Ben Plotnicki

3/6

A – Snatch x 1/OHS x 3, new complex every 2 min x 4, build to tough load

195

B – Banded back squats 4 sets of 6, light load/skinny bands, speed focus, rest 2 min

135

C – Paused front squat @ 26X1 – 1 rep EMOM x 5, posture focus, adjust loading to challenge but not overly compromise

185-195×2, 205, 215 – holy poop this was tough

+

AB 2 min @ 375-425 watts, into

3 rounds of 

20 WB

50ft HSW

50 DU’s

rest 4 min x 2 sets

11:32 & 13:33 – in the first set, 2nd round hs walk fell apart. And it was survival from there out. In 2nd set I tried to plan accordingly and break them into small 5ft increments and it was still just survival. It didn’t matter how much I broke up the wall balls to save myself. As I got tired, what I could notice is I was arching big time, over extending and then looking aggressively at the ground. My thoracic was compromised big time so it led to poor positions for the handstand walks. When/if they come up this week, this was good feedback for me to be aware of going into the event. I will just make sure that I do whatever I can to be prepared for thoracic position. I did not get any neck hammock in before this session, I do believe that I ever thought this part but my neck from looking at the ground was extremely lit, and I was even a little dizzy after the 2nd set from the neck strain.

+

Row 2 min @ 1300-1400 cal/hr, into

2 rounds of 

15 C2B

10 bar facing burpees

5 deadlifts @ 275/315 (second set heavier)

rest 4 min x 2 sets

5:03 & 4:57 – I approaced the 2nd set with a better plan, I also think the dizziness from the hs walk had subsided as well. I also did 6 fast burpee and then slowed down for the final 4 on on both sets and I do think this helped a lot as well. All singles on the first set of 315 and then all 5 for the last.

3/7

A – Squat clean x 1/Front squat x 2 – 5 working sets, build to tough load, rest 2-3 min

275 – I did miss @ 285 but the bar was slightly forward, the only reason I didn’t call it for the tough is because I knew it was a technical miss

+

2 min working window (50lbs DB per hand)

7 dbl DB burpees

7 dbl DB power cleans

7 dbl DB thrusters

AMRAP row cals in remaining time in 2 min window

rest 1 min, repeat until you accumulate 100 row cals (6 round cap, 17 min mark)

13:51 – I was a little intimidated about this one but it was more so what the db work was going to do to the overall workout. Only on set 4 did I feel that I went slower on the db work, the db burpee might have taken a few seconds longer and paused in the rack on 1-2 power cleans, but my goal was to try and hit 1100-1200 pace as an average. I did think I could push it a little more in hindsight but not enough to gain a whole round faster. I think I was averaging about 22 cals per minute so actually proud of myself for that. I just kind of embraced it when I got going.

3/3

AM

2 sets:

800m Run @ low effort

200m Run @ 1mile goal pace

600m Run @ low effort

200m Run @ 1mile goal pace

400m Run @ low effort

200m Run @ 1mile goal pace

rest as needed bw sets

1st set I did on the air runner – yuck!!!!!!!! 2nd set was outside. The biggest noticable differences were the 1 mile goal race pace on the air runner was way faster than I would probably actually race with, but the low effort was extremely low, found no in between. Changing paces in road running was harder but a little more realistic w/actual pace. Hamstring tendon flared up mid way through 2nd set, never got so bad that I had to stop but it was irritating for the rest of the day.

+

10min Easy Jog/walk Cooldown

done

PM

A – 1-1/4 bench press x 6, rest 2 min x 4 sets (1 rep = down to chest, press to halfway, back to chest, press to full extension)

135-160-175-180

B – Bar MU – accumulate 25 reps for the day for quality

done

C – 1-arm DB shoulder to overhead x 5/side @ 60-70-80lbs, rest 20 sec bt arms, 2 min bt sets x 6 sets (2 at each weight)

Only had access to 70/75 – so  I did 3 sets with 70 and 3 sets w/75, I did try to get a 95lb off of my shoulders, but it didn’t move very much, I also couldn’t get much leg drive to the hamstring tendon being not happy.

