Ben Plotnicki

A – Hang Power snatch – tough single

185

Might have had a little more in the tank but this felt clean crisp and solid. Also very positive notes warming up. My old protocol was to hit some complexes that started with a muscle snatch but haven’t been able to do that pain free since the shoulder injury until today. Stopped doing the muscle snatch @ 135 which is very encouraging. 

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Open workout 16.3 (BMU/Snatches)

7 full rounds – 91 reps

There are some major positives I take away from today. Not super happy with my score here and that is where the takeaways come in. First off, last night I was super excited to retest this and get after it, then when it was time to go, I wasn’t as excited and wasn’t mentally ready for the pain. I remember this workout from 2016 and I remember grip endurance was a big factor, and I remember breaking up the barbell work early. Outside of that I didn’t strategize much. I filmed the workout and here’s what I did well, from the last bar muscle up to the first snatch, I took 5 seconds to get my both hands on the barbell and move the first snatch, the current set up I have isn’t great for space and bar muscle up work (this could be an issue so today was good to see when transitions are imperative of how to maximize my space here). From what I remember of breaking this up early, I did sets of 4/3/3 on average which might be good but I did a piss poor job of getting my hands back on the bar, average break time over the course of the rounds I took breaks was 17 seconds, this is including the first round when I took 4 seconds and 2 sets. The last round I did the  power snatch ub and completed that round in 39 seconds. 

My major takeways from today are that I rested/breaked way too long. Transitions from bmu to bar I’m happy with. I do believe I have people here that when I tell them to not let my break too long will hold me to it, I mean lets be honest, if I do 10 reps in 4 sets, and rest 4-5 sec bt I’m already shorter rest time then I did today. Biggest break started happening in round 4&5. My best feedback is that in the last round when I needed to go, I could, and it hurt a little and I was completely fine afterwards, I have to remember that. Us old guys we don’t like feeling that pain from that dark place, but I have 3 weeks to fine tune the mentality that the pain is worth it and it is only temporary. Great learning tools today and use of video analysis to see the simple easy fixable mistakes, I just have to be willing to suffer. One other thing, I noticed in the top of the bmu I was pausing on top of the bar for no reason, just that moment before you start the next rep, I feel like I cleaned that up in round 3, if I need the break then fine but not for 3 reps.

(Ring Mu x 1 + Ring dip x 3) * 2-3 ‘reps’, rest 2-3 min bt complexes x 4

2 reps, having to go early in the am, I didn’t get a chance of due diligence to warm up the shoulder so I stayed conservative. 

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On a 16 min clock

5 Rounds for time

250m Ski

12 Box Jumps @ 24″”

1 rope climb to 15ft

9:48

into, in remaining time

Find a 2RM hang snatch

195

Rope climb access is only to 12’ so i started each rope climb from a seated position. Tried to keep each ski set around 1:52 – could’ve probably pushed here a little harder and tried to stay around 1:50 or slight under that, pushed a little harder than I normally would on the box jump. Really felt better as I went on each attempt of the hang snatch. I did a 185 before and my thoracic almost collapsed so I made a conservative increase to 195 which was really crisp and clean.

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Row 2 min @ 1200 cal/hr, directly into

AMRAP 2 min DU’s, rest 4 min

Row 2 min @ 1200 cal/hr, directly into

AMRAP 2 min wallballs (20lbs to 10′), rest 4 min x 2 times through

DU → 162 – 195

WB → 47 – 46

Second round it was a little more work to keep cal/hr above 1200 except for last one, although I knew there was no more rounds, I also trusted my mechanics and just dealt with the discomfort. On the 2nd time through I took a different approach as well as trying to really tightening up my transitions, with DU I broke intentionally at 75, took about 10-15 seconds and then finished the set as time expired. With wall ball, I made a really fast transition and did 10 right away, and took a quick break, I broke again and that was to take a quick time check, was pretty sure I couldn’t will my way to finish unbroken mentally. It was the shoulder endurance that created my mental need to rest.

40 min around the world, @ or just above conversation effort, sweaty but sustainable

12 burpees to 6in touch

20 cal row

12 bar facing burpees

20 cal bike

I think I went through 6 full times and was close to 3. Was averaging about 5:30-6:00 round, what I really worked on here was footwork and various tempo and speed for heart rate control with the bar facing burpee. This was really good practice for me of consistent footwork and turns to maximize efficiency. 

