Ben Plotnicki

AB 20 miles @ easy effort, off every 4 miles to do

3 skin the cats on rings

6 alternating single leg deck squats

12 alternating shoulder taps from wall supported HS

So I completely underestimated how long this would take. My bike at home (Xebex bike) – I can not figure what the heck the distance it converts is, I have always assumed it was meters but it seems like they add up too big too quick (go figure with Xebex) so I didn’t have the accurate guestimation, I digress……so around the 30-40min mark I started getting really dizzy from the movements so I would cut out one per round and just rotated through 2 at a time. That helped a little and then I took a short break just for everything to ease up a little. I also pulled the bike out in the sun, so not sure if the heat had an effect or what but anyways. It felt great in the beginning, I feel when I used to do skin the cats all the time my shoulder health was great. Deck squats felt pretty good on the hip/adductor and was good to feel that out. I was a little apprehensive at first but was very positive feeling after.

Power clean/Push jerk x 6 unbroken reps, rest 3 min x 2

165 – just felt a little off today, mostly on the eccentric control

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Power clean/push jerk x 3 unbroken reps, rest 3 min x 2

205, same here, drive and load felt a little better but wasn’t super confident in my ability to control the eccentrics today. 

+

24 min AMRAP from DSGN

6 S2O 115/85#

4 bar facing burpees

3 hang power snatch 115#

24 double unders

13 + 12 – I should have put a little more strategy thought into this one, but had a rough idea of what I wanted to do. For the first 4 rounds I started a new round every 90sec, and then I pushed it to 1:45 and then I fell into 1 round every 2 minutes. At that point I tried to re-plan or calculate how I could treat it as 2 different workouts. My limiter was without a doubt the hang power snatch. So the 2 different workouts I wished i had done, was treat the double under/s2o/bfb like a triplet and then get a solid break for the snatch. Instead I treated it as 2 different couplets when I got really tired. My main goal was to keep my burpee pace around 3sec/rep and I did a great job at that until I hit the double digits of rounds. It was also somewhere around there that I felt like I really had to poop. I thought about going before I started but I thought that was just a persoanl stalling tactic to delay starting this fun shin dig of a workout. 

+

3 times through, not for time

Empty bar kang squats x 6

Empty bar back rack alternating lateral lunges x 4/direction

Empty bar suitcase deadlifts x 6 + Empty bar side leans x 6 (do all on one side, then switch)

Lunges were a little achy, but all else was pretty good.

Snatch ladder for time

10 reps @ 135lbs

5 reps @ 165lbs

2 reps @ 195lbs

rest walk 5 min x 2 attempts

3:41 – 3:38 – on the first set – 10 snatch, went 4 tng, 3 tng, 3 singles, all singles at 165 and 1 miss @ 195. The miss was tecnical(i think), I had those stupid terrible clips that are hard to change so if it matters for the future I will get some new clips for the house that are quick and easy to change. On the second set all singles all the way, and a little more focused at 195 and no misses. Now do i think the singles helped on set number 2, its debatable, or do I think I was more warmed up, possibly or did i have my shit together a little more with the 195. I definitely moved slower with the singles, but I do feel I finished the 165 a bit quicker off of instinct but not real sure because I forgot to write down all the splits. 

+

EMOM x 16

Min 1 – 16 1-arm alternating DB snatches @ 50lbs

Min 2 – 8 dbl DB hang squat cleans @ 50/hand

Min 3 – 12 chest to bar pullups

Min 4 – Rest

Really really good feel for these today, much better than last week and felt more crisp and smooth on everything.

+ (rest as needed between EMOM’s)

EMOM x 16

Min 1 – 16 1-arm DB hang clean and jerks (8/side then switch)

Min 2 – 10 dbl DB front rack squats @ 50/hand

Min 3 – 12 chest to bar pullups

Min 4 – Rest

Played with a couple of positional things with the clean and jerk that made the left side feel quicker than it did last week. And as you saw in the video, i’m so pleased and happy with the progress of c2b, i mean, thats a good chunk of volume today with some interference of grip and shoudlers. Oh and I guess last week I was supposed to have a minute rest, lol.

