Thus far MTI has conducted 118 Mini-Studies. Below are hyperlinks to the full write ups and bullet points of the findings.
– Rob Shaul, Founder
1 Pound On Your Foot Equals 5 Pounds On Your Back: The 5 Thumb Rules of Hiking
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- One pound on your feet equals five pounds on your back. (1 lb. feet = 5 lb. back)
- One pound on your feet equals five percent more energy expended. (lb. ft = 5% more energy)
- Every one percent of your body weight makes you six seconds slower per mile. (1% BW = +6 sec./mi.)
- Ten percent grade incline cuts your speed in half. (10% uphill = 1/2 speed)
- Going up slows you down twice as much as going down speeds you up. Every percent of incline adds 15 seconds to your mile pace. Every percent of decline takes 8 sec. off of your mile pace. (Uphill = +15 sec./mi.; Downhill = -8 sec./mi.)
2018 Rock Climbing Pre-Season cycle Results and Discussion
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- Rock Climbing cycle consisted of a 5-week training cycle with the focus being primarily on strength.
- The two rock climb specific exercises used to focus on strength were campus board dynes and campus dead hangs.
- Hinge lift and Scotty Bobs were used for general strength progression.
- V-Sums were conducted every Monday to assess climber finger and grip strength. 6 of 7 saw a substantial increase in V-Sums over the cycle.
- Limitations were levels of Moon Boards being challenging for inexperienced climbers resulting in less significant V-Sum improvement.
Airsoft Mini-Study result: Better than Dry fire, but not much Traction
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- Assess the affects on airsoft target has on marksmanship.
- Airsoft and dry fire did not correlate to an increase in marksmanship.
- Potential limitations from the study that the study was not long enough, not enough lab rats, airsoft target practice protocol flawed.
Alpinist Fitness Assessment Results
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- Tests occurred over two days with a psychological testing day 1, and Alpinist Fitness Assessment day 2.
- 5 athletes tested four men and one woman, all high level alpinists.
- Results shown shown Alpinism requires a wide variety of fitness attributes such as endurance, grip and upper body strength, and aerobic power.
- Alpinist Fitness Assessment (AFA) showed a strong measure of the fitness demands for Alpinists based on the scores.
An Assessment of a Midsize, Urban, Midwestern Fire Department
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- Many fire departments have weak fitness cultures with an inadequate support for fitness and participation in fitness training.
- An assessment was conducted for specific research and a Job Task Analysis for the Fire/Rescue Athletes.
- The objective was to develop a department specific fitness assessment that creates a functional, job specific training program.
Are We There Yet? Part 1: Developing A Tool To Estimate Ruck Times
- Seven factors that effect speed are terrain, load, incline, decline, fitness, weather, tactical situation.
- Four total “rules” are looked at for being able to estimate travel time
- Currently working on developing a simple tool for the military and mountain professionals to easily utilize for estimating movement times.
Arm or Leg Injury? Train the Other Limb to Build Strength in Both
- Unilateral training studies have found measurable strength gains in untrained limbs, training one limb helps build both.
- Neurological adaptations take place in reports of mirroring effects in the unused muscle.
- Used Athos EMG to detect electrical activity generated by the muscles
- Six exercises tested with each exercise using 5 rounds of 30-second intervals.
- Research showed an effect to be 7-11% increase in strength.
At Steep Grades Using Trekking Poles is 20% Easier and 10% more Efficient
- Six athletes used to hike uphill loaded with 40% of their body weight for two days.
- Two groups utilized, one as the control group without poles and the other using poles for one of the hike days.
- Distance of hiking path was 1000m with an average grade of 47.4%.
- Self-selected pace, speed, distance, heart rate, and breathing rate all collected.
- Trekking poles have a positive effect on uphill efficiency of 10%, uphill movement, and decreased perceived effort of 20%.
Athena Study Final Review: Process, Final Results, and Next Steps
- Awareness for the athletes who exhibit knee stability issues.
- Correction and Progression utilized after understanding how to correct their issues, through the use of drills to become more dynamic.
- The drop jump test shows whether an athlete will experience knee dive
The single leg squat test identifies hip strength deficits.
Athena Study: Redefining knee injury prevention training for adolescent female athletes
- Female adolescent athletes three times more likely to suffer an ACL tear.
- Knee injury reduction plan Athena combines neuromuscular training with resistance training.
- Progressions for this plan establish good movement quality, and maintaining trained movement quality while loaded and dynamic conditions.
Athena: The next evolution of adolescent female training for knee injury risk reduction
- Purpose of Athena training program increase neuromuscular control by improving or reintegrating basic movement patterns under a range of activities, increase muscular activity, and long-term efficacy of adaptation.
- Athena uses a combination of strength and plyometric/agility training that is progressed and scaled to the athlete.
Do Trekking Poles Make You More Efficient?
