Ben Plotnicki

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

4/24 (loading by feel again, keep quality high)

A – EMOM x 5 – 3 push jerks

175

B – EMOM x 5 – 3 push presses

145

C – EMOM x 5 – 3 strict presses

115

D – EMOM x 5 – 6 floor presses

115 – left shoulder felt sensitive here, then I slowed down the eccentric tempo and then the discomfort went away

E – EMOM x 5 – 9 ring dips

First 3 sets I did strict, but the last few reps on set 6 I could feel a deep deep “feeling” in my right pec. What could it have been, not sure, I just know it was an alert signal for me to be aware and cautious moving forward. So did a blend of strict and kipping for the last 2 sets, no problems from there on

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

115 – could have gone heavier but really felt in control and great lat engagement

F2 – Band pull aparts with straight arms x 8 with palms up + 8 with palms down, rest 90 sec x 3

Done – this was a good combo back to back with the rows

G – BB rollouts 3 sets of 6-8 from tall kneeling

done

4/25

A – Below knee hang squat snatch triples – new complex every 2 min x 6 (hit these around 155-165 as you feel able for the day)

165

B – Snatch grip deadlift @ 41X1 x 4 reps, really controlled tempo on the way down working on loading hamstrings/lats, rest 2 min x 4 sets

165-185-195×2 – so I felt a slight discomfort/inflammation, almost like adductor tendonitis as it is sensitive to palpate post training. No problems at all with the squat, it has flared up here recently but goes away with a good warm up, definitely felt it here and the rack split squat as well 

C – BB front rack split squats x 6/side @ 31X1 tempo, rest 1 min bt legs x 3 sets/side

115 across – the tempo helped a ton to minimize the discomfort here, it was only on the left leg forward. I will say i only felt it on the eccentric but did not feel very strong on the concentric

D – 1-arm DB hang snatch with catch in reverse lunge x 5/side + 5/side 1-arm DB OHS, rest 20 sec bt arms and 60 sec after both x 4 sets, work on tech and efficiency

50 pounds – just check this guy out I learned this from a weightlifting coach in FL and have been using this tool with a ton of my young athletes. So this gave me good flashback memories.

E – BB staggered stance hip thrusts x 6-8/side x 3 sets, rest 45 sec bt legs

115

+

3 sets

Empty BB turkish situps x 10

Empty BB supine windshielf wipers x 10 (5/side)

Empty BB hold at top of bench press position with flutter kicks x 20

rest as needed bt sets, but move straight from one movement to the next
Holy cow this was so much harder with the windshield wipers involved but I am growing to love this

4/26 – OFF

4/27

5 rounds @ steady effort, get a little faster with each one

5 front squats from floor @ 185lbs

50 DU’s

50ft HS walk

17:32 – so this was almost just a comedy of errors of sorts…..handstand walks went semi well, I was a little worried about my efficiency going into this today. Really paced the first round and aimed for around 2:15 to finish. As an important footnote, handstand walks have to be done in the driveway which has an aggressive slope, or the sidewalk which is not forgiving on the hands, so I had to wear some gloves. Well i’m my first squat on round 2 the gloves were not very grippy so I lost the barbell coming out of the whole of the first squat and decided it would be way more dangerous to try and fight and hang onto the barbell so I dropped it. Took the gloves off to complete the remaining 4sets, well this already through off the pace of getting faster each set. Round 3 on the handstand walk the glove began to rip in my fingers and I could feel the cement rubbing my finger so then I had to find a back up pair of mechanics gloves. Round 4! Pretty solid round, i think it took around 2:15, handstand walk in 2 25sets. Round 5, I really tried to push and my handstand walk fell apart. As I was trying to force the issue I could feel my back trying to over extend and at that point I had a hard time correcting the fault. It took me a couple of attempts to finish that last 25, but the first 25 wasn’t great either but didn’t take me as long. 

