Ben Plotnicki

4/26

AM

Accumulate 100 russian KB swings @ 24kg, sets of 20-25, load hammies and get them warm

Sets of 25

+

Halting snatch grip deadlift x 1 (pause above knee, shoulders still over bar and hamstrings loaded, then return to floor) + Snatch pull x 1 + Squat snatch x 1, reset at ground before pull and full lift. rest 2-3 min x 6 complexes

135-150-160-175-185x-180-182 – trained in the garage today and Michelle was having meetings all morning so I did not drop the barbell at all, this might have played a minor minor role on my miss at 185, because 180 and 182 were not a problem at all, or maybe it was the jump from 175, doesn’t matter but I missed it because I wasn’t aggressive enough opening my hips

+

Front rack split squats x 6/side x 4 sets, rest 1 min bt sides

135-155-175×2

+

BB split stance good mornings x 6/side, slow tempo on negative to feel hamstring lengthen and take the tension, rest 45-60 sec bt legs

I had a harder time with left leg forward feeling the hamstring tension, right leg no problem, but left leg I felt deep in my glute a little more and was adjusting foot position, knee/shin angle, and could get some tension in there but wasn’t consistent like I was on my right leg forward

Banded terminal knee extensions x 25/side, squeeze VMO at the top of each with foot slightly turned out, rest 45-60 sec x 3 sets

done

After all of this conditioning and ramping up lately, I have missed the grind of a strength session.

PM (from DSGN)

2 Rounds:

10 Thrusters @ 95lbs

10 CTB Pull-ups

*rest 3 min

2 Rounds:

8 OHS @ 135lbs

8 CTB Pull-ups

rest 2min

For Time:

10 Front Squats @ 185lbs (from floor)

15 CTB Pull-ups

1:18 – 1:11 – :51 – I thought the front squat c2b was going to be the hardest because I was expecting the front squat to feel heavier than it did and grind through it but moved fairly smooth there. Other than just feeling sore and tired today, c2b felt really good

For time

10-8-6 ring MU, rest 3 min bt sets

33-27-20 – all unbroken. 

+

Every 2 min x 3-4 sets (same as yesterday, only move to 4th set if it will be valuable)

4 snatches @ 185lbs

8 BBJO @ 24in

2 snatches

4 BBJO @ 24in

I appreciate the vote of confidence that I could get that work done in 2 min on multiple sets and remain sustainable…..i thought that you must have been out of your mind. First set I was done at 1:46 and the second set i missed 2 attempts at snatches for the round of 2, so at that point i stopped, took a few minutes to recover and did 3 more sets starting a new set every 4 min. Even with that set up, i still finished in plenty of time, but I missed a few snatch, the only good news out of this (but it is what led to the missed snatches) – i was able to power snatch the round of 4, and i do think in the round of 2 trying to switch from power to squat was a struggle in my system to trying to slam on the breaks

+

For time

50 kHSPU (40x24in box)

50 chest to bar pullups

50 HR pushups

50 toes to bar

13:27 – not a great effort, i could’ve done so much better, i keep forgetting my mat at the house when I do handstand work, i need to get pracitice with my ideal set up and today did not have an ideal set up and trying to get used to that 40×24 standard. C2b i had no sense of urgency but I had a decent plan and was comfortable with it. Hr push ups suck. TTB – i wanted to do about 5 sets but after hitting 11-11 i felt i was going to fall apart so adjusted and adapted and tried to keep the rest short but was getting super fatigued with abs but was able to power through and fight for good positions. That was a good feeling is i never felt like i was going to need singles even when i felt super fatigued.

+

GHD hip extensions with light load hugged to chest, accumulate 60 reps with a strong hamstring focus

Was trying to balance this and cleaning the gym so even though i accumulated 60 reps they were broken up with bigger rest than i normally would have done. 