EMOM for 5-7 min

6 burpees + 3 bar MU

7 sets – muscle ups felt a little better this week but still not where they need to be with compression and positions

+

EMOM for 5-7 min

6 dbl DB devil press @ 50/hand

7 sets – i could feel a little tricep fatigue on sets 4/5ish and think speed/rep started to slow down around set 6

+

EMOM for 5-7 min

10 dbl DB box step over @ 50/hand

5 sets today, just felt my quality slip a little towards that 5th set….also I’m still only stepping with my right foot, not sure if it’s purely a rhythm thing or just trusting the right leg more because of that left leg adductor inflammation. 

+

4 rounds not for time (same)

12-15 banded spanish squats with DB goblet hold

12-15 banded hamstring curls from prone

12-15/side single leg calf raises with extended ROM

4-5/side eccentric only single leg hamstring curl from supine, foot on slider/towel

done

5/6 (DSGN)

A. Squat clean and jerk; max reps in 1:30 @80% 1rm

5 – my wrist was really bothering me today and just couldn’t get my front rack opened up enough to overcome this issue so it really effected me when I got tired. Got a 6th rep but I missed the jerk

+

6 min amrap

6 burpees

6 DB thruster

40 Double Unders

rest 1 min

x4

6 min cap on each working set

On the first interval, I went for it in the last minute and probably defeated the purpose of the piece and effected me for the rest of the intervals. I had the number 5 in the back of my mind before I started the first one, and when I got into it just settled into a good pace and with 1 minute left I knew if I pushed it I could finish one more round so I went for it and finished the round and one extra rep. Second piece I paced everything else other than the burpee and wanted to keep my cycle rate fast there, but the lateral box jump just crushed me. 3rd interval was everything in me to keep moving, the previous amrap sucked the life out of me so this one was just about survival. Last interval was 4 rounds and 6 db thruster, I didn’t want to keep moving but all the movements were in such low reps that you kind of have to. 

+

B – Back squat; 2×10, 2×8. rest 2-3 min

Wasn’t happening today

C – 90 degree trunk twists from GHD sorenson hold x 5/direction, rest 90 sec x 3 sets

No access today

D – Calf raises – 3 sets of 20, rest 90 sec

5/7 – OFF

5/8

(soft rolling vids – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNQUivcLKPg)

+

A – EMOM x 5 – 1 split jerk

225 – felt really good and might have had a little more in me with confidence

B – EMOM x 5 – 2 push presses

205 – wasn’t too bad

C – EMOM x 5 – 3 strict presses

140 – really hard and tough load

D – EMOM x 5 – 4 bench presses

185

E – EMOM x 5 – 12 ring dips (can break volume up if needed)

This was super freaking hard today. Not sure if some of the previous loads had a bigger factor than I anticipated, but I had to really break up the last set and it was a grind to get the last few reps w/in the minute

F1 – Bent over BB rows x 10 with pronated grip + 8 with supinated grip, rest 45 sec

155 x 2 sets, but on the 2nd set started using a little too much momentum.

F2 – Band pull aparts with straight arms x 12 with palms up + 12 with palms down, rest 90 sec x 3

done

G – BB rollouts 3 sets of 10-12 from tall kneeling

Done – 10 across

5/9

tttTD (intervals)

Pretty stoked about my c2b efficiency here, 21 and 15 unbroken, the first set of front squat I did 14/7 and I only broke that because I felt my cycle speed slowing down, so I thought break to keep your speed up and allow yourself to quickly get into the next set of c2b. After finishing the 15 c2b, I had (what i believe) to be a very quick transition and did 3 front squats but I was pretty sure I was not going to be able to go unbroken to finish the clock so I did the 3, took 1-2 breaths and picked up the bar to finish 8 more reps into the end of the clock. This push definitely took a lot out of me, but the 1 min rest I really wasn’t ready to go but did 14/7 ttb, on the overhead squat, I don’t really remember but I think I did 3 sets of OHS, and did 9 ttb reps I think. The third interval was not kind to me, it took everything in me to just pick up the barbell for power clean, that took about 3 minutes and I told myself that I was not going to except not finishing the burpee so I pushed just to finish those. 

