Ben Plotnicki

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.

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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.

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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

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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. 

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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

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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

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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.

(easier day, keep cyclic efforts very sustainable and keep quality on other movements)

EMOM x 20

Min 1 – 4-5 ring MU (can alternate sets with bar MU if youd like to get touches on both)

Min 2 – 40 sec row @ threshold ‘effort’

Min 3 – 50ft HSW

Min 4 – 40 sec bike @ threshold ‘effort’

5 ring muscle ups each round, felt really good today and had some things that really clicked in the session, it helped to have a little bit of a break and felt no stress going into them. I stayed with ring because I feel like I need more work there. Hs walk, only broke within the 25ft turnarounds on the last set, felt some tightness/stiffness fatigue in my back for that. I got a little bit ahead of myself in efforts on the bike and row, as I should’ve stayed a little more sustainable but just felt the groove and kind of pushed it

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EMOM x 20

Min 1 – 12 1-arm alternating DB snatches @ 50lbs

Min 2 – 40 sec ski @ threshold ‘effort’

Min 3 – 50ft 1-arm DB OH WL

Min 4 – 40 sec reverse sled drag, grindy load

Reverse sled drag wasn’t as grindy as I needed but I didn’t want to fall into the “hot” efforts that hit me in the first emom

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10 min hip/hamstring mobility/movement work

done

Snatch – build to a tough single in 10 min

215 – pretty stoked about that, put on 225 and went for it after the bell. The bell/time limit might have got in my head a little but it was an awesome snatch pull

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DSGN intervals

Every 4min for 4 sets:

12 Thrusters @ 115lbs

12 BFB

12 OHS @ 115lbs

12 Burpees to 6″” reach

*Adjust rep range or the BB loading to finish all sets in under 2:15.  lets ensure we keep a strong focus/intent on burpee turnover here, true speed endurance focus

1:58 – 2:10 – 2:16 – 2:29 – 8’s on the barbell movements. I really pushed hard on the first 3, the 4th one was really about survival. My triceps were a little smoked it felt like. I thought I felt a little residual fatigue there from saturday. Not enough to really affect me but I definitely thought about it in the last 2 rounds when I was trying to get to the ground quicker and pop back up as fast as possible.

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Within 5 min of finishing the 4th interval, start a clock to take 7 min to build to another challenging snatch single

195 – I opened a little heavier than I normally would just to grind and push through it….got 3 lifts in and felt like I got a little better with each one. 

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Hamstring bridges from low box x 6-8, rest 60-90 sec x 4

done

Double barrel front squats x 4, rest 3 min x 4 sets, tough

155-175-195×2 – there was definitely more in the tank but this was tough enough

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tttTD (10 min AMRAP, thruster/burpee/DL)

1+50 – the main thing that slowed me down was the deadlift. I’m happy with how I was able to chip away in the deads but I rested too much. Sets were 4/4/4/3. I think I finished the first round around 6:04. I know the thrusters were done around 1:15ish (13/10/7). I think i finished burpee around 3 ish, but I do feel i was moving faster than that. Second round I picked up the thruster bar quickly but don’t remember how many reps i did (5 or 6), michelle and I did it together so at a point in the thruster, every time she picked up the bar I picked it up and tried to always do 1 or more thruster when she put it down. When I looked at the clock, I really was trying to push the burpee in order to at least get a chance at the barbell.