+

Row 2k easy effort, outside if possible

Was raining like a mofo at the time of my session so outside wasn’t an option and was just ready to get out of the gym at this point. So I went home, grabbed my umbrella and took the dog for a walk

AM

Power clean x 1/Hang Power clean x 1/Shoulder to overhead x 2/Hang Power clean x 1/Shoulder to overhead x 1 – new complex every 2 min x 6, keep moderate loading

185 x 3, 205 x 3 – 205 might have been on the higher end of moderate, more so in going into the hang power after the 2 shoulder to overhead, it was more finding the comfort in what hang position was best to move the bar efficiently. 185 felt like a sweet spot but more on the easy end so that’s why I wanted to add some loading

+

Front squat – 4,4,3,3,2. build each set, rest 3 min

255-270-280-295-315 – 315 was what felt like a grind, but probably one of those had I videoed would’ve looked much easier than it felt.

+

Every 4 min x 3-4 (only continue to 4th set if moving well and volume will be productive)

2 Rope climbs to 15ft

15 GHD situps

2 Rope climbs to 15ft

15 GHD situps

First 2 rounds were decent, the second set of rope climbs I was forcing the issue a little so started getting a little sloppy. Ascent was fairly decent today but my descent was very inconsistent at times. I was mostly working through the pain as I did not use any anti-inflammatories for the elbows which, that and  some other things boosted my confidence a little for the future. 

PM

3 rounds for time

21 wallballs (30lbs to 10ft)

14 row cals

7 bar MU

(rest 5 min after finishing)

5 min window to find a tough hang clean double (not maximal, just get a heavy bar in hands after this combo)

7:19 and 255 – metcon, right before I started i thought going unbroken on wall ball each round wasn’t a complete slam dunk if i pushed the pace of everything else, the30 pounder will make you think twice about it. UB first round and row was 1400’s ish, 2nd round wall ball was 14/7 and last round was 7/7/7 and I missed catching number 8 in front so that just made that an easy choice and wanted to push the stroke rate on the last row not just the pace. BMU first and second rounds were 3/2/2 – this break down I thought i could have very short breaks and right back up, first round i could have gone UB pretty easily but wanted to create that sense of urgency. Last round was 5/2 – was going to go for it but on rep 5 i decided to hop down short break and finish. 255 was not maximal but there wouldn’t have been a whole lot more in that short window. I wanted 3 lifts in the 5 minutes and 225 was easy, so went to 245 that wasn’t too bad and then 255 was tough so oh well, i broke the rules a little.

AM

Bike 40 sec on, 20 sec rest

*continue in this format until you accumulate 8000m

Took 21 intervals – had to jump into this immediately after coaching my am classes so I didn’t get a thorough warm up to prep so took the first few intervals as build ups. 

+

3x through, steady effort

8-10 straight leg situps

8-10 prone lift offs with PVC

8-10 good mornings with PVC

done

PM

Ring MU thorough warmup

+

15 ring MU for time

*rest 1 min*

200 DU’s for time

*rest 1 min*

15 ring MU for time

1:42-1:54 – 2:59 – 1st set of rmu was 10/2/2/1 – i knew 10 out the gate was probably way too aggressive but I just wanted to see what would happen and where I was at. Same for double under, i thought going unbroken or close to it might hurt the rmu on the back end but I needed to see what it felt like. Last set of rmu was 2/3/3/3/3/1 – i had what felt like a really aggressive turnover and felt that saved me on a few reps towards the end. After hitting 8, I told myself let’s not have that sense of urgency quite yet as to not force the issue but let’s do that after you get a little closer

+

For time

15-12-9 reps each of

Dbl DB thrusters

C2B pullups

*thruster station setup 8ft away from rig

3:36 – this hurt really really bad…not sure if i wasn’t fully recovered but dbl db thruster suck!!!!! I seriously wanted to break the set of 12. In the beginning I thought just go smooth and easy and after the round of 15, i saw this was going to be tougher then any other thruster barbell pull up combo ever. I had a brief moment where I felt I should’ve done a slight heart rate prep for this piece but then I said too late and you just need to survive

