Big 24 Strength Training Program
This 5-week training program is designed to add significant strength to athletes without significant weight gain. It is our most intense and successful program for building strength. Big 24 has been improved and updated multiple times.
This is Version 5, updated October 2024.
Program Description
Big 24 is a progressive, intense, 5-week, 5 days/week gym-based training program.
This training program can be completed in a commercial gym with basic free weight equipment.
The program is built around these exercises:
- Back Squat – One of the key lifts to build strength. High bar or low bar doesn’t matter, pick one and be consistent.
- Hinge Lift – MTI’s version of the classic Dead Lift.
- Thurster – Simple, Total Body Strength Movement with a Power Component.
- Military Press -Classic upper body vertical pressing strength exercise.
- Bench Press – Classic upper body horizontal pressing strength exercise.
- Weighted Pull Ups (men) – Builds upper body pulling strength.
The power of Big 24 comes through these exercises and a simple but aggressive progression. The name “Big 24” is derived from the number of total reps you will perform for most of these exercises during the training sessions, except for Thruster and Pull Ups
During the Lower/Total Body Big 24 training sessions, you will do 8 sets of 3 reps (24 reps total) of Back Squat and Hinge Lift, and 8 sets of 2 reps of the Thruster.
During the Upper Body Big 24 training sessions, you will do 8 sets of 3 reps (24 reps total) of and Bench Press and Military Press, and MTI’s proven density programming for the pull ups.
As you work through the program, be sure not to push the loading progression. Be patient, not greedy, and complete the training sessions as prescribed. By the end of the second week, you’ll find working through Big 24 is like going to battle with the barbell. It is very intense.
Also, don’t skip ahead. Complete the training sessions in order.
Finally, the training plan also includes a mid-week, short, 30-minute, recovery run or spin.
Weekly Schedule
- Monday – Back Squat, Dead Lift, Thruster
- Tuesday – Bench Press, Weighted Pull Up (men), Military Press
- Wednesday – 30-Minute Recovery Run or Spin
- Thursday – Back Squat, Dead Lift, Thruster
- Friday – Bench Press, Weighted Pull Up (men), Military Press
Equipment Needed
This plan can be completed in any commercial gym with barbells, a rack, bench and pull up bar. You’ll also need a backpack and 15# of plates for the weighted pull ups (men only, – women perform pull ups unloaded).
Common Questions
How long should the training sessions take?
40-75 minutes.
What if I can’t keep up the Monday to Friday Training Schedule?
If for any reason you cannot keep this Monday-Friday training schedule, do not skip a training session. Rather, complete all the training sessions in succession. Whatever the schedule, always take two days a week, ideally together, as total rest.
What if I’m a rookie at barbell strength training?
The exercises deployed in Big 24 are technically simple. You’ll be fine.
What about unfamiliar exercises?
Learn them or brush up here: http://mtntactical.com/category/exercises/
What about my diet?
Eating well does not take rocket science. It takes discipline. Here are our recommended diet guidelines:
6 days/week – eat as much meat, vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts as you want – no restriction. Drink only water, coffee or tea. Do not eat bread, pasta, or grain of any kind, no potatoes, corn or other starchy vegetables. No sugar, candy, soda or alcohol.
1 day/week – cheat like a mother. Eat/drink anything you want.
What about supplements?
We don’t take them. If you, we’d recommend only drinking a 20-30 gram, low carb, whey protein shake after training.
What if I have more questions?
Email: rob@mtntactical.com
Good luck!
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
This plan can be completed in any commercial gym with barbells, a rack, and dumbbells. In addition, you will need a stop watch with an interval timer for the 40-foot and 300m Shuttles (Ironman Timex is best). You'll also need a backpack you can add plates to for weighted pull ups.