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8 min box breathing from supine @ 3162 tempo

done

For time

50 chest to bar pullups

50 kipping HSPU 

25 dbl DB hang squat cleans @ 50/hand 

25 strict HSPU 

19:40

C2b done in 15/15/10/10 – rested about 15sec bt sets, in most cases this would definitely be too long, felt good all the way through, maybe one extra set with shorter rest times bt? Kipping hspu – no plan just started going and this would be a bad idea when it mattered …12/10/8 (and this is the point I felt was too big and aggressive for what was ahead), my tell tale is the negatives becoming slower, from there I did I think 3 or 4 smaller sets to finish off the last 18 reps. Db squat clean, wanted to do big sets but I could feel it lighting up my traps and knew this was not what I wanted to feel before the strict hspu so I went with a 5 and then all 4’s. I wish I could remember exactly when I finished these 25 reps to determine how long it took the strict work but it was all done in singles. If I had to guess I was getting about 4 reps per minute on some and 5 on others. Had someone with me and during the last 8-9 reps he was counting me down every 15sec, this was good at this point because I didn’t feel like I was going to fail at that rest time because none of my reps were major grinders. This is a good feeling as an afterthought because that’s when I know I should push that a little more, but that’s only in hindsight.

(All hspu were done to about a ¼” deficit which I know doesn’t create that much of a limitation, I ordered the gymnastics mat and it should be in within a week).

+

A1 – Squat clean x 1.1.1 @ 235-255, rest 8 sec/30 sec

235 – might have been the heaviest 235 I have ever lifted in my life

A2 – 25 toes to bar, sets must be at least 5 or more, rest 30 sec

25 UB (was a bad idea when I kicked up for the handstand walk, but I’m glad I did it each round)

A3 – 100ft HS walk for time, rest 4 min x 2 sets

I did not see exactly my time to complete the 2 sets of the distance but I worked on good efficiency and felt much better today than the 2 handstand walking pieces last week. Shoulder endurance and breathing after about 50ft is when I notice the faults to be way more, and that is about the time when I can feel the lumbar overextension, I can feel it and fix it for the most part up until 75ft in today’s piece but much harder to fix for the last 25ft from shoulder fatigue.

9/17 (DSGN overlap)

On the 8 minutes for 4 sets:

14 Burpees to 6″” reach

28 wall balls

14 bar facing burpees

14 box jumps 24in

3:36–3:37–3:54–4:17

In sets 1-3 I felt completely in control, was forcing the pace on both burpee, the 6” reach is the one I had a target pace more than the other. On bar facing, I just tried to stay low and have crisp footwork. All sets of wall ball UB, the box jumps probably had the biggest impact but with those being last for me it was not a problem. On set 4, I really tried to slow down the 6” burpee because I felt the fatigue creeping in big time, this time on WB, it was sheer will that allowed me to power through. The bar facing in this set, I started the first 5-6 reps in survival mode and then found a gear to quicken the pace and focus on those minor details of staying low and good footwork.

Part 2: 50/35# DB EMOM’s 

9 min EMOM:

1- 10 DB front squat 

2- 25 foot front rack lunge 

3- 10 DB Box Step-overs

This was so freaking hard. I felt so taxed going into this that it was a straight up grind. The front squat and lunge were manageable but everytime I started getting everything under control, my heart rate, my mind, my soul, the step overs sucked all of that right back out of me. 

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9 min EMOM

1- 12 DB power Snatch 

2- 12 DB Hang Clean and Jerk 

3- 8 DB Power Clean

Looked at this as an opportunity to work on these movement under extreme fatigue mentally and physcially. 

+

9 min EMOM

1- 25 foot OH walking lunge 

2- 10 DB hang split snatch

3- 10 DB hang clean and split jerk

Did all OHWL with right hand overhead, I feel that’s the side that my thoracic gives me the biggest challenge to maintain good position. 