D – Back squats 4 sets of 6, build with each set, last one tough, rest 3 min

225-245-265-285 – last set was a little tougher than I wanted

E – Front squats 4 sets of 5, same load across, good speed, rest 2-3 min

Opted for 205 – just happy to be squatting and didn’t want to push the issue on that leg

3/4 (DSGN)

Part 1 – Strength:

A. Hang Squat Clean: 1 rep every 30 sec x 12 reps

185 – kept it light

B. Hang Muscle Snatch + Hang Power Snatch + Hang Squat Snatch: 1 complex every 90 sec x 6 sets

95 – same here. 

Part 2 – Gymnastics:

2 sets:

C1. Strict Parallette HSPU’s: AMRAP. AMRAP; rest 15 sec b/t AMRAP

7&2 + 5&1

C2. Tuck Front Lever Hold on Bar: Accumulate 75 sec AFAP

Done – these felt super good today

Rest 2 min b/t each movement

+

D. EMOM x 12:

Min 1: 15-20 sec AMRAP – TTB – high speed/high turnover focus

11-12-14 – secretly tried to syncronize with Michelle

Min 2: 15-25ft HS Walk- AFAP

Felt good, i’d guess around 13-15 seconds for 25ft

Min 3: 10-15 sec AMRAP CTB Pull-Ups – high speed/high turnover focus

15-15-14 – on the last set I could feel my knees bending in the arch to hollow portion so I decided not to fight it and just come off the bar at 14

Min 4: 15-20 sec AMRAP – Lateral Box Jump Overs – 24/20″ – speed focus

Just hit 10 every round – hamstring tendon got more warm but my body was just tired.

+

E. 15 min AB, done as 5*(1 min @ 425-444 watts, 1 min @ 375-395 watts, 1 min @ 300-333 watts)

Called it, my body and mind were tired at this point. Just a long Wednesday, that’s all.

2/28/2020

1min Ski

1min Run

1min Bike

1min Row

x3 @ easy effort with full inhale/exhale on each breath – focusing on deep diaphragmatic breaths

Done – used concept 2 bike as was easier in the room set up with the cardio equipment

+

28min Clock:

60sec AB / Row / Ski @ easy recovery pace

done

60sec Gait Flow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QpdeWCpn7s)

This is now one of my favorite flow pieces we’ve done

60sec AB / Row / Ski @ easy recovery pace

done

60sec Animal Crawling (https://www.youtube.com/watch?index=8&list=PLVR7OsPPPm0ruXEMQes197ymqzmAQF0tz&v=6pB3o_ghK4g)

done

2/29

tttTD (6 min AMRAP)

2+12 – the burpee box jump over was what just ate my lunch here. The first round was pretty consistent. First round took me about 1:40/2min – ball park ish, but the second round the jump to 30” I feel took every ounce of energy I had, I kept trying to stay positive with this and not give in to negative self talk here and keep moving. Starting the 3rd round I knew I didn’t have much time but I decided that I was going to push as hard as I could on the bbxjo – as soon as I finished the overhead squat I went into the burpee to get after it and my shin clipped the box on the very first jump and I ate it pretty hard with a nice tumble that can only be reviewed in my memory (thank goodness). I still found a way to finish that round of burpee.

+

A – Accumulate 20 wall walks with 5 sec hold at the top of each rep, not for time

Almost harder than the throwdown thank goodness it wasn’t for time

B – Accumulate 30 ring pullups with controlled negative, break as needed

Did this at home so had to be creative with setting my rings up from the pull up bar and had to tuck my knees

C – Accumulate 40 parallette shoot through reps (1 rep = shoot legs forward into reverse plank + bring legs back into front plank, try to push ‘down’ on handles to elevated body as you go front to back)

Started getting a little sloppy and had a hard time maintaining peak compression in multiple reps

D – Accumulate 50 alternating pistols for quality

done

E – Accumulate 60 sec parallette L-sit in as few sets as possible, rest as needed

