QUESTION

I used to have a subscription with you guys back in the day and it seems like you guys have gone pretty far since then. I was looking to see if you had a program that could increase muscle mass and VO2 max at the same time that I can keep my 3 mile time runs under 21 minutes. If it leads to me subscribing to you guys again that be great. I’ve honestly have ran to a lot of blocks with personal trainers and even trainers within NSW. Active duty and have five years left until I retire. Look forward to hearing from you.

ANSWER

Max Effort Strength + 3-mile Run is going to be ideal for you. If you’re a tactical athlete within NSW, consider using a trap bar for the deadlifts … slightly safer, same result, better for high-mileage guys like yourself. Let me know if you have any questions.

QUESTION

I’m a new subscriber and I’m excited to start your meathead marathon program for a 25 mile trail run in June. I have BJJ Wednesday nights from 1730 to 5 and I’d love to continue going if possible. What’s the best way to incorporate that into the program?

ANSWER

No problem with that. Wednesday’s are strength sessions in the Meathead Marathon plan, which is perfect to pair with BJJ class. Ideally, do your lift session in the AM, and your BJJ training in the PM at your normal class.

QUESTION

ANSWER

The sessions from those plans are designed to be 60 minutes.

QUESTION

ANSWER

Not at the moment. We were testing it but struggled to develop a reasonable plan. Still working on it!

QUESTION

know most of your programs are geared towards 5 day cycles, but I was curious which programs would be best for more of a 2 or 3 day setup. Right now I do BJJ two days/week, I try to do 2 cardio days/week, I do 2 lifting days/week and I try to do a day of core/mobility. Ive kinda modified the Effiecient Strength Program to fit that, but was curious if there were any other that kinda landed themselves well to that.

ANSWER

You can “spread out” any of our plans to balance it with your BJJ training. For instance, Sessions 1-3 Week 1, Session 4-6 Week 2, etc.
Sometimes you’ll need to move things around based on the program. If you pick a specific plan, I’m happy to give you some guidance there.

QUESTION

ANSWER

1) You can try 8-Count Body Builders. Essentially a burpee, but without jamming your shoulders as you sprawl to the ground.

QUESTION

I am looking toward buying your Smoke Diver prep program. I plan on attending Florida Smoke diver in 2026 and I would like to get ready. Therefore, I have way more than 9 week and was wondering how you could accommodate the program. For now, I am looking toward doing 4 training sessions a week, and I obviously will bump it up to 5-6 times when I will get closer of Smoke diver.

ANSWER

QUESTION

ANSWER

QUESTION

I am currently running the Military On-Ramp Program and supplementing with Strong Lifts 5×5. I’ve traditionally always worked out alone when people try to work out with me I have trouble adjusting my workout for their level of fitness and motivation so I don’t anymore.

I have a friend that aspires to go the FBI Academy. I know that there is a FBI academy plan. I don’t know how the fitness test is scored.  I’m worried my training may be too intense with me doing 2x a day workouts. The goal is to train to be FBI academy excellent, but if she loses a few inches too, she’s happy.

My questions are how would I go about establishing current level of fitness and building a base level of fitness without altering my training too much? Could I just have her do Military On Ramp too? If she can’t do a pull up, should I replace the exercise with a pull up progression or a different back exercise entirely?

I think I’m overthinking about it but I’m asking because I know how far I’m willing to push myself personally and I don’t want to break or discourage this person because it’s too hard too early on.

ANSWER

QUESTION

Great improvements – nice job!

I think you would be best served by continuing the Big Cat plans. Frankly, the Bench Press is the least important lift in terms of performance. It’ll continue to come up as you get generally stronger.

"We don’t get to have it all, I honestly believe that. Trying punished me for the attempt. The self-help section at the local bookstore or popular podcaster pitching the latest time management scheme is a grifter. Steven Covey’s Jar of Rocks devolves to shards when you have too many big rocks. It’s just math and a little physics. The pressure exerted outward exceeds what’s trying to hold it all together, resulting in failure. “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown is a more sober look at time management and maintaining sports and/or hobbies, family and career... Start saying “no.” 