+

Bear hug hold – accumulate 5 min @ 150lbs, as few sets as possible, rest 2 min bt sets

40-30 – and decided to man up and fight for 1 minute on each of the remaining times I picked the sandbag up

+

GHD situps – accumulate 60-70 in sets of 15-18, rest as needed

No access today

A1 – Straight leg liftoffs from seated x 5-6 with feet touching and 5-6 from straddle position (place hands on ground as far back as needed to get some good movement/clearance)

w/feet touching I can get good clearance and have my hands around my knees, cannot say the same for the straddle position

A2 – 90/90 shin box drive to pseudo half kneeling with controlled negative x 3-4 reps/side, rest as needed x 4 sets

done

B1 – Sled drag 50ft with feet in straps, small steps, moderate loading, rest 30 sec

Did on the rubber mats so it changed the amount of load  I could use

B2 – Alternating single leg V-ups x 16 (8/side), rest 90 sec x 3 sets

Got better as I went 

C – Bar MU cluster – 3.3.3, rest 15-20 sec bt clusters, 3 min bt sets x 3 sets (27 total reps for the day)

Glad I hadn’t lost the ability to do these. Wasn’t very consistent. Some were good some were ok but was nice to get back in the movement pattern

+

EMOM x 12

Min 1 – 16 1-arm alternating DB snatches @ 50lbs

Min 2 – 8 dbl DB hang squat cleans @ 50/hand

Min 3 – 12 chest to bar pullups

Min 4 – Rest

I completely underestimated how potent this was going to be and being a little grippy. First 2 sets of c2b felt great, next set felt a little forced

+ (rest as needed between EMOM’s)

EMOM x 12

Min 1 – 16 1-arm DB hang clean and jerks (8/side then switch)

Min 2 – 10 dbl DB front rack squats @ 50/hand

Min 3 – 12 chest to bar pullups

Completely considered the rest as needed be a couple of hours but didn’t feel like warming up all over again. This was a complete mental challenge in the fact that I wanted a min 4 rest, first set of c2b was not good and was afraid that this wasn’t going to go well. After that set I thought  about modifying it, and then when I looked and realized I still had 10 more seconds to rest i thought you got this. C2b got better and just had to toughen up. My hands were getting sensitive but I was just being a baby. After all said and done, good mental victory for the challenge this second piece was.

This was the perfect day for training for a couple of reasons. 

EMOM for 7 min

5 burpees + 2 ring MU

My heart rate got way more elevated than I thought it should’ve here, but I’m assuming the lack of exposure to muscle ups effected me more from me holding my breath. I noticed this in set 2, and tried fixing it as I went and just out of practice. 

+

EMOM for 7 min

5 dbl DB devil press @ 50/hand

This was perfect because I had a high breathing rate but it was the perfect reminder to be able to still execute a tough movement with high respiration. I kept telling myself this and it was some thoughts I need to hold onto

+

EMOM for 7 min

8 dbl DB box step over @ 50/hand

I was surprised that this got my heart rate elevated the highest but I was moving intentionally fast with quick steps and turning around. I could feel a little trap/grip fatigue on the 4th/5th set

+

4 rounds not for time (same)

12-15 banded spanish squats with DB goblet hold

12-15 banded hamstring curls from prone

12-15/side single leg calf raises with extended ROM

4-5/side eccentric only single leg hamstring curl from supine, foot on slider/towel

Did not get all of the 4 rounds in

Neck/shoulder nerve flossing –

Strict pullup with 90 degree neck rotation at top x 2/side) x 3 reps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EnwZ2kj1yU

arm extended cervical flexion/rotation x 3-5/side

Soft rolling on floor x 1/side with arm lead and 1/side with leg lead

1-arm front plank rotating to side plank x 5/side

1-arm ring row hang rotate away and back x 5/side

rest 15-30 sec bt movements as needed, 2-3 times through

Couldn’t find anything on the soft rolling on floor w/arm and leg lead so I improvised and tried to come up with what I thought it could be

+

A – EMOM x 5 – 2 split jerks

205 – maybe a little aggressive for high quality over the course of 10 reps

B – EMOM x 5 – 3 push presses

165 – if A was aggressive then this felt much easier

C – EMOM x 5 – 4 strict presses

135 – I made it, but the last set was a grind and wasn’t sure if I was going to get it. Hardest part was feeling lockout for the last few reps

D – EMOM x 5 – 5 bench presses

165

E – EMOM x 5 – 10 ring dips

done – last few reps on the last 2 sets were tough. Not sure I could’ve done one more set of unbroken reps

F1 – Bent over BB rows x 8 with pronated grip + 6 with supinated grip, rest 45 sec

135

F2 – Band pull aparts with straight arms x 10 with palms up + 10 with palms down, rest 90 sec x 3

done

G – BB rollouts 3 sets of 8-10 from tall kneeling

done

5/2

tttTD (row/WB/DU)