Done 

3/1 – OFF

3/2

On an 18 min clock

3 rounds for time

15 deadlifts @ 225lbs

30 wallballs

90 DU’s

with remaining time

Find a 1RM snatch

10:50 – 185 – tried to find a legit effort of pushing the 3 rounds and not gaming it for the snatch but gaming it to minimize rest breaks and maximize efficiency and overall time. Today double unders were really elevating my heart rate, pretty sure I wasn’t holding my breath. Broke everything up, but goal was to break and keep short short breaks, either stay on top of the barbell or stay on top of the ball. 1st round was great at this, 2nd round was so so, and 3rd round was better than the 2nd round overall even though I should’ve just brought it home to finish. I made a jump from 185 to 205 for the snatch, I knew in my head that I should’ve gone to 195 but just went for it. Got 5 lifts in, wasn’t sure how the first one would go down, made small jumps in the beginning and then the more aggressive jump, but should have just made a couple of those “bigger” jumps bt set 2 & 3

AM

Clean complex for max load, 8 min window

Squat clean x 1/Hang squat clean x 3

260 – went for 275, got the first hang squat clean and lost the 2nd one forward…..the clock forced me into the lift sooner than I wanted…one more minute on the clock I could’ve gotten one more, not sure about all 3

PM

For time (15 min CAP)

5 rounds of:

4 muscle-ups

13 shoulder-to-overheads, 135 lb.

Then, increase the weight for 5 rounds of:

4 muscle-ups

7 shoulder-to-overheads, 185 lb

110 – in hindsight this is the one I should’ve taken more risks on. The muscle up without a doubt creates a little bit of intimidation in me, more so of volume and miss factor. This fear/feeling led me to break up the barbell more than I should’ve, I broke the 13’s up into 3 sets, in the first 3 rounds I stayed on top of the barbell didn’t walk away and kept my round splits tight. Goal was 90sec/round – but in that next round of muscle ups I could feel the triceps for lockout getting a little taxed, I didn’t panic on the muscle up but I started being more conservative on the rest breaks with the barbell. I did not need 3 breaks, I would’ve been fine otherwise, but was just too conservative. Transitions were pretty good across the board, consistently 6-7 seconds from bar to rings and rings to bar, just some of the intra workout things that played out. The 185 barbell felt a little easier than the 135 just from the number of reps, weight was a little tougher but wasn’t this huge huge difference maker. On the last round of muscle ups I knew time was running short and I went for 4 in a row, got 3 and missed the attempt at 4, there was about 17 seconds left, but had to walk a little to visually see what the remaining time was. I’m glad I went for that and would do it again, but would’ve had time for a 2/2 scenario if I would’ve came down quickly and right back up. 2/2 is how I approached the muscle ups in the whole workout. 

Thursday update – biceps are pretty sore, neck is a little stiff but that’s pretty par for the course for me, neck hammock will loosen that right up, other than that body feels pretty good. In the qualifier scenario, I would be able to redo a workout as long as it was not upper body pulling intensive.

AM

10 min window (2 scores)

2k row

AMRAP burpees over erg in remaining time

7:09.6 & 35

On the row….this was right about where I had mentally set my goal. I came out a little hot and realized I needed to pull back just a little. My row splits/500 are as follows (1:42.8 – 1:50.9 – 1:51.3 – 1:44.7) – when I settled into my cruise pace in the middle 1000 – I told myself I was not to go any lower than 1:51 – had no real plan going into this other than, if this was a test workout, I probably am not winning any burpee workout so I need to push a little harder than I want to with the row. I started mentally coming up with a plan when I was around 600m to go, and my plan was to hit it hard from 400-200 left, but needed to pick up the pace around 500, and after I picked up the pace, I tried to get it around 1:45 and from there I just decided that I had to go and just figure it out on the burpee and find a way. My initial goal was bt 30-40 burpee – I think I was around 8 burpee in the first minute…..I of course wasn’t moving fast but I wanted to keep moving because I hoped and assumed that my legs would loosen up a little and allow me to pick up the pace just a little. I tried to move steady from the 8min mark to the 9min mark, and then with 1 min left, I feel that is the only time I stopped for a few seconds as I knew I needed to find a way to push hard and was trying to decide when to empty the tank. Should’ve emptied it a little sooner but did with 30seconds left, not sure it would’ve made a big difference in the long run. 