I missed out on 20 years of elk camp, fishing the Big Hole, turkey season and my fitness was always on life support. I didn’t miss a single soccer practice or game, hot soup for a bad cold, Christmas musicals, college visits, or house payment. My family didn’t get to dine on organic venison, and that’s a genuine loss, but we still ate good. No cheering me on at the marathon finish line or Master’s Division 3D shoot. Maybe my son will say “Dad, we never got to taste your venison burgers, but thanks for always being there.” Despite a rusting chassis, you can still build muscle, refine technique, and regain some of your former glory over 50, and even after 55 as I’m finding out. You can re-discover your sport and reinvent your career and yourself when the opportunity comes. 

The input/output ratio is paltry compared to our prime years, but I’ve found mentally I can handle the work and results with much more grace. Go from a pro mindset while single, to rec status while raising a family, then back to pro when the calendar is freed up. Rec means goals are small, brief and attainable. Realize work will replace you tomorrow if necessary, and forget your name in three months. Work hard, stay honest, but keep the career in perspective. I exercised and practiced when possible, but guilt free skipped if there was a family competing event. Working the comeback now. "

"A friend of mine once said “Men never grow up. They just take on more responsibility.” He was right in many instances and man… I am still trying to figure this out. Time management is the single biggest skill I would like to improve upon as the application of it would bleed into, and benefit, everything. And, I’ve also really begun to understand “That there are no solutions, there are only tradeoffs” (Thomas Sowell). 

I mostly try to balance all the obligations I have by getting up at 0400 and getting my running, cycling, or lifting in before work. I have tried to do it during lunch (the military supports this well with a 1100-1300 (usual time) lunch break) but the life I live as a staff officer is less predictable with “helmet fires” popping up all the time. However, this comes at a cost. My time with my kids later in the day is usually one of less than quality time spent as I am drained at the end of the day. My wife of nearly two decades accuses me of making the “Service” my priority but she doesn’t understand or want to accept that I can’t say “no” to a lot of things in the Marine Corps. I have friends but they are more of people I am friendly with at work since I make spending time with my kids the priority. I rarely talk to the other friends many miles away due to the time difference of where I am and where they are. Other than working out, I don’t have any hobbies. I’m a mess, but I love my family, I like my work, I love my Marines, and I love the grind of staying active. "

"I have seven kids, am an active duty officer in the Army, and am currently working on a novel (writing more than 90 minutes each day). On top of all this, I'm almost 40 and still remain fitter than 95% of the people around me. This has only been possible because my wife puts up with my crap (joking - but also partly serious). A lot of us will make excuses about why we can't keep up with the things we want. More often than not, it's because we simply don't want those things enough (i.e., we lack the motivation and discipline to chase them). But even with motivation and discipline, one must find a way to shape their operating environment (their home/work) to cohere with their life goals. 

If one can't get their kids to go to sleep early enough (because they're not willing to discipline them), then they won't get enough sleep to get up early and attack the day. Similarly, if one wants to spend time away from family doing another thing (e.g., writing), they might have to be willing to get up at 0430. In my experience, chasing hobbies/activities is not part of a complicated life balancing act. It's preparation. It's preparing myself to get motivated (or act without it). It's preparing my wife's expectations to accord with time away. It's preparing my own expectations about the discipline I need. Those who prepare achieve. "

"Striking the balance between the job, kids, wife, and sports is not easy. Over the years I have learned to be flexible in scheduling sports, and including my kids where I can in the sports. I also get up at 4:30 to train before the family is up, this makes sure there is time to train before the chaos of the day takes hold. If I could go back, I’d wake up early when I was younger to prevent issues with getting the training in. "

"Unfortunately, I do a lousy job of balancing my time for my hobbies. Between work, my immediate family and helping two elderly parents, I'm struggling to find time to put in training for a century ride or throwing flies to smallmouth bass. It takes about 30 minutes to mow our small yards, I'm so time-crunched that I've hired it out the past two years. Thank goodness for Zwift and your app, so I can squeeze in bike rides on the trainer and workouts while everybody else is asleep. "

"A recognition of what is truly important in life helps. No one ever "has the time" to do some of the things we know we need to do, so we have to prioritize. A helpful book for me on this topic is 'Tyranny of the Urgent' by Charles Hummel. It's written from a Christian perspective, yet the principles can apply for just about anyone seeking to give proper time to the important things in life like physical fitness.