Session 1
OBJ: Lower, Total Strength Assessment
Warm Up:
- 4 Rounds:
- 8x Back Squat - Start with an empty barbell and increase load each warm-up round
- 8x Push Ups
- 8x Dumbbell/Kettlebell Hinge Lift - 25/35# dumbbell or 12/15kg kettlebell
- Instep Stretch
- Lat + Pec Stretch
Training:
- 8 Rounds:
- 3x Back Squat - Increase load each round until 3x is hard but doable
- 3rd World Stretch
RECORD FINISHING LOAD
- 8 Rounds:
- 3x Hinge Lift - Increase Load Each Round until 3x is Hard but Doable
- Hip Flexor Stretch
RECORD FINISHING LOAD
- 8 Rounds:
- 2x Thruster - Increase load each round until 2x is hard but doable
- Pigeon Stretch
RECORD FINISHING LOAD
Session 2
OBJ: Upper Strength Assessment
Warm Up:
- 4 Rounds:
- 8x Bench Press - Women start at an empty barbell and men start at 85#, then increase load each warm-up round
- 1x Pull Up
- 4x Dumbbell Military Press - Women start at 15#, Men start at 25#, then increase load each warm-up round
- Shoulder Dislocate
Training:
- 8 Rounds:
- 3x Bench Press - Increase load each round until 3x is hard, but doable
- Lat + Pec Stretch
RECORD FINISHING LOAD
- Max Rep Pull Ups:
- Men - Wear a 15# Pack
- Women - Unloaded
RECORD MAX REPS
- 8 Rounds:
- 3x Military Press - Increase load each round until 3x is hard, but doable
- Foam Roll Low Back
RECORD FINISHING LOAD
Session 3
OBJ: Recovery Run or Spin
Warm Up:
- Training:
- 30-Minute Run at an Easy Pace
- "Easy" = You can speak in full sentences while moving
Cooldown:
- 1 Round:
- Foam Roll Legs
Session 4
OBJ: Lower, Total Strength Progression
Warm Up:
- 4 Rounds:
- 8x Back Squat - Start with an empty barbell and increase load each warm-up round
- 8x Push Ups
- 8x Dumbbell/Kettlebell Hinge Lift - 25/35# dumbbell or 12/15kg kettlebell
- Instep Stretch
- Lat + Pec Stretch
Training:
- 8 Rounds:
- 3x Back Squat
- Use Loading Scheme Below
- 3rd World Stretch
Round 1: 50% SESSION 1 Finishing Load
Round 2: 60% SESSION 1 Finishing Load
Round 3: 80% SESSION 1 Finishing Load
Rounds 4-8: SESSION 1 Finishing Load minus 10 pounds
Example: If your SESSION 1 Finishing Load was 200#:
- Round 1: 3x Back Squat @ 100#
- Round 2: 3x Back Squat @ 130#
- Round 3: 3x Back Squat @ 160#
- Rounds 4-8: 3x Back Squat @ 190# (200# - 10#)
- 8 Rounds:
- 3x Hinge Lift
- Use same loading scheme that you did for the Back Squat
- Hip Flexor Stretch
- 8 Rounds:
- 2x Thruster
- Use the same loading scheme that you used for the Back Squat and Hinge Lift, except do 2 reps per set (2x)
Pigeon Stretch
Session 5
OBJ: Upper Strength Progression
Warm Up:
- 8x Bench Press - Women start at an empty barbell and men start at 85#, then increase load each warm-up round
- 1x Pull Up
- 4x Dumbbell Military Press - Women start at 15#, Men start at 25#, then increase load each warm-up round
- 5x Shoulder Dislocate
Training:
- 8 Rounds:
- 3x Bench Press - See loading below
- Lat + Pec Stretch
Round 1: 50% SESSION 2 Finishing Bench Press Load
Round 2: 60% SESSION 2 Finishing Bench Press Load
Round 3: 80% SESSION 2 Finishing Bench Press Load
Rounds 4-8: SESSION 2 Finishing Bench Press Load minus 10 pounds
Example: Your SESSION 2 Finishing Bench Press Load was 100#:
- Round 1: 3x Bench Press @ 50#
- Round 2: 3x Bench Press @ 65#
- Round 3: 3x Bench Press @ 80#
- Rounds 4-8: 3x Bench Press @ 90# (100# - 10#)
- 6 Rounds, Every 75 Seconds:
- 30% Max Rep Pull Up Reps from SESSION 2
- Women unloaded, Men wear a 15# backpack
- Hip Flexor Stretch
Example: If you scored 10 Pull Ups on the SESSION 2 Assessment, 10 x 3 = 3. On “GO” complete 3 pull ups, then rest the remaining of the 75-second interval before completing the next round.