Snatch pull x 1/Below knee snatch pull x 1/Below knee hang squat snatch x 1, new complex every 2 min x 6-8 for quality, only last 1-2 reps should be tough enough to risk missing

7 sets – and last set @ 195, loaded up to 205 (which I hadn’t really planned on going for in the beginning or even after I hit 195 but then said fuck it so that mental prep was missing and might have affected that effort) and when I went below the knee for the squat snatch and felt it pull me forward so didn’t even make an honests attempt

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Row 90 sec @ 1100-1200 cal/hr, long strokes, into

AMRAP 2:30 of

10 wallballs

10 chest to bar

(quick transitions)

rest 2 min x 2 sets

3+7 & 3+1 – had one group of c2b in the 2nd set that almost lost the rhythm but stayed on the bar and regained it. All c2b unbroken, feeling pretty good about c2b, wanted to keep my output high here and wanted to get 4 rounds just couldn’t keep my transitions fast enough to do so

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Bike 90 sec @ 330-370 watts, upright posture, into

AMRAP 2:30 of

10 power snatches @ 95lbs

10 toes to bar

(quick transitions)

rest 2 min x 2 sets

2+1 & 2+1 – didn’t feel completely recovered and I struggled to suffer and endure with the barbell. 1st set ps was 4/3/3 and then mostly singles, and 2nd sets was 3/3 and singles and all singles. 

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2 rounds for time

50ft HSW

10 TNG PC @ 115lbs

50ft HSW

10 OHS @ 115lbs

8:56 – this felt like the shortest most grinding workouts I’ve ever done. Hs walks were good today but wasn’t trying to be too aggressive for fear of the carry over from set to set. Only last 50ft was the only one I broke on. I tried to transition quickly form the first 25ft to the last of that set and I started to lose control so I came down. This was a fun workout but I was pretty taxed and enjoyed the grind.

A. Squat Clean – Block Work:

Mid Thigh – 6-8 reps @ 45-75% – 135-145-155-165-175

Knee High – 5-7 reps @ 55-65% – 175 x 3, 195 x 4

2″ Below Knee – 4-6 reps @ 75-80% 225 x 2, 235 x 2, 245 x 2

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B. Double Barrel Front Squats: 5 reps every 90 sec x 3 sets – easy/moderate load working speed/time under tension

easy/moderate almost meant I went empty barbell – 125

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3 Sets for times:

10 DB Power Cleans @ 50#

30′ Walking Lunge with DBs OH

20 CTB

rest 60 seconds

12 DB Hang Clean and Jerk (single arm, 50/35 – 6 per arm)

30′ Walking Lunge with DBs in Front Rack

10 Bar Muscle Ups

Rest 4 min+ bw sets to ensure quality reps/recovery

5:06-5:24 – I started to do a second round but I could feel my hands start to separate a little on the c2b so I called it. First round of c2b I did a very fast transition and wanted to see if I could do small sets with short breaks. I did 6/6/4/4 and same strategy with bmu 3/3/2/2. The overhead db lunge just sky rockets my heart rate so the second round I wanted to try a bigger set on c2b and I did 12/8 – definitely a little longer beak bt the sets. I had a faster split on the first part but it slowed me down on the second part as I fell behind the time on the bmu.

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3 sets for quality/cool-down:

5 Lunge to Cossack Squat Complex/side w/ Sliders

5 Crossunder Curtsey Lunges/side w/ Sliders

10 Toes Elevated Elephant Walks

Rest as needed b/t each

This was on point today

E4MOM x 8 sets

30 sec bike @ tough effort

90 sec bike @ 10 min pace

(ensure you have a change of gears here, rev it up high and hang out there before dropping down to just above a cruise effort)

First 3 sets – 30sec in the 700’s but the cruise effort was hard as hell for the first 15 seconds or so. The middle sets for the tough effort would go bt 700 and upper 600’s, the last 2 sets i was starting at 700 for a few seconds and then it would dip and I would fight to keep it in the 6’s……but the last 2 sets I tried something different on the 90sec and that was equalling my breath cadence with the bike RPM and did so immediately and during those last 2 sets I was able to keep the bike about 318-330.

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Face up plank hold on GHD x 20-30 sec, new set every 2:30 x 6 (adjust arm position to challenge, at sides is easiest and extended overhead is hardest)

Done – 30 on the first and mid 20’s on the last 5

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1-arm front plank hold on low rings x 20 sec/side, rest 40 sec x 6 sets/side

So damn hard