Establish a routine around when I go to bed and when I wake up has been helpful for maintaining physical fitness, but I have to guard this and say to no to some other activities. Proper sleep has helped ensure I get up early enough to train. In hindsight I would have prioritized this more in my 20's before having more responsibilities, as I think it would have eased the transitions in my life while still remaining active in physical fitness. "

"It’s almost impossible to find the time to maintain your sports or hobbies if you have a highly demanding job, and are trying to be a present parent and spouse. Something has to give, and it usually is and should be your hobbies. However maintaining one’s health should be a priority. So that usually means getting your training done early in the morning and getting it out of your way. Then your priorities should be your family and being a dependable individual in your profession. There is great fulfillment that comes from meeting and exceeding the obligations of life. In between there may be time to engage in your hobbies and doing so makes that time feel all the better. "

"1. Marry an understanding wife. Or even better, marry a wife who gets the multifaceted benefits of training as much as you. Kids are the ultimate priority so in our household there's a lot of YGIG childcare. For us it works and I think it works for the kids as well. They learn by being shown rather than being told, we show them looking after your body is good, discipline is good and...people are in far better moods after they get a bead on! 

2. Career-wise, just do whatever it takes to get your job done. I work early / late / weekends / holidays. It's no big deal to me because I enjoy what I do and this approach facilitates the life, sports and lifestyle I want. 

3. Key learning, when you work, work, don't try to dual screen (work on laptop whilst 'watching' tv. I find I can clear work in 30mins by solely focusing on it, the same work would take 2 hours of dual screening. First time contributing. Hope it's of use. Love your work."

"As a fellow who just turned forty, I always try to remember that life is a marathon and not a sprint. I’ve seen what disproportional focus in one direction had done to my life in my 20s and 30s and resolved I’m not living that way in this or subsequent decades."

"Being flexible with my schedule and duration - sometimes I train late at night after the kids go to bed. Sometimes I train early in the morning before they wake up. Sometimes my workouts are 25 minutes instead of 60 so I can fulfill other obligations. Sundays were ALWAYS rest days in the past but not anymore if I have to squeeze in a workout to stay consistent. I also bringing workout clothes and shoes on every business trip regardless of location, trip purpose, gym availability, trip length...just so I'm prepared to sweat if my schedule allows. I probably would have done a better job blocking my calendar for workouts so my family and colleagues know that time is reserved and show the importance of exercise for overall wellbeing. "

"I remain flexible and remember that family always comes first. I have career goals. I have hobby goals. All those come second to the needs of the family. I try to keep a regular fitness schedule. That said, I frequently push things back a day to accommodate work, sleep, or family time. I have learned that preparation is the key to making this work. 2-3 times per week, I sit down and look at the days ahead, review them with my family, and discuss any changes/updates that I have. I then prioritize my tasks as best as I can to make things work. "

"I am a fulltime student with quite a busy schedule. I think preparing for a wildfire season is tedious work while in school, but if you fail to prepare you greatly impact the performance of yourself and your crew. I also have partner, so I can’t be neglecting her just so that I can train and maintain a decent GPA. So I would say that the biggest attribute for me and my training is that I have to be disciplined and sacrifice some things. On average I wake up around 4:50 in the morning. Get my workout in, then I attend my classes and after that. I complete some homework. With my early mornings I sacrifice spending more time in bed. But overall it allows me the time to focus on my degree in the day and my relationship in the evening while still getting high quality workouts in the morning. "

1/ wake up early. 2/ every type of movement counts, even walking. 3/ not be near peak fitness all the time but have 1-2 times per year I will try and be at peak fitness that I have negotiated with my spouse, so will spend more time training in the 6-8 weeks leading up to that. "