PM

Running clock (3 scores)

0-5 min

Find a 1RM OHS (from rack)

275

5-15 min

10 min AMRAP

10 chest to bar pullups

15 wallballs @ 30lbs

5+12

15-18 min

Rest

18-20 min

For time, 2 min CAP

10 cal AB

20 PC/PJ @ 115lbs

10 cal AB

30 reps

Most I have hit on an OHS in a long long time – pretty happy with that. In the c2b/wall ball – goal was about 1 round every 90sec – I accomplished this for the first 3 rounds and could feel I was going to fall off of this pace due to the wall ball. My strategy was to break the wall ball so I could go unbroken on the c2b – did all 60 c2b ub – happy with that, goal was always quick transitions, so I rested to points in the wall ball to allow me to jump to the bar within 6-7 seconds, this might have caused me to break and rest more than needed in wall ball. Also in hindsight, a goal of about 1:45 a round might have helped me out more, and maybe even breaking c2b up more but I wanted to see if i could hit all of them UB. bike took about 25/26 seconds – did singles for the first 10 on PC/PJ, i knew this was not going to allow me to finish as I just couldn’t stay on top of the barbell, then with 10 left I just knew I had to go, talked myself out of dropping the bar several times and hung on for dear life to complete the last 10 ub.

3 rounds for time

10 squat snatches @ 135lbs

20 kipping HSPU

80 double unders

11:55 – I had a good plan going into this and was trying to think where I could take risks here and backup plans in case that fell through. Was going to be aggressive in the first round of snatch on the first 5-6 reps but when I got into those 5 reps I decided to keep going, don’t think I really slowed down until rep 8 or 9, I think I was done there around 1 minute or slightly over, hspu went 7/7/6 – my goal was to stay around this number and keep my rest pretty linear around 10sec, and then I did decided to break up my dubz, did 50/30…..then into the second round I was extremely surprised how much my traps blew up and almost missed my first 2 reps of the squat snatch because of it. I found a way to still stay aggressive here and tried to keep a rep every 7-8 seconds or so. Going into the hspu I decided to break it up into 4 sets based on the feel of the last set and carryover, 6/5/5/4 and trying to keep that same rest time even though I had an extra set. Broke dubz into 3 sets – don’t have video proof of rest time, but I sat my rope down to one breath and then picked it back up. First snatch once again was tough but tried to stay in the grind and I would mix chunks of reps going about every 7-8 sec and then hands on and go. This round of hspu was the one that took most of the time in the work out, 4/4/6/6 – I rested too long for the sets of 6, instead of staying close to the wall, keep my reps and rest short. Last set of dubz ub.

CNS prep/movement warmup

+

A – Build to tough snatch in 12 min from empty bar

205 – should have made a few more aggressive jumps in build up

+

For time

9-7-5

Ring MU

Squat snatch @ 135lbs

6:07 – rmu done in 4/3/2 – 2/2/2/1 – 3/2 – as you will see in breakdown (sorry the image came out so small) there is a lot of time to be gained. Pretty proud of my transitions, I kept those as tight as I get with ring and barbell set up, on first break of muscle ups I dropped off the rings and they kept swinging pretty aggressively. Mental error that I did not make again. Way too much time resting between sets of RMU. 

(rest 10 min)

For time

5-7-9

Bar MU

OHS @ 135lbs

5:43 – was not recovered – even had an attempt on the bmu that looked worse then the first time I ever attempted a muscle up.

