Mountain Tactical

"From a bodyweight perspective, strength and endurance work against each other." Here are MTI's ideal bodyweight targets by height for mountain athletes, mountain professionals and tactical athletes. mtntactical.com/knowledge/id…

"It's not about you. Accept, understand and embrace this. It's liberating." What it means to be a Quiet Professional, starting with Mission First. mtntactical.com/knowledge/wh…

Your Army AFT push up score may depend on who's grading. Trained graders counted as few as 40.6% and as many as 85.0% of the same hand release push up reps. mtntactical.com/knowledge/re…

All you need is a pull up bar. 10 athletes trained only Dead Hangs for 2 weeks, with no Farmer's Carry work. Their Farmer's Carry time still improved 20.5%. mtntactical.com/knowledge/mi…

Our lab rats trained only Dead Hangs for 2 weeks. No Farmer's Carry work. Farmer's Carry time (50# per hand) still improved 20.5%. 9 of 10 athletes improved. Do you train grip directly, or let it come from hangs and pull ups? mtntactical.com/knowledge/mi…

Fewer, shorter training sessions worked just as well. In our 4-week mini study, athletes doing 45-minute sessions improved strength, work capacity and endurance about the same as athletes doing 60-minute sessions. Training fewer days a week held up too. Does that match what you've seen in your own training? Full study: mtntactical.com/knowledge/mi…

Too late to add lateral work: snow is flying, and the best way not to get injured skiing is to arrive as sport-specifically fit as possible. Touch/Jump/Touch to Box intervals already train lateral movement. mtntactical.com/knowledge/fo…

For a firefighter, extra upper-body mass is a negative – it's just more weight to carry. Waiting on an academy date? Ultimate Meathead, then Big Cat until 7 weeks out, then the Fire Academy Training Plan. mtntactical.com/knowledge/ve…

We tested a faster, more hiking-like Step Up. It's quicker: 10 reps in 11 sec vs 18 sec. But at the same pace, 900 reps each, it was 7.5% easier on the heart (avg HR 161 vs 174). Less work per rep, so we're keeping our traditional Step Up. mtntactical.com/knowledge/ca…

In the Border Patrol Academy, 8 months from BORTAC selection: Tactical Athlete Flex on light PT days, then Humility, Valor, Fortitude, and the BORTAC Selection Training Plan the 8 weeks directly before selection. mtntactical.com/knowledge/in…

Reclassed for fitness at 21: Military On-Ramp, then the US Army AFT Training Plan, no rest between. You're not a beginner – you're a professional tactical athlete. There is no shortcut to fitness or confidence. Stop dreaming, and start working. mtntactical.com/knowledge/wo…

The LE SWAT/SRT On-Ramp Training Plan is a 7-week, 5 day/week training plan designed for reasonably fit law enforcement athletes looking to build the fitness necessary to complete MTI’s more demanding SWAT/SRT Sessions and selection training plans. The plan concurrently trains the primary fitness demands of SWAT/SRT athletes: strength, work capacity, chassis integrity, and endurance (running and rucking). The programming progressively increases in difficulty and intensity over the 7 weeks. Strength training begins with bodyweight exercises using MTI’s assessment-based progressions, which automatically scale to the athlete’s incoming fitness. Beginning Week 3, strength training transitions to gym-based barbell and dumbbell exercises. Work capacity begins with progressively increasing shuttle sprint repeats before transitioning to short, intense, multi-modal efforts in Week 4. Chassis integrity is trained weekly throughout the plan. Endurance training begins with 30-60 minute easy paced recovery runs and moderate paced 25# brick efforts. Beginning Week 4, running transitions to a 1.5 mile run assessment and individually scaled 800m intervals, while rucking progresses to 30-60 minute moderate paced efforts under a 45# load. The plan requires access to a fully equipped gym, a 25# weight vest or body armor, a ruck with 45# of load, a stopwatch, and a foam roller. All training sessions are designed to be completed within 60 minutes. You can view the full plan description here: mtntactical.com/shop/le-swat…

Former 75th Ranger, now a bowhunter: 37 weeks from late archery season to the September opener. Mann Gulch, Rattlesnake, Backcountry Hunting Build 1 and 2, then the Backcountry Hunting Preseason Training Plan. mtntactical.com/knowledge/fo…

The USCG Physical Fitness Test (PFT) Training Plan is a 6-week, 5 day/week training plan built specifically for Coast Guard personnel preparing for the service wide PFT. This plan is designed to be completed the 6 weeks directly before the official PFT, with 2-3 days of recovery before testing. The plan trains the primary fitness demands of the USCG PFT: max rep push ups in 1 minute, max time forearm plank, and the athlete’s choice of the 1.5-mile run, 2,000m row, or 450 meter/500 yard swim for time. The full USCG PFT is completed during Weeks 1, 3, and 6. Follow-on training automatically scales to the athlete’s most recent assessment results. Push up and plank work uses MTI’s percentage based progressions. Endurance is trained using 800m run intervals, 500m and 1,000m row intervals, or 150m swim intervals based on the athlete’s most recent assessment results, along with easy pace aerobic base work. The plan requires minimal equipment: a stopwatch, measured running area, swimming pool, or rowing machine, depending on the endurance event selected. You can view the full plan description here: mtntactical.com/shop/uscg-pf…

BLUF: At 5’8″ my ideal bodyweight for you is 160-170 pounds, and your joints don’t care whether the extra mass is fat or muscle. Fix your diet, step away from hypertrophy work for several months, and start with Bodyweight Flow, then Bodyweight Foundation, then Johnny. mtntactical.com/knowledge/fo…

There's no progressive pipeline of Wildland Fire plans – the progression is within each plan. Urban firefighter? Train for your full-time job first, then the Wildland Firefighter Pre-Season Training Plan 7 weeks before fire season. mtntactical.com/knowledge/ur…

BLUF: Finger and grip strength is the key to rock climbing fitness, and lifting has little transfer. Do Mountain Base Artemis now with a second climbing day, then the Rock Climbing Pre-Season Training Plan the 6 weeks before your trip, and clean up your diet. mtntactical.com/knowledge/cl…

21 weeks to FBI HRT selection at 245 pounds: Humility, the first 5 weeks of Valor, then the FBI HRT Selection Training Plan. No selection is safe or comfortable. The calendar dictates the programming. mtntactical.com/knowledge/fi…

This Week's Arete: Will Russian Mothers Stand Up to Putin? | Drones Are Making Traditional War Machines Obsolete | Free Solo Climbing for FKTs | Anti-Aging Peptides? mtntactical.com/knowledge/ar…

BLUF: Get your weight down first – even 200 pounds would make push-ups, pull-ups and the run easier, and 98% of weight loss is diet. The SWAT Selection Training Plan will prepare you for the tryout and gate PFT; just work the 70-pound rubber block berm carry into the long Saturday mini events. mtntactical.com/knowledge/of…