Part 3: Core

A1. L-sit; 15 seconds x3-5; rest 45 sec

A2. Inverted hang on bar; 15 seconds x3-5; rest 45 sec

Got these 2 done and didn’t have the energy to have high quality in completing the B series

B1. Arch body rock; 45 seconds x2-3; rest as needed

B2. Side plank; 30 seconds x2-3; rest as needed

B3. Hollow hold on GHD; 30 seconds x2-3; rest as needed

B4. Plank to pike with feet on rower seat; 10 reps x2-3; rest as needed

AMRAP 20 min

40 row cals

30 power snatches @ 75lbs

20 1-arm DB OHS @ 50lbs (10/side)

10 bar MU

2+17

Broke the power snatches up in 4 sets, with quick short breaks, new I would have no problem with the OHS and wanted to do the bmu in 1-2 sets. Controlled heart rate well and was comfortable working with a high heart rate throughout the workout, but bmu skyrocketed the heart rate. BMU was 6/4 in 1st and 5/5….might have rested a bit too much bt those sets, but the positives I did do today was transition quick from 1 movement to the next. 

I broke some rules today and did DSGN part 2 C&J density with michelle today!

AMRAP 12 min

12 chest to bar pullups

25ft HS walk

8 bar facing burpees

25ft HS walk

then from min 12 to min 18

6 min to find a shoulder to overhead double from rack

3+12+13

195

Knowing the handstand walk was going to be my limiter I did all pull ups unbroken and pushed the pace of the burpee, and of course the burpee number being so low. Couple of worthy notes here. Did this in the garage, which means I have plenty of headspace to do c2b pull ups, but when warming up for them I was skeptical, just with a claustrophobic feel. I think this helped as the rounds went on, because that feel that my head my hit the ceiling or feet hit the wall, so I got to tighten up the kip as I went on and on. In the long run I could see the visuals that can improve the efficiency here. No use of a straight 25ft walk, so it had to be broken up halfway. This did hurt in the long run as everytime I came down I wasn’t as quick to kick up and go back to finish the distance. I do feel in the past that just exposure in various ways improved my handstand walking and that’s twice this week and I plan on getting touches in warm ups from here on out once or twice a week. Just really feel out of practice, and as today went, when I went to overextend at my low back I could feel it and would consistently try to correct it. I was able to correct it but would still default to that overextension. So that will get better. 

As far as the overhead went, I missed a lift @ 225, I got the first rep and then missed the 2nd, I had a brain fart in the middle and couldn’t decide if I was going to power or split jerk it and landed in the inefficient beginners mix of the 2. From the overextension in the handstand walk I could feel that in my low back when doing the shoulder to overhead work, this definitely made me take the conservative approach by only getting in 3 lifts. 

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50 AB cals @ 90% effort

2:45 — 2:50 — 2:57

rest 2:30 min

50 row cals @ 90% effort, rest 2:30 min x 3 sets

2:15 — 2:19 — 2:23

Prone scap swimmers x 45 sec continuous movement

Teacup rotations with change plate x 3/direction/arm

Bottoms up KB hang snatch x 5/side

rest as needed x 2-3 sets

One of the first times that teacup rotations cause minimal pain or discomfort – shoulder feels really really good today

+

A1 – Prone I/T/Y’s from chest supported bench x 3/movement, rest 30 sec

Felt really good today

A2 – 1-arm rotational ring rows x 5/side (twist away from ring at bottom and pull chest to square at the top), rest 30 sec

A3 – Serratus anterior wall slides x 4 slow reps, get some good breathing patterns in here as you go through increased shoulder flexion, keep rib cage down

rest 90 sec x 3 sets

Good today

+

Squat snatch gauntlet

1 rep EMOM until failure, start at 135 and add 10lbs/lift through 175, then go up by 5 after that

205 – missed 210 – just tired on the pull and create enough speed to move the bar enough

+

B1 – Front squat x 3 @ 225, rest 30 sec

B2 – Thrusters x 6 @ 115, rest 30 sec

B3 – Wallballs x 24, rest 3 min x 3 sets

I really have missed the pieces. I always felt I responded and adapted really well to these. I’m sure it’s more mental than it is actually physiogical but for me I feel really good things happen with these progressions. I know I have good squat economy so I’m sure that plays a role but the volume is my favorite becuase I know I can grind through and trust my positions and get after it. 

Today I wanted to push my comfort zone and I used the 20lb wall ball on set 1 and I went for it on set 2 with the 30. No problem there at all. Set 3 was a different story, I saved a miss which I normally struggle to do with the 30, didn’t throw me off becuase it happened early. I will say, I didn’t have many more reps in me with the 30 and if there was a 4th set, I would probably have defaulted to the 20. 

