6ish and definitely could have pushed that pace if i had to. neck/trap was a little stiff throughout the am so i do think that played a role a little but not much overall

+

Pistol/GHD exposure

EMOM x 10

Odd min – 12-14 alternating pistols

Even min – 12-14 GHD situps

14 pistols, did 14 ghd on the first set but thought that might not be smart since I haven’t had consistent exposure there so finished 12 the rest of the way.

10 min @ warmup pace

10 cal bike

3 deadlifts

3 muscle cleans

3 kang squats

3/direction cossack squat

(start empty bar, build light load as you go)

Super solid warm up, class was using all bikes so had to ski

+

HSPU play

floor kip drill – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9tWqLeaV8c , play around with this setup for a bit before progressing to inverted work

Really like this drill, almost wish my mat was a little smoother because I was afraid of some rug burn

+

kipping HSPU ‘play’ – 4-6 reps/set, adjusting hand width/depth from wall, turning fingers out, etc. 5-6 sets, film some and send them over so we can see how they look and try to find some rhythm/speed with them

I actually liked the most when my hands were away from the wall, however, this will be dangerous to get too comfortable in as I can only assume it might create some range of motion/foot line issues…..will edit video and send over this evening

+

EMOM x 8

Odd – 5 power cleans + 5 thrusters @ 115lbs

Even – 12 chest to bar pullups

Bb was about 18/19 seconds everytime – w/power clean really tried to stay over the bar as long as possible and it made it feel way lighter than 115, also tried to widen my squat stance on the thruster and didn’t love it at this load. C2b all unbroken and they felt really good today.

+

EMOM x 8

Odd – 10 thrusters @ 95lbs

Even – 12 bar facing burpees

Thruster – 18-17-19-18, bfb – 30-30-32-33 – this was the perfect amount of suck, new I was going to be able to push these and make them hurt, and they hurt just the right amount, didn’t feel completely recovered after the 1st full round, but there was never any fear that I couldn’t keep my numbers/time close to the same every round

+

EMOM x 6

20 unbroken wallballs

Same here, there was never a fear of not being able to stay around 35-36 sec/set, never really wanted to pick up the ball after the 3rd set, but knew I could hit all of them unbroken

This was the perfect day, as everything was hard and elevated heart rate, but knew I would be able to do everything I was supposed to do. I can see this being a great tool to help desensitize the sensation of feeling out of breath and just help with some mental confidence of being able to work under those situations.

For time (16 min cap)

100 DU’s

30 hang power snatches @ 95lbs

100 DU’s

30 thrusters @ 95lbs

100 DU’s

30 OHS @ 95lbs

100 DU’s

30 hang power clean/push jerk @ 95lbs

rest to 18 min mark

5 min to find a 1RM hang snatch

15:07 & 195 – I felt like I was cruising along well at a good clip and the last set of jump rope and barbell slowed that down quite a bit. Was a little worried from bb cycling/energy about the hpc/j so I wanted to break up that last set of dubz, I did 30/50/20 (and clipped a few times on that last 20), and then the barbell was just eating up time, I feel I managed well on the hps, good work to rest ratio, not as good on the thruster and ohs, but I know my cadence is better there, but don’t have my boss status confidence back yet on thruster. Pretty pleased with snatch though.

10 min bike, done as (2 min nasal breathing only, 1 min in through nose out through mouth, 2 min regular breathing) * 2

In regular breathing I’m pretty comfortable nasal breathing in this progressive warm up format so I would make myself get some mouth breathing in

+

Every 90 sec x 8

Bike 8 sec SPRINT (record max watts/round)

1141-1108-1206-1278-1206-1242-1278-1278 – adjusted eat after first 2 sets and that was the biggest difference there.