355 – we have to do wall balls on the side of the house (footnote, Michelle dug up a huge shrub bush just so we could have a target. Kind of cool, lol) – this set up means I definitely lost a lot in transitions. I also pulled a mat close to the rower so I could minimize transitions for double unders, problem was this was not a completely stable surface and created some inconsistencies in the surface and my jumps. I had 3 breaks that pretty sure would have not happened on a pure flat surface as inside the garage. Testament to the round with 80 dubz, I decided to walk my rope into the garage, this did cost me a few transition seconds but I did not break on that set, risk reward for sure. I felt a much better groove on wall ball in the sets of 20 and 25, maybe just learning better footing in the dirt and bounce off the house, who knows.

+

A – BB front rack split squats x 8/side @ 31X1 tempo, rest 1 min bt legs x 3 sets/side

75×2 – 105 – first set hurt the hip and wasn’t going to add any load, but on the second set I aggressively engaged everything, it made it a little harder but it took 90% of the discomfort away. 

B – BB staggered stance hip thrusts x 8-10/side x 3 sets, rest 45 sec bt legs

105 – I’m always confused in a staggered stance to keep the opposite heel down or whole foot so I did a little of both

+

3 sets

Empty BB turkish situps x 12

Empty BB supine windshield wipers x 12 (6/side)

Empty BB hold at top of bench press position with flutter kicks x 24

rest as needed bt sets, but move straight from one movement to the next

done

EMOM x 9

Min 1 – 40 sec yielding isometric hold in RDL position (KB/light BB/Band)

Min 2 – 6/side single arm split stance KB russian swing

Min 3 – Banded bilateral good mornings x 10-12, lock ribcage in and drive movement from hamstrings and glutes

This was absolutely awesome. I loved every bit of it and how it made me feel after. On the yielding iso hold i used a bar the first set and then tried a mini band around my feet and that was downright perfect! Loved it.

+

E2MOM x 6

6 bar facing burpees + 6 TNG squat snatches @ 115lbs + 6 bar facing burpees

1:03 – 1:07 – 1:16 – 1:21 – 1:23 – 1:23 – something occurred to me in this piece. I should’ve been able to maintain the pace I set in the first set, however, I have tried to lower the cost of spending on pre-workouts and I tried a new one last week and seemed to be ok. However we really have only had one piece since then that really pushed the limits and that was the otm piece with burpee and bike and thruster. I just thought it was the dose response of the bike and paid no attention to it. But today, i had to hit pause on my timer after set 4, I know the difference bt not being able to breath but still keep going in a piece like this and then not being able to breath from too much stimulant and this just didn’t feel right. So needless to say that shit is going in the trash.

+

Easy bike 15 min, off every 3 min to do (at a steady pace)

40 DU’s

3/side high box step downs with slow negative, counterbalance with weight in extended arms as needed

Got better with each set, this was solid even though I felt like pooh going into it, and too know that I was off, I only did one set of dubz UB, thats a definitely tell for me.

A – Chest to bar pullups – 10 sets of 5 unbroken reps for time, rest 2:1 x 2 sets

3:13 – 3:45 – on set 1 – lost rhythm around rep 40, but gained it back. Set 2, started out losing rhythm and then gained it back and was on track to be very close to equal time and then I felt the palm of my hand separate at rep 40. Which adjusted the mechanics of the last 10 reps. So there was no sense of urgency at that point, I just wanted to be smart, finish with quality and not let my hand rip.

B – Strict HSPU x 5 + Kipping HSPU x 22 for time, rest 4-5 min x 3 sets

1:13 – 1:40 – 2:13 – I could tell on the first set of strict hspu this was going to be a tough day. Just felt slow and tired, was planning on breaking up the 22 reps regardless but it was a fight and a grind. Set 1 I did 12 and then had to chip away. Don’t know if it was the residual from the previous days handstand walking but just no pop.

C1 – Dbl DB top to top alternating bench press x 20-24, rest 1 min

24 @ 50

C2 – Dbl DB top to top alternating bent over row x 20-24, rest 1 min (non-working hand rests at top in elbow flexion)

24 @ 50

C3 – BB landmine rotations from tall kneeling x 24 (12/direction), rest 1 min

good!

C4 – Empty BB turkish situps x 12 + Empty BB hold with flutter kicks x 24, rest 1 min x 3

Good but man 12 was a tough grind and probably not very pretty towards the end

D – Banded series for shoulder care

done