Workout 1:

2 RM OHS from Rack

280 – lifetime PR

Workout 2:

15-12-9:

DB Devils Press @ 50/35#

BBJOs @ 24/20″

*55+ = 35/20, may step on box

6:49 – I was originally going to break up the db a little but I decided I would rather move slower than take some rest breaks that probably would last longer than going slow. Just smooth and steady and no breaks and good transitions. Wanted to stay pretty close to the same cadence for 21.2 on bbxjo this was a cool feeling, as I knew i wasn’t realistically going to fail a rep and was going to be how willing i was to suffer, grind and hold on. Thats that desensitization feeling we were searching for

Workout 3:

4min Clock:

150 Double Unders

Max HSW in remaining time

**Max WW

150ft – couple excuses that don’t really matter. Wasn’t a great morning and had no sense of urgency on hs walk. A little pissed about this one.

Workout 4:

7 Rounds for Time:

14 GHDSUs

1 Rope Climbs

14 Pistols

1 Rope Climb

**20min cap for all divisions

13:49 – ghds were hardest part and really started to feel the effect on rope climb in i think round 5. Pistols could have been a little better, might have a got a little sloppy in the middle rounds and last rounds. Rope climbs actually felt really really good today and I’m sure happy with that. I only really stopped once and that was to pull my sleeve back up over my shin

Workout 5:

30 HSPUs

60 Wall Balls

90 Cal Row 

7:42 – had to help out and sub in for coaching a class so it made me get my shit together much quicker than I probably would have….went unbroken on the hspu, (in hindsight I think i would still do this again, just too much time to lose to go down and back up), but was blown away how hard the first wall balls were from the shoulders……never really felt any easier so I ended up taking short break more than i wanted but I did keep them short. Row got up to 1200 pretty quickly and tried to spend the majority of the time in the 1300’s with a few planned intervals of longer hard strokes in the 1200 and then intervals of hard fast strokes in the 1300’s. I think it was when i hit 20 or a little over 20 calories to go I just sold out.

EMOM x 3

3 snatches @ 155-165lbs

165 – felt good

+

EMOM x 3

1 snatch @ 185-195lbs

195 and felt really good

+

Power clean x 1/Front squat x 1/Split jerk x 1 – 3 working sets to find a 85-88% tough set

225-235-245 – might have been a little tougher than the 88% but I was really hungry today

+

Box Squat: 3 reps @ 65-75% x 4 sets, rest 2 min, high speed off box

185 – might have been a little light, but really wanted to control eccentric and be powerful and explosive off box

+

For time

24 alternating pistols

16 OHS @ 115lbs

8 Ring MU

2:00 – was kind of planning on breaking up muscle ups in a 4/4 or 5/3 and create some sense of urgency but, after rep 4 I started feeling recovered from overhead squat and kip started feeling more powerful I decided to go for it. I think I could’ve had 10 and maybe 11 unbroken at this point in the workout today

+

8 min Easy Bike

Odd minute = nasal breathing only

Even minute = regular breathing

Done – it’s funny when people come up and ask you a question on the nasal breathing minute, you find out real quick if they get awkward from the silence and you just looking at them weird and pointing to your nose and mouth

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

I think i needed this more than I thought i did, my heart rate stayed low and was hard to really get settled in and get it up, except for some parts of the body on foam rolling, that got the pain receptors and the heart rate elevated

AM

Row 1k @ 85-88%, rest walk 45 sec x 2

rest walk 5-6 min x 3 (6k total, same effort as last week)

Effort was same if not more mental intensity this week 

1st – 3:33.1 – 3:36.6 – 2nd – 3:34.0 – 3:35.4 3rd – 3:36.1 – 3:39.2 and then I died. I actually tried really really hard with 250 left to drop the projected time but I struggled to get it to budge off the projected 3:39, i did everything short of just dropping the hammer