"I use the idea of “dad hours.” In the morning, I get up everyday before the kids get up and get in the work I need to. On rare occasion I’ll work out during the day, but only if we have lots of free time. Then I try to have a couple events each year that I do on a weekend to prove to myself what I’m going is working. I would like to do one each quarter, but the money is a limiting factor. In the future, I plan to have more solo-events. That way I don’t have to travel or stay overnight anywhere, but I can just block off a day. I also need to work on having real training blocks instead of yo-yo training between different modalities (running, bodybuilding, powerlifting, Olympic lifting, METCONs mainly)"

"I include them as much as possible. I’ll run races with them in a stroller. I’ll put on races for them in the yard. I will work out when they want to even if I just finished my PT for the day. We’ll play Pony Express by doing sandbag drags with then riding the train. They get tossed if they don’t have a ticket. I wish I did it sooner. I wish I had the realization much sooner. "

"Everyone’s situation is different, and family roles/responsibilities/dynamics are as varied as each individual. However, time is a finite and zero-sum resource. I am an active duty Army officer and full time husband and dad of 3 young kids. My wife made the decision to put her own career on hold to be a stay at home mom. Given this dynamic, I decided years ago that if I have time to unilaterally engage in hobbies and interests that have nothing to do with family and work, then I am neglecting my responsibilities, which would then require someone else (usually my wife) to pick up the slack. I find it morally problematic to not pull my share of the workload. When I was single, I was into a variety of extracurricular activities - rock climbing, diving, hunting, fishing, rugby. I can’t imagine getting home from work today and telling my wife I’m going fishing, I’ll be back before dark, you guys enjoy your afternoon. She would tell me to pound sand and she would be right. Bottom line, my personal opinion is, if you’re a husband and dad and you have time for extracurricular activities, you’re most likely selfish and a bad partner. Maybe when my kids are older and they get interested in hobbies I used to do, I’ll be able to guide them through it. I still have all my rock climbing and hunting equipment. Regular exercise, on the other hand, is different. Not only is exercising the one thing everyone can do to maintain health, high fitness is also a job requirement for many of us. You just have to find a way to prioritize that… it can be hard to wake up to do PT when you’ve been up all night with a crying baby. It’s ok to miss a workout once or twice a week if that happens, but it’s not ok to use that as an excuse to miss 1-2 weeks of workouts. You can also move workouts to lunch breaks (most army units give an hour and a half for lunch - pack a lunch and hit the gym). Just make it a priority and be disciplined and creative about getting it in. "

"Typically it's sacrificing sleep. I don't have other obligations at 0430. I try to make up for it on the front end the night prior but sometimes late nights means less sleep before the workout. Does it have an effect aside from attitude? I'm sure it does but that's what coffee is for. Annoyingly, I've missed too many workouts betting on free time later in the day only for it to be snuffed because of an ad hoc staff meeting I really didn't need to be at anyway."

"I haven’t done a great job at it. I was an avid jiu-jitsu practitioner, but my children in travel sports and developing their skillset has taken that time over unfortunately/fortunately if you will. For me to get any type of physical activity in, I have to get creative. Taking the stairs over the elevator, parking the car a little farther, watching what I eat, etc. "

"All items noted contribute to the challenge. So - I try to include my family in my activities and vice-versa. Family skiing, rugby w/ the boys, hikes/walking w/ the girls. Its difficult w/ peoples' schedules and obligations. Try to do something every day."

"-Wake up early for running -Set up home gym to be at home while I work out. I can still help out with kids (2 babies) and give wife a break even while exercising "

"The main thing I did was gradually purchase items to create a home gym before having kids. Having and using it occasionally made the full transition to the home gym after kids came much easier. Also, shifting to doing more in a shorter time frame helps as less time to workout been to happen bc of more kids. Following the busy dad program now bc it’s exactly what I need"

A note about Arete …. I select the links and articles that make up Arete weekly. Those that I select are ones that I find interesting and/or important – either because of the topic or the source. Just because I select an article or link does not mean that I believe in what the article says or the veracity of the source. I’ve received criticism for including articles from the Pravda Report, Al Jazeera, etc. The reason the sources are listed is so you, the reader, can understand where the article comes from. I search far and wide for articles/links, and I find the Russian or Arab world takes on current events interesting, especially when juxtaposed with the US media sources and US government line.