2/19 (DSGN overlap)

Part 1 – Strength:

A. Below Knee Paused Squat Snatch x 1 + Squat Snatch x1; Rest 15 sec b/t reps; Rest 2 min b/t sets x 5 sets

165×1, 175×2, 185×2

B. Power Clean x 2 + Squat Clean x 1; Rest 12 sec b/t reps; Rest 2 min b/t sets x 3-5 complexes

225 across

C. BB clean grip floating deadlifts; 6 reps x4, rest 2 min

215

Part 2 – Cycling Speed:

10 sets for times:

5 Strict HSPU’s

10 TTB

15ft HS Walk

Rest 60-90 sec b/t sets

51-48-51-49-47-48-44-47-48-51 (took a little longer break after 6, original I had planned to modify in some capacity, at this point, Michelle was calling it and then she told me I had to finish)

Every 90-120 sec x 6 sets:

5 S2O – 115/75#

10 Deadlift – 115/75#

15 Box Jumps – 24/20″, any how

Did about 9 step ups per round and mixed in the box jumps strategically – longest round was 1:03 – went new set every 120

Part 3 – Core Finisher

3 sets:

D1. GHD Circling Back Extensions: 5-7 reps/side + 10-15 sec SL GHD Sorenson Hold/side

Did this piece at gym and did D2 at home – was running low on energy and had been in the gym a long time

D2. Star plank from elbow: 30 sec/side; rest 10 sec bt sides

Rest 90 sec b/t each

2/15

tttTD (thruster/ski, HSPU)

14:08 – I broke up each set of the thruster into three sets until I got to 12, my thought was that if I take small quick breaks (I do feel that I kept my rest fairly linear across all breaks) then I can keep the ski above 1200, and for the most part I did keep the ski above 1200, only once or twice did it dip but I got it back up pretty quickly. After finishing the set of 12 thruster I could feel my low back get really tight, I just think my hips were not open enough and my back was taking the brunt of the extension, so that burned and slowed me down a little and really felt it as my hspu got tired and my back went into over extension. HSPU were just survival.

+

Back squats – 8,8,6,6,4. leave 2 reps in reserve each set, heavier each set., rest 3 min

205-225-255-275-295 – the 4 @ 295, might have had one more in the tank

Front Squats – 5,5,5,5, rest 3 min, same load across, rest 2 min

225 acorss 

+

A1 – Mini band fire hydrants x 8/side (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkE3kqGwVIM)

A2 – Mini band psoas march x 5/side (alternating legs each rep, https://youtu.be/rA8V4jRP0l4?t=2m6s)

A3 – Mini band lateral monster walk x 10/direction (https://youtu.be/5wUk8wQNUT8?t=40s)

A4 – Mini band around knees hip thrusts with upper back on bench x 10 (squeeze butt at top, https://youtu.be/qa89MEDR37o?t=33s), rest as needed x 3 times through series

done

2/16 – OFF

2/17

A – Sumo deadlifts x 8 (not TNG), rest 2 min x 4 sets

205-215-225-235 – i kept these fairly light but at this load I felt a super controlled tempo and major drive from my hamstrings

B1 – Goblet Split squats with rear foot on band @ 2121 tempo x 6-8/side 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VieCYbP8wdo)

Done at 26 and these were awesome and the perfect challenge. I’m sure I could’ve knocked out the 35 pretty easily but these felt solid, stable and controlled

B2 – Half kneeling hip flexor isometric contraction with 3 slow knee extensions (do not lean back – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl3yLlPmkaw), rest as needed x 3 sets

Man these were tough, getting full extension was a fight, and I didn’t know what you meant about do not lean back until I did one rep with that and realized that was too easy and not the goal

C1 – Straight leg bent over forward sled drag x 100ft, rest 30 sec

C2 – Backwards sled drag x 100ft, rest 30 sec

C3 – Sideways sled drag x 50ft/direction, rest 2 min x 3 sets

done

D – 12 1-arm TGU @ 53lbs, not for time, alternate every 2 reps

Done and TGU are not fun

2/18

AM

AB 100 cal progressive intensity warmup

done

+

AB 50 cals @ 90% effort, rest 2 min x 3

rest 6 min x 2 (6 total, try to keep finish times within 5 sec of each other, high aerobic effort