- Four conditions this study wanted to examine were horizontal unloaded movement, horizontal loaded movement, incline unloaded movement, and incline loaded movement.
- Pilot study conducted to evaluate experiments format for follow on studies.
- Based on the research shown tracking poles have little to no impact on outdoor, horizontal, unloaded walking efficiency.
Does Load Carriage Affect Lactate Threshold (LT) Heart Rate?
- First battery of tests two unloaded and loaded at 25 pounds. Uphill skinning unloaded, uphill running unloaded, uphill hiking loaded. Results LT heart rate same for both unloaded events. LT heart rate for the loaded event lower than the unloaded events.
- Second battery of tests consisted of uphill skinning landed, uphill running laded, and uphill hiking unloaded. Load carriage had no significant effect on LT heart rate. Speed of hitting LT changed with loaded LT being 20% slower.
Dry Fire Mini-Study Results: Either Dry Fire Hurts Marksmanship or We’ve Got Work To Do
- No significant results on if dry fire improves marksmanship.
- Limitations included potentially the need for more lab rats, study not long enough, protocol flawed.
Dryland Ski Cycle Adds Quad Muscle, Cuts Overall Weight from Lab Rats
- 7-week drylands ski training cycle, emphasis on eccentric leg strength, leg lactate tolerance, chassis integrity, and uphill hiking/skinning endurance.
- Average of .6% weight loss
- Quad muscle average of an increase of 4.3% or 1 inch.
Endurance Fitness Snapshot of MARSOC Marines
- Developed the MTI 3/3/3 Military Endurance Assessment
- The scores from the Marines validate the assessment and scoring system. Scoring was spread out over a relative curve, showing the assessment is valid.
Event Nutrition: Candy Bars over Endurance Supplements
- Analyzed popular supplements in endurance sports and candy bars to see which provided the greatest caloric density per ounce. Caffeine also evaluated as well.
- If calories and weight are primary concern consume candy bars and dark chocolate
- Gus and energy chews are excellent for race nutrition but expensive
- Recommended a more complete meal and mixing water with electrolytes
Firefighter Glove Grip Strength Study and Results
- Testing the grip strength of three glove brands Holik, Pro-Tech, and Shelby
- Grip tested prior with hand dynamometer
- Three subjects had gloves, while one was bare. All conducted a grip intensive circuit
- Not enough evidence to conclude that different gloves make a difference in grip strength.
Get off your feet, soldier! A first look at three recovery positions and economy of effort
- Lab rats assigned to one of the recovery positions: standing, kneeling, laying prone.
- 30/30 protocol in 25lb vest for 10 minutes
- Data collection was collected through heart rate monitors
- Differences found between HR recovery and repeated performance are linked closer to the individuals fitness rather than the recovery position.
Jetfoil Deep Dive: Small Canister=22 Meals
- JetBoil brand fuel not worth the additional cost
- MSR ISOPRO 8 oz fastest boil time and roughly 10% faster than JetBoil Four Season Mix 3.5
Marksmanship, Stress and Energy Drink-Initial Results
- Tested non-stressed vs stressed marksmanship. Non-stressed is with kneeling fire, stressed has incorporated shuttle runs then kneeling fire. Stressed drill resulted in large decrease in shooting performance and an increase in HR measures.
- Tested the effects of energy drink consumption on non-stressed vs stressed marksmanship. Non-stressed drill two of three groups which were double energy drink and no energy drink showed decreases in performance. Stressed drills all three groups showed improvements.
Mini study finds 1 lb on your feet= 4 lbs on your back for slow hiking pace
- Body responds to loads the same whether heavier shoe or heavier pack
- Unless performance is critical shoe weight is not worth the money
- Aim to test 1/3 less overall training volume was as effective at increasing fitness across multiple variables as a higher training program
- 4-week cycle with high and low volume groups. 1RM strength assessments and 3-mile run assessments used as markers.
- Results shown for all athletes. Less overall training volume is a win/win for the athletes and will be investigated further in decreasing the impact on an athlete’s body long term.
Mini Study Results: Apex Lab Rats Increase Strength, Strength Endurance, Run and Ruck Times
- Able to increase 1RM strength back squat, max rep push ups and pull ups, 1-mile run and 6-mile ruck time concurrently. In 3.5 week cycle.
- Tested MTI’s “Apex” fitness standards
- Five lab rats completed the programming with an improvement in all areas with the exception for one athlete for one event.
- Compared total body strength to back squat, dead lift, and thruster
- Back squat lead at increased strength compared to all other exercises
- Three lab rat groups for 3.5 weeks, 5 days a week of training. Each group had the same strength methodology but utilized the exercise assigned.
- Back squat had higher numbers across the board in complete total body strength assessment. This can be due to heavier loads and more overall muscle recruitment that carried for all other exercises.