- 8 Rounds:
- 3x Military Press
- Foam Roll Low Back
Back squat 3rm: 180lbs->235. 1rm 185->245
Hang squat clean 2rm: 125lbs->160
Bench press 3rm: 120lbs->145. 1rm 130lbs->155
Push press 2rm: 110lbs->135
"I transitioned to your plans around the time that COVID hit because as a combat arms officer, they strike the right balance of strength, work capacity, and endurance. I find your plans much more relatable to my job requirements than any other CrossFit based plans such as CompTrain or Brute Body. I think a lot of these plans try to achieve other goals. I have had very positive results and experiences with your Big 24 based plans and your Bodyweight Foundation Plan.
I had taken a break due to training requirements from heavy barbell work and through the Big 24 based plan (canvas I think?) I was able to get back a good 30lbs per lift.
In November I deployed and went through a 33-day quarantine, which initially was thought to be only 14 days. I transitioned to the Bodyweight Foundation Plan and I have to say that despite no control over what the army was feeding me, I maintained good muscular endurance and was able to get back some mileage that I had not done in a while. I maybe lost a little bit of top end strength once I had a barbell but not as much as if I would’ve done another program.
I have recommended your Athlete's Subscription to several members of my unit and a few have become new subscribers. Your constant tweaking of the plans and mini studies are great and I can’t wait to start another plan now that I have more access to equipment.
Pretty great program.
SQUAT 345 x 3
Lunges 85 x3
HSC 225 x 2
Bench 275 x 3
15lb pull ups x 15
Push press 185x2
WEEK 7 FINAL
SQUAT 455 x 3
LUNGES 125 x 3
HSC 265 x 2
BENCH 310 x 3
25lb PU x 20
220 x 2 Push Press
My results are as follows:
squat: 295 lbs increase to 330 lbs
lunges: 85 lb dumbbell to 100 lb dumbbell with 15 pound sandbag across shoulders (100 is the heaviest dumbbells we have)
hang squat cleans: 175 lbs to 205 lbs
bench: 235 lbs to 250 lbs
pull ups: see above
push press: 180 lbs to 200 lbs
By the way the hang squat clean and push press are hellacious lifts that I've only rarely done but I'm very interested in them now. After resting for the remainder of this week I want to do the relative strength assessment and see where I'm at and later try Operator Ugly. My partner and I are Deputy U.S. Marshals and practical, functional training is very important to us. I'd like to come by your gym one of these days but in the mean time I think I will be working on the "Spirits" package. I'd hate to lose the strength gains I've made but I know my anaerobic capacity and endurance needs beefing up. You had recommended that package to accomplish this and after my success with the Big 24 I am much more open to structured programming. Thanks and take care.
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I just finished your Big 24. I haven't trained since last Christmas! So needless to say, it was an awful 4 weeks. I started completely out of shape! I warmed up on the lower body days with the barbell complex, the 36 reps, and replaced walking lunges with Hinge Lifts (I pulled my groin in the past doing lunges), and did Hang Cleans second before Hinge Lifts, and did them on the minute, so a total of 9 minutes.
From this passing strength cycle I got 285# HSC at a body weight of 185# for the 10-09-13 session. I exceeded my PR Squat Clean of 275#. I can honestly feel comfortable saying from the ground I can get 295#-305#. This Big 24 was a no shitter. Love it. Thanks. -- S
*****************************
I recently finished up the Big 24 Strength Plan and it was dead on. I made substatial gains in all the lifts involved, and the weighted calistenics always challenged me. I doubled up the Big 24 with the Core Strength 1 plan and the two really seemed to work well with each other. I have done the Core Strength plan twice now and have always enjoyed it. Each time I complete it, I can definitely feel the strength carry over to everything else that I do.
I am currently heading into the second week of the 369 plan, and I’m finding it to be a real smoker. Its reminded me how much my work capacity has taken a hit in the last few months. Its turning out to be exactly what I need. I would also like to state, that the transition from Big 24 into 369 has been very smooth. The two programs are terrific complements to each other.
Thanks for all the programming and always answering my questions,
- M
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What Equipment is Required?
Click the "Required Equipment" tab to find out what equipment is required for the specific plan you are interested in.
Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE. The Run and Ruck Calculators are listed as exercises.
What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.
Can I see sample training?
Click the “Sample Training” tab to see the entire first week of programming. You are encouraged to do it before purchasing.
What if I have more questions?
Email rob@mtntactical.com