2:56 – 3:02 – 3:07 – 3:11 – 3:11 – 3:07

+

Diaphragmatic breathing 6-8 min

Done – in the neck hammock

PM

Active hollow body hold banded pulldowns and banded Y’s x 12/position x 2 sets, rest as needed 

(https://www.instagram.com/p/BSB6zCnhNmW/?hl=en)

done

+

Active arch/hollow hangs x 6 iterations x 5 sets, rest as needed (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj-ibFuHVXC/)

Done – and these felt the best they have ever felt today

+

Sliding glide kip skill work x 5-6 min (https://www.instagram.com/p/BTWfJa2BvBw/)

Done and good stuff today going for time instead of predetermined rep structure

+

Single arm DB bench press x 8/side, moderate load with good speed throughout, no grindy reps, rest 30 sec bt arms x 4 sets

50 across

+

EMOM x 24-30 as able to keep good quality

Min 1 – 40 sec row @ 1:50/500m

Min 2 – Feet elevated ring rows x 10-12 tough reps (add weight vest)

Min 3 – 40 sec GHD sorenson hold

Min 4 – 15-18 ring pushups (add weight vest)

Min 5 – 40 sec AB @ 400 watts

Min 6 – 20 sec heavy front rack BB isometric hold (load this up to really challenge bracing/breathing mechanics, somewhere around 275-295lbs)

30 minutes – warming up I started having flashbacks of the bike in the am session, after I got going I was fine. Ring rows were the hardest, BB at 275

+

1-arm banded KB OH carry x 75ft/side x 4 sets each, rest 60 sec bt arms, KB should be just below shoulder with band in hand, so double/triple strap it as needed

This was awesome and tried to not let it rest on my shoulders for support or stability. But I really liked these a lot

2/12 (DSGN overlap)

Part 1 – Strength:

A. Below knee paused squat snatch x1/Squat snatch x1; rest 2 min x 3 sets of the complex

165/175×2

2 sets:

B1. Power clean x 1.1.1.1.1, rest 12 sec b/t reps

185 – not as snappy as I would’ve 185 to feel like

Rest 1 min

B2. TNG Push Press: 6 reps with 1 sec hold overhead after each rep

155 – felt really really tough today

Rest 2 min

Part 2 – TnG BB Pulling & Bounding:

2 sets:

8-12 TnG Snatch Grip DL

Rest 60 sec

8-12 TnG Hang PC/J

Rest 60 sec

8-12 TnG Hang PS

Rest 60 sec

24 Box Jumps – 24/20″

Rest as needed

155-135-115 – everything felt pretty good except for the hang snatch @ 115, hit 12 reps the first round and only 10 reps the 2nd round

Part 3 – Strict Gymnastics:

1-2 sets:

C1. Strict HSPU on Parallettes (no depth): amrap.amrap; rest 30 sec b/t AMRAP

6-3 / 6-2

C2. Tuck Front Lever Hold: Accumulate 60 sec AFAP

Only accumulated 30sec – was mentally and physically pretty tired

Rest 1:30 b/t each

2/13 – OFF

2/14

For time

100 DU’s

100ft HSW

100 DU’s

50ft HSW

100 DU’s

25ft HSW

100 DU’s

10:22 – broke all sets of the dubz up to save the shoulders a little, except for the last set. I did fight for the last 30 reps or so to keep it unbroken. This did make me feel a little shitty and was afraid that it might bleed over into the next piece.

+

3 min on/1 min off x 3 sets

16 SA DB OHS – 50lbs (8/side)

4 Bar MU’s

100ft DB Walking Lunges (one arm OH + one arm front rack, switch after 50ft)

16 C2B Pull-Ups

*Pick up where you left off after each rest break.

2+20 – the walking lunge zapped my time, energy and the life out of me… I didn’t feel great on the c2b but I broke them and had fast transitions