Often, I’ll choose articles or links that are critical of tactical athletes, mountain athletes, or others in the MTI community. I don’t do this to piss you off or offend, but rather because I find that knowing what your opponents are writing and thinking is important for any professional. I find it interesting and, sometimes, enlightening. I’ve got nearly two decades of supporting mountain and tactical athletes, but being your cheerleader doesn’t help you grow or improve.

If I’ve chosen an article from a source that you don’t trust, you don’t have to read it. Likewise, if I’ve chosen an article with a headline, opinion, or viewpoint you don’t agree with, you don’t have to read it either. However, I’d encourage you to do so – especially those articles and links you disagree with. I always learn something, and you might too. – Rob Shaul

Military, National Defense, Foreign Policy

A note about Arete …. I select the links and articles that make up Arete weekly. Those that I select are ones that I find interesting and/or important – either because of the topic or the source. Just because I select an article or link does not mean that I believe in what the article says or the veracity of the source. I’ve received criticism for including articles from the Pravda Report, Al Jazeera, and the Moscow Times. The reason the sources are listed is so you, the reader, can understand where the article comes from. I search far and wide for articles/links, and I find the Russian or Arab world takes on current events interesting, especially when juxtaposed with the US media sources and US government line.

Often, I’ll choose articles or links that may be critical of tactical athletes, mountain athletes, or others in the MTI community. I don’t do this to piss you off or offend, but rather because I find that knowing what your opponents are writing and thinking is important for any professional. I find it interesting and, sometimes, enlightening. I’ve got nearly two decades of supporting mountain and tactical athletes, but being only your cheerleader doesn’t help you grow or improve.

If I’ve chosen an article from a source that you don’t trust, you don’t have to read it. Likewise, if I’ve chosen an article with a headline, opinion, or viewpoint you don’t agree with, you don’t have to read it either. However, I’d encourage you to do so – especially those articles and links you disagree with. I always learn something, and you might too. – Rob Shaul

Military, National Defense, Foreign Policy

By Felix Dowsley, MTI Contributor

Every week, our school fields seventy two students and fourteen staff in an ever-rotating program of whitewater paddling, rock climbing, service work, and downhill skiing. I read every incident report and look for trends, hoping to learn as much as I can and anticipate emerging risks. And at the end of the day, I have concluded that the most hazardous activity in our program is… kickball. 

Our staff comprises the fittest classroom teachers I’ve ever met because they are also professional mountain athletes. Each one of us at a minimum paddles class III whitewater and skis Southeastern black diamonds (more hazardous than you’d think— watch out for rocks, mud, and deathwish first-timers). Many of them race the Green Narrows, a few gear up for the Linville, and Monday morning staff coffee banter centers around the times (mellow or extreme) we spent outside over the weekend. Furthermore, the staff all manage risk aggressively, as demonstrated by our incredible safety record. Unless we’re playing field games. 

In one kickball game after a morning of grueling trail building, I tore ligaments in my knee and another staff member herniated his back. A student who wins at the national level in downhill mountain bike racing suffered his worst musculoskeletal injury during a game of touch football. A world-champion kayak freestyler and downriver racer was in a back brace for weeks because of an Ultimate frisbee game. In the two days between the first and second drafts of this essay, my ski-patrolling, kayak shredding friend strained her leg muscle… during soccer PE.

Why is PE more dangerous than all of our skiing, paddling, and climbing days put together? Because the risk/chaos intersection hovers just under the radar of a seasoned mountain instructor’s well-honed attention. Mountain athletes and professionals are pros at managing risk. But we can get hurt when we aren’t really focused on safety and intentional movement, even if the risk level and physical intensity of the activity are far less than our max. 