PM

For time

15-12-9 reps of

Hang Power cleans @ 115lbs

bar facing burpees

2:56

(rest 8 min)

For time

9-12-15 reps of

Front squats @ 115lbs

C2B pullups

2:42 – and some man walked into the gym when i was getting ready to start my last set of pull ups, so that delayed my finish by a few seconds

AM

Stage 2 workout with RC/GHD/third movement

252 – Man this is exactly what I needed…..a good humble experience that identified itself as growth……for starters I took some anti-inflammatories in the am to minimize elbow pain, i hate doing that but i know we need to get some work here. I also did know rope climbs in warm up, just wanted to minimize the wear, tear and pain/discomfort until it mattered. Well the first 6 it showed that it’s been a while. Between the hip flexor fatigue and lack of doing them recently the first 6 was a huge struggle, but most of that was confidence in myself and my rope climb technique. The round of 5 was much much better and smoother and felt like there was major improvement from the first group. We have done a good job of accumulating ghd volume and I feel I tolerated it decently today, but getting ⅓ of the work right out the gate took its toll around the rep 40 range. I did 25/15/ and 5’s with quick breaks on my hips – maybe hitting 25 out of the gate might or might not have been the smartest thing to do, I felt good in most of the next set but started feeling like I was slowing down with contraction speed. Pistols I’m not super fast with but I can grind and keep moving, set of 60 wasn’t as smooth as I would like but the set of 50 was good, i think I got those done in a little over 2 minutes and allowed me to get back to the ghd and chip away. 

Moving forward, I definitely need to get some more rope climb work, a lot of things clicked today in the round of 5 and the J-hook drill could be valuable. It will be a delicate balance for pain and tolerance. I am willing to use some anti-inflammatories to handle it but don’t want to over use or rely on them. I will definitely hit the J-hook drill up on my own regardless if you have that planned in write up or not. I will say, and this is trivial and me being a delicate flower, but I was a little concerned about the rope rubbing my shin raw where my knee sleeves weren’t. Wearing some longer socks and a better guard i’m sure would help allow me to expend more energy on working instead of worrying.

PM

Stage 2 workout with row/WB

10:33 – had a really aggressive wall ball plan and I bailed on it pretty early on. Didn’t see the value in fighting for it when I knew keeping a high row pace was more valuable, especially knowing I could take short/quick breaks and it wouldn’t hurt me all that bad. Done with wall ball at 4:3something, row was 90% of the time above 1200 – i was happy that I got up to 1200+ in 3 strokes, i dipped below 1100 a little bit and even a few strokes into the 1000…..my strategy that i developed was row 20 long hard strokes about 24 spm and then 10 or 11 hard not worrying about spm but trying to get into 1300/1400 range – i did this until 30 cals to go and I thought about doing a 10 and 10 but i looked at the clock and said fuck this i don’t think i can get sub 10 but i would like to make the effort as if i could

OHS – find tough triple from rack

245 – after i hit 245 i got really greedy and went for 265, got a double there and I was pleasantly surprised and my elbows gave out coming out of the hole on #3. So i dropped down to 255 and I was smoked and only got a single

+

Strict press x 1 tough rep + 5 TNG push presses for speed of lockout, rest 2 min x 4 sets

125-135-145-155 – the 155 was a little beyond tough. I didn’t spend enough time with front rack prep as this irritated the elbows a little. 

+

E2MOM x 2 sets

14 lateral box jump overs

7 kHSPU @ 4in deficit

40-38

+

E2MOM x 2 sets

6 dbl DB box step overs @ 50/hand, 24in

12 dbl DB push presses @ 50/hand

The dbl push press at first irritated the elbow then it started to feel like an amazing stretch – i do not remember my times at this point

+

Front squats – 5,5,4,4. rest 2-3 min, stick around 65-70% here and keep speed high

205-225