Ben Plotnicki

mcgill big 3
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Glute airplanes x 3/direction/side
Quadruped rockbacks x 4-5
Frog stretch x 20 sec
Pancake stretch with side bends x 4-5/side
2-3 times through
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Walking samson stretch with half kneeling hamstring stretch – 20 alternating steps x 2 sets with some banded hip work between for glute activation
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A1 – Single leg banded hamstring curls from prone x 12/side
A2 – Banded terminal knee extensions x 10/side
A3 – Mini band distracted glute bridge hold 30 sec with abduction pulses
A4 – Peterson step ups small box x 8/side
rest as needed x 2-3 sets
B – No hip contact squat snatches – 1 rep every 45 sec x 12

125 x 2 – 95 x 10

I felt so awkward without hip contact. Starting getting more comfortable towards the middle and end. It also felt like I was doing all the things a newbie with the lift does. I struggled to keep a solid bar path and that felt uncomfortable on the shoulder if it got a little out in front.
C1 – Eccentric focused single arm landmine overhead press from half kneeling x 5/arm (use 2 hands for concentric, then go on a 5 count with single arm eccentric), rest 30 sec/90 sec
C2 – Eccentric focused single arm landmine bent over row x 5/arm (same, use 2 hands for concentric, then 1-arm controlled eccentric on a 5 count), rest 30 sec/90 sec x 4 sets

I could feel my scap really working for control, and tried to really elevate the traps more on my right side to balance out those postions
D1 – Face down chinese plank x 30 sec, rest 60 sec
D2 – Face up chinese plank x 30 sec, rest 60 sec x 6 sets
These made my hips feel great. Was super tight and uncomfortable even after a thorough warm up but these were perfect.

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10 sets, continuous effort
60 sec AB @ 175
60 sec AB @ 275
60 sec AB @ 375

Had to break this up into 2 sessions – as  I spent more time on warm up today. Body was tired and aches and pains. Used my bike at home which I think the outputs are pretty similiar to the Assault Bike, but the 375 felt a little more like work on it then the AB does. These wattages were much easier to hit though for me, but it’s truly hard to say and compare since I didn’t use the exact same model as we had been using previous progressions.
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8 min diaphragmatic breathing from supine position with feet elevated and supported (breathe deep into belly through nose, exhale through mouth completely on an extended count, exaggerate the finish of the exhale)
done

Going to get my hip looked at and treated today so hopefully we will have a better understading of what’s going on. Overall, it has been progressivley getting better daily.

Lax ball plantar fascia rolling – 60 sec/foot
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Barefoot calf raises with controlled eccentric x 10/side
Barefoot alphabet trace x 1/time through each foot, 2 sets
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Banded ankle dorsiflexion x 10/side
Banded ankle plantarflexion x 10/side, 2 sets
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Dynamic Activation (10yds each):
Knee Hug March
Lunge to Lizard
Single Leg RDL w Toe Touch to Kick
Ankling
Carioca (each side)
Side to Side Lunge w Jump
Ankle to Elbow
Butt Kicks
High Knees
Power Skip
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Run 100ft progressive intensity, ending high effort, rest walk back to start x 4
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Run 800m @ 85-88% effort, rest 1:1 x 5 sets, goal to keep finish times within 8 sec of each other
Today I had to run the hill for the 800’s (next time I’m finding a damn track). With that being said, I did sandbag this a little because I knew the demand for the incline would take its toll if I didn’t attack it correctly. So I kept it sustainable and was probably closer to 83% than 85%. I called it on the 4th set as my shoes were starting to rub a blister on my heel. The other negative with running the hill is how much hills light up my anterior tib without much exposure. Overall, felt pretty good

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Half kneeling shortened hamstring isometric contractions – 8 sec/side x 5 sets/side, rest as needed
done

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Quadruped thoracic rotations x 4/side
Glute ham raise negatives x 5 on a 5 count
Banded psoas march from supine x 5/side
3 times through
Done – got a few extra sets in of thoracic rotation