C1 – Bent knee GHD hip extensions x 6 + Straight leg GHD hip extensions x 10, rest 1 min

done

C2 – GHD situps x 6 with slow tempo up and down + GHD situps x 12 with fast tempo, rest 1 min x 3

done

D – Mini band distracted reverse leg lifts from bench 3 sets of 10-12, rest as needed

done

Part 1: Frustratingly Slow vs Pump City

For time: 

3 rounds: 

8 DB power clean 50/35#

12 kipping hspu

…

3 rounds 

8 DB power clean

12 strict hspu

…

3 rounds:

8 DB power clean

72 hs walk (12 feet lanes. 6′ unbroken minimum increments)

* 20 min cap

Only finished one round of handstand walks @ time cap

I actually surprised myself with the strict hspu, I don’t remember exactly the finish time of that couplet but I believe it was around 11 minutes, first round of strict did all 3’s, 2nd round I did 3-3 and 2’s to finish, 3rd round I did a mix of 2’s and 1’s. I could’ve pushed the pace a little more here but I wanted to not risk failure, and I wasn’t as close as I was fearing I was. When I got to the handstand walk I fell apart. Several attempts I couldn’t even get the minimum 6ft. It was positioning, I had the habit of trying to overextend at the hips/core

Part 2: TTB Test

100 TTB for time 

* 8 min cap

7:41

Started out from jump doing 5 reps every 20sec, around the rep range of 50-60 I took a set off, and then started taking a few sets off here and there because I could feel position and capacity being stretched. Around rep 80 hands had the separation and blood blister forming. Fought through for one more set of 5 then did a few 3’s. I knew time was getting close so I did some really quick singles and wanted to switch back to a few bigger sets but I just couldn’t control the negative and switch back 

Part 3: What Strength Can You Muster Now?

A. Thruster; 3, 2, 1; rest 2 min

165-185-215 (might have had a few more pounds in the tank)

B. Overhead squat; 3×3; rest 2 min

185-195-205

C1. Front squat; 10 reps @50-60% 1rm AFAP x3; rest 2 min

165 – got really uncomfortable here and pushed up and down with a consistent cycle time. Even when the burn set in and got hot I didn’t pause at the top to take a break. Pushed through.

C2. Deadlift; 3×3; rest 2 min

275-295-315 – wish I had gone a little heavier for my last set

AB 3 min @ 150 watts

AB 3 min @ 200 watts

AB 3 min @ 250 watts

done

+

Row 250m @ <1:40/500m pace, rest 45 sec

1:38.3 avg pace

into

5 rounds for time @ open effort

10 toes to bar

12 1-arm alternating DB hang split snatch @ 50lbs 

14 row cals

9:30

Row pace the first round was bt 1300-1400, but knew this might have been a little hot, was too slow getting into the rower in this round and I feel I tightened that up every other round. I was pretty happy with this piece as transitions were crisp, the only thing I could’ve done was held a higher pace on rower the whole time, except for rounds 1 & 5, was around 1100+. I did start to control my pace on db split snatch by taking a quick breath with db overhead, this for the most part helped control my anxiety from stressing about moving too fast and losing control

(rest to full recovery)

Row 250m @ 1:40/500m pace, rest 45 sec

1:39 avg pace

into

5 rounds for time @ open effort

10 burpees to 6in touch

12 1-arm DB hang clean and jerk @ 50lbs (6/side before switching)

14 wallballs 

12:13

Burpee pace was too slow, tried to attack it but slowed down incrementally over the course of the 5 rounds, except for the last round. The transitions got slower as well. On the first round I tried to take a little break before I picked up the wall ball becuase I felt I was at a pace I would have a hard time sustaining. 12 hang c&j was the perfect number, I didn’t want to pick it up but it is so few reps that I grabbed it before I was ready except for rounds 3&4. 

+ (rest to recovery)

AB 10sec sprint, 1:50 slow spin x 3

First round – 1000+ watts, 2nd topped out @ 984, and 3rd 1071.

+

Cossack squat flow x 3/side

Banded bird dogs with neutral spine x 6/side

Single leg hip thrusts from shoulders elevated x 8/side

3 sets, rest as needed