+

4 rounds not for time

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

I like the banded spanish squats much better. with the eccentric only curl, was really focusing on keeping a posterior pelvic tilt through the movement, which was hard as I feel the body wants to compensate and over extend

EMOM x 8

Odd min – 3 hang squat snatch singles

Even min – 5 burpees + 24 DU’s

115 – and didn’t want to make too much noise in the garage today so hung onto them

+

EMOM x 8

Odd min – 6 hang power clean/push jerks

Even min – 5 burpees + 8 lateral box jumps overs @ 24in

Stayed with 115

+

EMOM x 8

Odd min – 12 thrusters @ 95lbs

Even min – 5 burpees + 7 AB cals

Um, this was not nice, the only thing that was easy about this was the very first set of thrusters. I pretty much pedaled right up to the 7 cals not taking advantage of a roll over and that made it hurt. 

+

BB hip thrusts from shoulders supported – 75 for time @ 95lbs

4:05 – I tried to take then Brennan approach of 5-4-3-2-1, and then a little longer break but this got really tough. I also almost tilted my bench over several times after a break so I was in not much of a hurry to get my reps in after a break.

A – Chest to bar pullups – 8 sets of 5 unbroken reps for time, rest 1:1 x 2 sets

2:47 – 2:47 – 2nd set felt way more efficient, and actually would’ve been quicker had i not got that little annoying skin tear bt my thumb knuckle. First set really worked on kipping first and then pulling, so much I felt my hair hit the ceiling on a few reps, didn’t completely make me gun shy but was aware. 

B – Strict HSPU x 5 + Kipping HSPU x 18 for time, rest 4-5 min x 3 sets

38-38 (more rhythm in the Moo in the beginning but more of a grind to finish the last 5-6 reps) – 48

C1 – Dbl DB top to top alternating bench press x 16-20, rest 1 min

20 reps @ 50

C2 – Dbl DB top to top alternating bent over row x 16-20, rest 1 min (non-working hand rests at top in elbow flexion)

20 reps @ 50 – once again it took the first set to get the rhythm down for the keeping one in that so called rest position

C3 – BB landmine rotations from tall kneeling x 20 (10/direction), rest 1 min

These felt better this week but this is still one of the harder one of the pieces staying on tension and control the whole time

C4 – Empty BB turkish situps x 10 + Empty BB hold with flutter kicks x 20, rest 1 min x 3

I think I looked a little more athletic here this week

D – Banded series for shoulder care

done

Breathe Retention Holds: 5 attempts; rest 90 sec b/t attempts

Much lower today, had a harder time relaxing 14-16-20-22-18

+

Row 5 min – start easy & increase speed every minute to a 90% effort

done

+

EMOM x 30 or until failure

Odd sets – 15 cal Row

Even sets – 15 burpees (jump/clap behind head)

(if you fail before 30 min, take a 2 min break, then reduce both counts by 2 (doing 13/13 each round). if you fail again, do the same to drop to 11/11, and so on until you complete 30 min or 15 rounds of each)

Made 21 – after barely finishing that round on the rower I did 1 burpee and checked the clock and it was already 5 seconds in, mentally wasn’t going to fight to finish it, did one more burpee and it probably wasn’t going to happen. So I rested the remainder of that minute, the next minute and started burpee on that ensuing minute. I wanted to be a little stubborn so I wanted to stay at 15/15. 3 more successful rounds and then missed the row as it turned to 15 at the top of the minute. Took my 2 minutes rest and went for 13/13. 5 intervals there, I never thought that in this 30 minute piece that the row would be harder to get then the burpee for me. Lost discipline to stay in good technique on the rower and I know that took its toll. I feel that started around minute 17. Minutes 11-19 flew by. 

+

10/side single leg DB hip thrusts

15/side lying hip abductions with band or light weight resistance for top leg

20 sumo deadlifts with controlled descent, light load, 75-95, rest as needed x 2-3 sets

2 sets, and did sumo deadlift w/2 pood kb as it seemed easier than mustering up the energy to load a barbell