15min Relaxation / Parasympathetic Breathing – lying flat on back w/ hands on belly, feet propped relax spine. Inhale through nose, exhale through mouth — exhale longer than inhale, try to relax as much as possible with each exhale
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20min Continuous Shoulder Movement Circuit
A – Foam Roll Lats / Scaps / Pecs – 30-45 sec per area
B1 – Side-lying Shoulder Windmill – 2-3 x 3-4 rotations ea side
B2 – Back to wall Shoulder Flexion – 2-3 x 3-4 reps keeping spine on wall from sacrum to neck
B3 – Quadruped Scap CAR’s – 2-3 x 3-4 rotations
C – Hanging hollow body hold from pullup bar with active scap depression – 60 sec
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20 min Continuous hip/hamstring circuit
A – Mini band straight leg monster walks x 10 steps forward and backwards
B – half kneeling hip flexor stretch 30 sec/side, rest 30 sec x 2 sets/side (rib cage down, squeeze butt)
C – 30 sec glute bridge hold with active butt, 30 sec rest x 3
D – hip capsule mobilization (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bDjOB3w4xE knee pull ins and prone wipers) – do 5-6 of each variation
E – Adductor dips x 5-6/side (https://www.instagram.com/p/BiZ02qGHLkz/)
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15 min easy AB, HR <120

This was the perfect day and week that I need. Shoulder is super achy, hip is too. But the hip hamstring circuit opened it up quite a bit. IF I stayed on my feet the hip/groin would get sore and uncomfortable.

A – Muscle snatch x 3/Pressing snatch balance x 3/Tall snatch pull under x 3, new complex every 90 sec x 4 (light load, prime the patterns and feel the positions out)

75 across

Shoulder was not happy and super angry
B – Squat snatch x 1/Hang Squat snatch x 1 – new complex every 90 sec x 6, stay around 75-80% effort for the day and accumulate good volume

135×3, 145, 165×2
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AMRAP 15 min
4 ring MU
6 shuttle runs (25ft out and back = 1, so 300ft/round)
8 dbl DB cleans @ 50/hand
5+2

Did in a garage gym which was fine, however the ring set up was tough to manage becuase my feet would hit the ground so just opted to do them all as singles. My shoulder was not happy at all today but the later rounds it got pretty warm and was manageable.

A – Power clean – new rep every 15 sec x 6, rest 3 min x 4 sets

225-215-235-240
B – Single arm DB shoulder to overhead x 20 (switch hands every 5) @ 70lbs, rest 3 min x 2 sets (run up to it and take from floor)

1:24 – 1:14

Transitions weren’t smooth, stability on left arm/shoulder was shaky
C – Power jerk recoveries from high blocks/pins x 1.1.1, rest 8 sec/2 min x 4 working sets, build as comfort levels increase

235-255-270×2
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For time
20 hang power snatches @ 95lbs
20 row cals
20 thrusters @ 95lbs
2:22

This was actually fun

Mcgill big 3 for core stiffness and our old shoulder extension protocol to open up chest
done

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Clean pulls 3×3, rest 3 min

275 across
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For Time (12 min cap)
30 BFB
20 DL @ 225
30 BFB
20 DL @ 275
30 BFB
20 DL @ 315

4 deads @ 315

First 30 burpee were a good pace and got first deadlift in around 1:59. First set was done in 2 sets, 2nd burpee were slower for sure, but I did 12 reps, made one plate change on one side, did 10 more reps, changed plates on the other side and finished the 8. Same strategy on the last set of deads. I think the 275 was done in 3 sets I believe, I did 8 and then don’t remember the last 2. Rested too much bt sets. One positive feedback I have for myself is the transitions from burpee to dead and dead to burpee had quick transitions. Burpees got slower, rest bt sets of deads were too much, but overall happy with this one.

Groin update: this thing is a funny thing, today it felt less groin and more anterior hip. Cyclist squats felt great and were a great way to warm it up. RNT lunges also felt ok and utilized them to warm up. At the start of the day pulling the bar off the ground definitely felt a little discomfort in the hip but as the adrenaline and blood flow got going I was fine.

Row 5 min easy
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8 rounds
Row 10 sec @ 500m TT pace (or current best estimate)
Row 20 sec @ 2km TT pace (or current best estimate)
rest 30 sec
1:30 & 1:42 avg

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30 1-arm alternating TGU @ 53lbs, not for time
every rep of this was terrible, or at least after the first rep in each arm (only becuase TGU are stupid). Shoulder was a little achy but the stability, control and creating rigidity was pretty good for it today. But with the achyness, I wasn’t able to press out the kb on my left side without some assistance from my right arm. Was good for groin too.

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8 rounds
Row 10 sec @ 500m TT pace (or current best estimate)
Row 20 sec @ 2km TT pace (or current best estimate)
rest 30 sec
1:32 & 1:41

Just could not generate much power today, my legs were so sore and just felt down right heavy. On first set right around the 5th around I started trusting myself that long strokes was going to be just as good, the short time domain created a sense of urgency and felt I had to keep my stroke rate high.