“Kickball” — aka PE at our program, and field sports in general– should result in fewer injuries than mountain adventure. But it results in more injuries with my team of mountain professionals coaching/playing because the scenario doesn’t demand the same level of attention. Serious mountain athletes and instructors know the moments when our movement needs every ounce of attention: maintaining footing and core tension while placing a “thank goodness” piece of pro or keeping laser focus on the set-up eddy while ferrying above a hazardous drop. PE, on the other hand, is geared towards fun, friendly competition, and sports fluency. As we tell our students, “none of us are going pro in four-square today.” The objective hazards are also low: a pothole in the sports field, maybe, and the potential for a collision with a student or basketball post. The terrain is laughably tame compared to the mountains where we honed our risk management craft. So as a result, we get loose, play into the kids’ desire for catharsis (nothing relieves tension like getting to peg your principal with a dodgeball), and forget that our thirty, forty, fifty year old bodies can’t plant and pivot like a fourteen year old, even if we can plant and pivot on granite or waterfalls.

The observation that in our program PE results in more injuries than mountain adventure can be applied metaphorically back to mountain pursuits. My all-time worst climbing injury happened on the ground after the last climb of the day. The first heavy drops of an afternoon thunderstorm sent my buddy and me hustling for the trailhead and slapping each other on the back for our excellent timing. I’d left my approach shoes in the car, keeping my Chacos on instead because hey, it was the first Friday afternoon of the summer and I was going climbing! But the boulders below the north side of Looking Glass are slippery as snot when it rains. Jangling down the trail, I skidded out, dropped a couple feet, and landed on the side of my left foot. Turns out the side of a chaco is a massive lever, and I heard the audible pop of my fifth metatarsal. I spent my upcoming Colorado trip running river shuttles for my wife and our friends, puttering around in a ducky, and trying not to think about the epic lines in Rocky Mountain National Park I’d dreamed about all school year. Though ducky surfing the town wave in Buena Vista was truly rad, I wanted to kick myself for treating my hike out from the mountains as casually as a game of kickball. 

So how can I beware of kickball scenarios in the mountains? When mountain travel is less demanding and more casual, it makes sense to lower my intensity of exertion, but I shouldn’t let low intensity bring lack of focus along with it. I can stay aware of my body even if the required intensity of effort is lower than my high-focus moment. Messing around is fun, but if I’m not still aware of my body, what it’s doing, and its limits, gravity will set me straight the hard way. Plus I’m more likely to throw my body around in an unusual way if I’m not thinking about it. So when it’s my at-bat, I take a little breath to check myself before I wreck myself in a casual kickball game.

Felix is an educator and mountain professional in North Carolina.  

Jesse Hall, MTI Contributor

“I run and ruck about 35 miles per week, have been consistently doing that for 3 months, and I usually do a long run of at least a half marathon on the weekend. My goal is a 30-minute 5-mile run and a 2-hour 12-mile ruck,” the Ranger told me.

“Problem is though, I’ve been having shin splints whenever I run, right here *points to boot top level on his right shin* and I even had to cut a run short because of it. I’m only a month away from BRC (Best Ranger Competition), what do I do?”

“Well, are your shoes still good?,” I asked?

“They are only a couple of months old and I only wear them when I run… I think they are still good.”

“Okay, so what’s your cadence?,” I asked.

“My what?”

“Your running cadence… pull up your Garmin app and let me see your phone.”

I looked through his most recent runs and found an easy run of about 10 miles, clicked it, and scrolled through his stats to find his average running cadence: it was 160 steps per minute. 

Jackpot. His cadence was too slow.

“I think your cadence is too low and that’s why you’re having shin splints when you run,” I told him.

“Really? What’s a cadence?”

“Let’s go to the treadmill and I’ll show you.”

Whenever a soldier comes to see me with shin splints, the first thing I want to know about is their training history. 

Shin splints are simply an overuse injury, and they happen when running and rucking volume is higher than the volume that someone’s muscles and bones are adapted to. 

Picture going down a steep hill in your car. If you keep pressure on the brakes the entire time, the friction makes them get too hot and can damage the components. So, what you’re supposed to do is hold your brakes for a couple seconds, let go to let them recover, then go hard on the brakes again. Repeat all the way down.

You get shin splints when you don’t let your ‘brakes’ recover and your shin bones start to develop hot spots from the overuse. 

With this Ranger, who was at the top of his game physically, the issue with his running and rucking volume was more about technique than the number of miles he was putting in. And that’s where cadence comes into play. 