+

Every 90 sec x 6 (3 of each)

Odd sets – 12 sec @ 70% of best watt score from above

Even sets- 12 bar facing burpees AFAP

rest walk 6 min x 2 (12 total, big break in the middle)

1st sets (28-28-27) – 2nd sets (28-28-27) – speed and transition to the ground felt really good and strong today. – bike, with about 3 second rolling start I could hit a bit higher than 70%, maybe like 73, it counts, I was hovering between high 800’s and to 925

+

Ido Portal squat routine, in full, can stand up between segments as needed

It was cold as shit in the gym so I cooled off a little bit and hit this up at thome

Clean grip deadlift – build to tough TNG double, leave 15-20lbs in the tank for the day

375 – felt pretty good, definitely left 15lbs in the tank, it’s always so hard to tell because my pull gets so slow off the ground when we get near these loads.

+

For time

12-9-6 deadlifts @ 275lbs

12-9-6 bar MU

(rest 5 min)

5:06

For time

5-7-9 deadlifts @ 315lbs

5-7-9 ring MU

11:57 a missed opportunity in the ring muscle up couplet. I missed a rep at rep 7 I think it was, the miss was definitely due to fatigue but also pushing some urgency and feeling a little technique breakdown. Something felt off and a little restricted. I grinded through rep 8, and then 9 I did it the way your are supposed to. Kind of frustrated me when I finished because I cleaned up my last rep but I struggled to clean them up before that on that back ⅓ of the set of 9. The first ⅔ of the set of 9 was a grind for sure, some singles and a double here and there. I did do a better job here of trying to not rest too long until I felt like I was going to miss. Another thing that got in my head was going 5 deadlifts UB, which was not my original plan but it felt lighter than the 275 on the first set (and the first set only), and then 5 UB muscle up, those 10 reps were not part of the plan but do think they affected my middle sets. 

Bar muscle up workout, my whole goal there was fast transitions and break them up into smaller manageable chunks of sets that set me up for a good times. The good things that happened here, bmi set of 12 – did 4-4-4 and the first 2 sets of 4 were fast with short breaks and then a longer break before the last set of 4, same for the set of 9 broken into 3’s, the set of 6 to finish was a quick set of 2 and then a longer break to finish with 4.

+

Back decompression work

A1 – Ostrich walk 50ft, rest 30 sec

A2 – Quadruped rock backs x 6-8, rest 30 sec

A3 – Pigeon pose hold 30 sec/side, rest 90 sec x 3 sets

Done – why did the ostrich walk feel just as hard if not harder than the workouts.

B – Russian baby makers x 5 reps for tension in bottom of squat and hamstring release at top, 3 sets

good

C – Prone scorpion twists x 4/side + Supine scorpion twists x 4/side + 90/90 shin box switch x 4/side, rest 90 sec x 3 sets

Perfect combo today

Another quick note to be mindful of is during the arch position of the bmu today, i could feel this slight discomfort in the quad, I’m assuming it’s from Saturday where I was trying to extend my lunge too far. And I’m sure there was some performance breakdown today as we had planned that yesterday was going to be our last day of consuming adult beverages until after the open. Didn’t indulge much more than we do with dinner but maybe had some influence on the back end of being able to continue keeping the pedal pushed to the floor

Squat snatches from blocks above knee – accumulate 10-12 quality singles for the day (you decide loading, build to a point that they feel tough but keep good quality with minimal misses)

165×4, 175×4, 185×4 – no misses and quality felt very high, really focused on good tension and position in set up

+

tttTD (20 min AMRAP)

7+3 hspu – from the beginning I knew 20 minutes is a long time so I didn’t want to come out to hot but what I did want to do was see how long I could hold UB TTB and HSPU, all 80 ttb were unbroken and I feel I could’ve done that for 4+ more rounds. HSPU, I think around round 4 lock out started getting a little harder (and I might have broke them in that round but definitely the next round) and could feel that in the lunge as well. Also I didn’t feel like I had great control on the lunge. Really felt like I was trying to force the issue there and move way too fast and sometimes was a little out of control. The lunge also took a little more of a toll on me than I anticipated, more so from the db perspective, but I also was trying to get my first 3 steps in with big long strides and I also think that took its toll. From a comfort perspective, I never wear knee sleeves but when I was trying to move too fast that was getting more annoying and uncomfortable than painful or hard. The first 3 rounds were sub 2min pace, but I could feel that the sustainability in that was all on the hspu. One round I tried to make the transition from lunge to hspu really quick, get a few reps in and then short break, this sky rocketed my heart rate and got a little in my head for the rest of the way. Transition from lunge to ttb was were I should’ve kept it tight but I started relying on the chalk break. I’m glad I went for UB on both hspu and ttb though even though it effected my score in the long run. My confidence with the TTB feels good right now, and good strategy with hspu we can maximize some scoring here. So good lesson learned from that. 

