By Anna Woodring, MTI Head Strength & Conditioning Coach/Researcher BLUF: The first study examined the effects of “smart drugs” on cognitive performance in non-ADHD individuals in highly competitive environments. The findings suggest that taking smart drugs may have negative consequences for cognitive performance, particularly among high-performing individuals without ADHD. The second article examines how the […]
Research
Lab Rats Needed To Take MTI’s Aerobic Base Assessment
By Rob Shaul, Founder One of the frustrations I’ve had over the years with conventional endurance coaches and programming is their emphasis on aerobic base training, but inability to clearly define a specific and simple assessment of aerobic base. Conventional endurance programming begins with aerobic base programming – primarily long, slow efforts in the Zone […]
Mini Study: Short Sprints outperform Heavy Squats and Lunges to Improve 3-Mile Run Times
By Rob Shaul, Founder BLUF Short sprints of 50m, 100m and 200m out performed a strength progression of heavy lunges and back squats to improve 3-Mile Run times for remote, veteran, MTI athletes. Background Multiple scholarly studies have been conducted to research the impact of heavy resistance training on distance running. Research has found that […]
Mini-Study: Lab Rats Average 8% Fight Gone Bad Improvement Following Event-Specific Programming
By Rob Shaul, Founder BLUF Remote, well-trained, MTI Lab Rats achieved an average 8% overall score increase on the CrossFit “Fight Gone Bad” WOD following event-specific program design. Background and Study Design A handful law enforcement agencies around the country use three rounds of “Fight Gone Bad” (FGB) as an annual fitness assessment. We’ve been […]
Lab Rats Needed to Test “Fight Gone Bad” Programming
By Rob Shaul MTI is calling for remote lab rats for an upcoming, narrow and focused, 3.5 weeks, 5 or 6-day/week Mini-Study testing programming we’ve developed to improve the overall score of the famed CrossFit WOD, “Fight Gone Bad.” This Mini-Study will begin Monday, January 2, 2022. The deadline to apply is 1700 Mountain […]
Mini Study Results: Back Squats defeat Dead Lifts and Thrusters to be crowned the “King of Strength Exercises”
By Rob Shaul, Founder BLUF This Mini Study compared the total body strength building capacity of three classic strength exercises: Back Squat, Dead Lift and Thruster. The results found that the Back Squat dominated the contest. The Back Squat Group not only increased strength more across the board, but they also increased strength on the […]
Minimizing Injury Risk with Load Carriage in Tactical Athletes through Strength and Conditioning: A Critical Review of the Literature
By Tammy Kovaluk, MTI Contributor Tactical athletes need to perform high level tasks while carrying additional load. Law enforcement personnel, search and rescue, and firefighters all carry loads that are typically 20kg, typically as high as 40kg (5). Military soldiers bear the highest loads, well over 45kg (100+ pounds), a likely cause of the […]
Mini Study: Loaded Step Ups have Little Transfer to Rucking Speed
By Rob Shaul BLUF This 3.5-week Mini-Study investigated the transfer of loaded step ups to rucking. Six remote, lab rats completed the 3.5 Week study which began with a 3-Mile Ruck for Time carrying a 40-pound ruck. After a days’ rest, the lab rats completed a 30-minute Step Up for Reps Assessment wearing a […]
Mini Study: Dumbbell Strength Training Maintains to Slightly Increases, 1RM Barbell Strength
By Rob Shaul BLUF Five experienced, veteran MTI Lab Rats tested the ability of Dumbbell Strength Training to increase 1RM (1 repetition max), max effort barbell strength. Results found that dumbbell strength training maintained to slightly increasing max effort barbell strength, but did a much better job at increasing dumbbell-based strength. Average Overall Barbel […]
Mini Study: Backwards Sled Drags Match Forward Sled Drags in Strength and Work Capacity Improvement
By Rob Shaul BLUF The strength and work capacity improvement difference between Forward Sled Pull Intervals and Backward Sled Pull Intervals is negligible. In two separate mini studies, remote lab rats saw 1 Repetition Max (1RM) strength and sprint-based improvements after following a 3-week training program which featured forward or backward sled pull […]