Running cadence is the number of steps you take in 1 minute. For most people, the ideal range is between 170 and 180. For someone used to running with a much lower cadence, running between 170 and 180  steps per minute will feel awkward – like taking short, choppy steps.

But with a cadence of 165 or lower, your foot is hitting the ground out in front of your body instead of underneath it, which forces your shin bones instead of calf muscles to absorb more of the shock when you hit the ground. 

For those with shin splints and a cadence of 165 or lower, I want to increase their cadence so the calves do more of the work instead of the shins. 

Here’s the method for increasing this Ranger’s running cadence: 

Step 1: Download a metronome app onto your phone

Step 2: Hop on a treadmill and run for 5 minutes at an easy pace you could hold for a long time

Step 3: We want to find your natural cadence, so while you’re running at that easy pace, change the metronome to match the pace of your steps. Key point here: don’t change your steps to match the metronome yet. 

For Ranger, his natural cadence was 160. Again, this means that he would take 160 steps per minute and the metronome would tick with every foot strike when set to 160. 

Step 4: Changing your cadence feels clunky at first, so only increase the metronome by 5-10 beats at a time. Stick with that higher goal cadence for 2-3 minutes until you start to get the hang of it. 

If the first change doesn’t bring your cadence between 170 and 180 per minute, all good; run at that initial increase for a week and then increase it again 5-10 steps/minute. 

Now that you know what it feels like to run at the higher cadence, it’s time to practice so you can develop muscle memory. Before starting a run, prime yourself by warming up with a 5-minute light jog at the goal cadence using the metronome.

If running on the treadmil, have your metronome up in front of you as you run. If running outside, run while listening to the sound of the metronome in your headphones. 

Both of those tactics are highly effective but overkill after a while. Once you get into the groove of what it feels like to run at the goal cadence you won’t need the metronome.

For Ranger, he actually felt a difference in his shin pain while running at 170 instead of 160 steps per minute. He looked at me in a “how did you know” kind of way, and I just smiled and set the metronome to 175. 

At 175, he had practically no pain with each foot strike—he was shocked. 

From my perspective, it was clear why his pain went away: the front of his foot, AKA his forefoot, was hitting the treadmill before his heel and directly under his body. He had his chest up with a slight forward lean. 

His calves were doing their jobs—absorbing the shock with each step and using it to propel him forward. 

Step 5: Go train at the higher cadence

I reached out to Ranger a week later to see how he was doing. Through his text, I still got the impression he wanted to say “how did you know,” because the results were a complete 360 from the last time we spoke. 

“Increasing the cadence has helped a ton. I ran a 20 miler on Sunday and felt great!”

My man. Good luck at BRC. RLTW. 

So, does this mean shin splints are always an issue of running technique? No. I’ll give you three other instances where the issue is likely to be something else: 

1. Your shoes are toasted, and it’s time to change them out. 400 miles max per pair of shoes, maybe 300 if you have one of those high-performance shoes with the carbon plate. 

2. Your weekly mileage has increased significantly in the last 8 weeks in big chunks, an example being going from 10 to 20 miles per week in back-to-back weeks. Here’s my rule of thumb for increasing running mileage week over week: You can increase your mileage 1 mile for every session of training you do in a week, but no more. So, if you run 3 times per week, you can increase your weekly mileage up to 3 miles next week. If you run 6 times per week, increase by no more than 6 miles next week. 

3. You’re out of shape compared to how much running and rucking you’re trying to do. This is very common in basic training when you get new recruits that have never ran a single mile in their lives before joining the military and now they have to run everywhere, all day. This also happens in selection environments when candidates may run and ruck 100 miles in a week. That’s tough to prepare for no matter your training history. 

Well, there you have it. It is amazing what a slight change in running form can do for shin splints. If you are dealing with shin pain, I recommend you ask yourself if you fall into either of those 3 groups above. If not, check your cadence. Increasing it could provide you with the solution you’re looking for. 

Got a question for me? Hit me up at jessehallpt@gmail.com. 

Jesse is a US Army Captain and Brigade Physical Therapist and Strength & Conditioning Coach.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: 
All content found on Mountain Tactical Institute is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website. 

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