On the second set, I was having a harder time on the 10 sec portion, but on the 20s portion i started focusing on long drives and pulling a stroke every 2 seconds, so this got my output a little higher. That was a good feeling to finish on that note

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Ski 5 min easy

done

Mcgill Big 3
done

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Mini band or skinny band distracted prone leg lifts for glute activation – 5 sets of 5 with 3 sec hold at top of each, rest as needed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PAFlOkRldw)
done

+
A1 – Banded ATYT x 6 times through, rest 30 sec
A2 – 1-arm alternating front plank x 60 sec (switch down hand every 10 sec)
A3 – Mini band around wrists scap circles with arms extended in front of body x 3/direction + mini band circles x 5 clockwise and 5 counterclockwise
A4 – Banded face pull into external rotation with slow negative x 8 reps, 3 sets, rest as needed
B1 – 1-arm DB high windmill x 5/side
B2 – 1-arm DB OHS x 5/side
B3 – 1-arm DB sots press x 5/side, 3 sets, rest as needed
(can elevate heels as needed on B2/B3)
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3 rounds for time
7 snatches (power or squat) @ 165lbs
42 wallballs
10:06

Wall ball rounds did – 18/15/9; 12/10/10/10; 22/20

Muscular endurance limiters here were shoulders and low back. Low back felt it in round 3 on the wall ball. Shoulders was primarily due to spending all of my warm up time focusing on glute and hips.

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C – Side plank hold with top arm banded rows x 10/side, rest 30 sec x 3 sets/side

done
D1 – Rig assisted cossack squats x 3-4/side (hold onto rig for support, determine depth/ROM by how it feels through groin/abs)
D2 – Candlestick roll to deck squat x 8
D3 – Back rack walking lunge with 90 degree twist at bottom x 14 alternating steps
3 sets, rest as needed

Skipped the D piece – was a little nervous to hit this but should’ve while I was still warm.

Groin update – was not a limiter in todays training. Tailored warm up to getting tons of blood flow in the hip and groin area. Early today i was extremely nervous that I was not going to be able to train at all. Good bike warm up and it made me feel a little more at ease. During the workout I had no problems but I wanted to power all of the snatches to not even risk it at all. But wall balls felt fine.

Coaching the rest of the evening the groin did not feel great, but after my drive home and being able to relax at home the discomfort subsided a little

4 rounds for time
18 hspu
12 DB burpee box step ups (50lbs to 20in)
6 ring muscle ups
+ (rest to recovery)
4 sets for times, rest 2-3 min bt sets
18 GHD situps
dbl KB overhead carry 60ft
HS walk 30ft
heavy bear hug carry 60ft
HS walk 30ft
+ (rest to recovery)
1 mile sled drag, sled + 90lbs, grinding effort

a: 27:54

B: called it for the day – tried warming up a couple of the pieces and I was just mentally and physically shot

Not sure how fast or long the hspu piece was supposed to take, but I felt sluggish, slow, heavy and drained. Never once to my heart rate get too high, I broke up the hspu in the beginning because I didn’t know what kind of effect they would have in the rest of the triplet. The burpee step overs sucked the life out of me and from there it was a gradual decline felt like I was in mud.

The couple of insights I am trying to make, yesterday was a pretty good training session, but the runs and being in the heat on top of not sure I got enough hydration to compensate for the sun/heat exposure. Sleep was decent but I did have to get up early for a meeting. Breakfast wasn’t bad, I did have a lot of food but  it was kind of heavy, and another factor I noticed is my am coffee didn’t get my juices flowing like normal. Hormonally I feel pretty good this week, today I just felt beat.

A – Squat clean cluster – new rep every 12 sec x 6, rest 3 min x 4 sets

205-225-245-255 (missed rep 6 @ 255, pulled under and sat in the hole for a brief second and tried to grind a little but would have been a major struggle)
B – Push jerk x 8 TNG reps for BB cycling efficiency, go around 155-175. rest 2 min x 3 sets

155 felt great, 165 wasn’t as crisp
C – Split jerk recoveries from high blocks/pins x 1.1.1, rest 8 sec/2 min x 4 working sets, build as comfort levels increase

235-255-265-270

Didn’t love my setup here, I had to get a little deeper than I would’ve like in the split
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3 min clock
Run 400m
5 dbl KB hang snatches @ 53/hand
AMRAP BBJO @ 24in in remaining time
rest 2 min and repeat until you accumulate 50 burpees

11:50 actual time – 17:50 total time –

13-16-13-8

Did box facing the first round – that would’ve made it even shittier

This zapped every ounce of energy I had today