+

6-8 sets of

20 sec hollow body hold (place skinny band under the small of your back to ensure form is ideal), 20-40 sec rest bt sets

Not done right after but a little bit after cooling down and cleaning up

A – Strict press – 1 rep every 45 sec x 4 – 145

B – Push press – 3 reps every 60 sec x 4 – 175  

C – Push jerks – 5 reps every 90 sec x 4 – 200

could’ve definitely done more on the push press and push jerk, didn’t know they would feel as crisp and as smooth

+

4 min @ 12 min ‘open’ effort (picture first third of a long AMRAP)

15 chest to bar pullups

15 hand release pushups

15 row cals

45 DU’s

1 + 33 – 8/7 on both rounds of c2b

(rest 2 min)

4 min @ 12 min ‘open’ effort

25 chest to bar pullups

25 hand release pushups

25 row cals

75 DU’s

30 dubz in – had a hard time switching gears here and going from a first third pace mentality to trying to push a little more to finish the row quicker and pick up the rope quicker. 9/9/7 on c2b

(rest 2 min)

For time

35 chest to bar pullups

35 hand release pushups

35 row cals

150 DU’s

8:38 – this round I went all 5’s on my c2b, and was pretty good until about 20 and the last 15 weren’t as smooth as I would like to be. Push ups were just try and manage small quick sets and minimize rest. But when I got tired here it was harder to switch gears and grind and push through. The row, first 10 calories were just move and don’t worry about pace, the next 15-20 cals tried to push the pace and started to fade towards the end. Dubz done in 2 sets, started the battle if I was going to go for it all the way or not, clipped at 69 and then finished it out. Completely underestimated the high heart rate that was going to come from this workout. Also was a little bummed but I keep telling myself to not be so hard on yourself, you just accumulated 90 total reps of c2b pull ups and makes me settle in a littler easier. Body feels great just feel a little sluggish today, or more so didn’t feel like I could get to the next gear as easily.

Squat Clean Gauntlet:

Every 90 seconds:

30 DU’s + 1 Squat Clean, starting at 245lbs

add 10lbs/make

*60 sec cap on each set, 30 sec to change weights/increase

285 – 275 felt the best and gave me good confidence with that next bar, I feel the 285 might have pulled me forward slightly but I was quick enough under the bar, it was one of those where it felt like it took forever to stand up but probably was just slow and steadily moving out of the hole

+

For time

Row 800m

40 1-arm DB shoulder to overhead, alternating hands every 10 reps

20 deadlifts @ 315lbs

30 toes to bar

Bike 1600m

12:04 – some little victories today. The row pace finished around 1:49 I believe, I wanted to keep it under that, stayed around 1:45 for the first 400-500m but didn’t want to dig in to fight and keep it there. When I started the db sto I forgot the exact rx format so just stayed with push press, never set the db down but at push press I would have not been able to go right into another set with my left if there were more than 40 reps, it just felt like lockout was getting tough on the left arm, right arm was fine. Had about a 15ft walk to barbell for deadlift and I picked it up right away and hit 4 reps no belt, the next set I put on a belt and that made the transition take to long. The little victory here though was after hitting that set of 4, I walked about 6 ft to the wall and back to the bar and picked it up. That walk is still too much of rest, but I never allowed myself to put my hands on my knees and just said that everytime you make it back to the bar you have to go. I think my rep breakdown was 4/4/3/5/3/2. TTB was 8/8/7/7, tried to drop down and jump right back up every time but I felt that taking a toll so got chalk bt one of the sets. This felt good today, I got a little more uncomfortable than I wanted with the deadlift and that is exactly what I needed to do.