Ben Plotnicki

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.

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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

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

135-145-155-160-165

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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

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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 

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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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

95-115-135-155

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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

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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

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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

10 min @ warmup pace

10 cal bike

8 wallballs

3 strict pullups

3/direction cossack squat

25lb wall ball – strict pull ups feel like it starts to warm up my elbow a little so will have to remember that for some elbow intensive days.

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HSPU play

floor kip drill x 5-6 min

Done + through in some handstand shaping drills so I wasn’t going to get rug burn from the floor drill for 6 min straight

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3-4 sets

6 deficit kipping HSPU (4in)

12 1-arm alternating DB snatches @ 50lbs

30ft HSW

rest to recovery

1:07-:56-:58-:58 – first set i did 15ft out and 15ft back but decided to go 30ft straight on the last 2. Hspu didn’t feel as crisp as last week but in this set up I feel I could’ve gotten 10 pretty solid and consistently. 

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1 set @ SPRINT effort

Row 250m

15 russian swings @ 70lbs

25 burpees (open hips at top, minimal jump/clap)

15 russian swings

Row 250m

(goal finish of sub 4:15)

4:07 – row splits 48.7 (1:37.9) & 47.3 (1:34.6) – i almost forgot how to swing a kb, have done everything with it but swing it for a long time. Was so nervous about this piece just from all the memories it brings up, so I spent 3x as long warming up for it. But this felt pretty good, also felt good to see the row pace creep down into 1:29 territory for the last 30-40meters

15 min amrap:

4 hspu

6 pistol

8 burpee to plate

45 double under

9+14 – haven’t watched video to analyze splits, mostly video in order to count rounds and not take the time to have some kind of counting strategy in the workout. Not the best double under day, clipped once in several of the rounds. I feel super confident with my pistols but at times I got a little sloppy causing me to lose my balance and not rock through them as quickly as I should. Never stopped moving on burpee but I could feel my cadence slow down around the 8/9 min mark. Changed the step up leg mid so turned out to be 4 and 4, was thinking this would help the pistols out over the course of the 15 minutes but not sure i did just because of the time bt them and dubz/hspu. With hspu so low, didn’t always worry so much about exact hand placement and just tried to get in the ballpark. One other miss here was the last few seconds of burpees, at had a hard time switching gears with the step up/step back, didn’t practice enough in warm up jump back/jump up which would have allowed me to finish the rep as the timer went off and maybe get one more rep there. 

Rest as needed

3 rounds for time

3 ring MU

6 sandbag ground over shoulder @ 150lbs

12 sandbag bear hug squats @ 150lbs

50ft HSW

11:19 – the sandbag bear hug squats were a nasty/mean little twist. 2nd and 3rd rounds felt much faster, I pushed the pace a little and transitioned better where I should’ve. I knew the bulk of the time would be with the sandbag. Wanted to go UB on sandbag but just wasn’t happening today. First round went 8/4 and took too long to transition into hs walk, second round did 5/5/2 and was much quicker into hs walk then coming out of that hs walk i thought fuck it just go for the rings, i did, wasnt a quick kip out of dip, had to hang out in the bottom of the dip on all 3 reps but was proud that I pushed that transition. Also pushed the transition into the last hs walk. I’m happy with some of the little things overall today.