- Fewer and shorter training sessions of 45-minutes achieved similar results for strength, work capacity, and endurance improvement compared to longer 60 minute training sessions.
- 4-week study on effects of training volume across strength, sprint-based work capacity, and endurance
- Three groups divided into high volume 60 minute session, low volume 60 minute session, high volume 45 minute session.
- All groups saw improvements over all variables, indicating the 45 minute group is just as effective as the longer sessions.
- Female lab rats divided into two strength groups for a 6-week percentage based strength progression cycle
- Heavy loading and low volume had greater strength improvements showing that females have greater effects than males with this type of programming
Mini Study Results: High Rep Kettlebell Snatches Maintain General Strength, Increase Work Capacity
- Three weeks of high rep kettlebell snatches maintained general strength and increased sprint based work capacity.
- 12 lab rats completed a 3.5 week mini study to test transferability of high repetition kettlebell snatches to max strength, strength endurance, and sprint based work capacity.
- Results not significant enough to state that high rep kettlebell snatches improve strength, but no strength was lost.
- Being a technical exercise and high rep could have led to the lab rats result of only maintain in strength.
- 3-week mini study designed to compare the improvement in 2-mile run time with individuals training with a run emphasis and those training with a strength emphasis program.
- Lap rats in the Army were broken into two groups that focused on either running or strength emphasis.
- Results were huge improvements for both groups. Leaving the study inconclusive from the spread distributed in both groups.
Mini Study Results: Improving Heavy Rucking and Upper Body Pulling Strength in Females
- 11 females completed all components of the study that included rope climbs, pull ups, and rucking.
- The two protocols use were variable weight ruck plus bodyweight pulling and same weight ruck plus loaded pulling.
- Improvements ranged from 10-31%.
- Greater improvement in loaded pull up progression vs bodyweight progression.
- Both groups similar improvements in 3-mile ruck time at heavy load.
- Recommend 3 days a week of heavy rucking at either variable or same wight loaded and utilizing a progression of loaded pull-ups.
- Lab rats following MTI nutritional guidelines outperform in Big 3 + 5 mile running program
- Nutritional group 11.98% vs non 9.72% increase in strength. Slight difference in nutritional group out performing in endurance.
- 2 groups one recovery shake and one no shake for 6 week backcountry skiing pre season training cycle
- All athletes saw improvement
- Is recovery shake worth the cost, no. No significant improvement in performance.
- Compare effectiveness in progression to increase 1RM bench press
- Rat 6 saw highest improvement but not significant enough to rule out the others, as the assessment was 3.5 weeks.
- 10% strength gain with Big 36 progression in 3 weeks
- Simple but aggressive progression
- 5 classic barbell strength exercises used
- 10% strength gain over 3 strength exercises in 3 weeks. Men more strength gain than women.
- Training age heavy in article
- 3RM used heavily with 2RM for total body exercises
- Endurance intervals used of 1 or 2 mile repeats
- 3 week 5 day 20-40 minute grinds for max strength and sprint work capacity and endurance
- Grinds maintained strength and work capacity
- Grinds improved overall endurance
- Beneficial for athletes that are older or have knee problems
Mini Study: 3 Weeks of MTI’s “Super Squat” Progression Leads to 4.9% Strength Gains
- 3 week progression fluid periodization training cycle 4.9% strength gain for 2 strength exercises
- Breath squats used
- This would be beneficial for individuals going through assessment and selection
- Volume progression average of 17.4% assessment improvement in hand release push ups, in place lunges, and pull ups
- Used grinds in circuit format
- Common with current PFT style training plans
Mini Study: 4 Weeks of the Barbell Complex Leads to Overall Strength Gains in Well Trained Athletes
- Assessed barbell complex with effects on back squat, bench press, hinge lift 1RM, and max pull ups.
- All exercises showed improvement with the highest being bench press at 5.57% and lowest in max pull ups.
- Shows barbell complex will build total body strength improvement
- Effectiveness of hang board dead hang intervals to increase finger strength in dead hang for time
- 4 vs 8 sec with a 1:3 work to rest ratio
- 8 sec showed higher performance of 28% but limited to small sample size
Mini Study: Backwards Sled Drags Match Forward Sled Drags in Strength and Work Capacity Improvement
- Sleds can be used to maintain and improve max effort leg strength and sprint based work capacity
- Forward and backward pull improvement in front squat, hinge, and prone to sprint
Mini Study: Biking Has Little Transfer to Uphill Movement Under Load
- Lack of effectiveness in correlation, stick more to sport specific training to improve specific fitness
- Used step ups under load and biking
- Transferring cycling to step up performance not significant. Improve step ups by doing more step ups
Mini Study: Comparing SCBA Emergency Breathing Techniques
- Used SCBA with a series of tests
- Goal to identify the best practice of breathing technique in emergency situation
- Success was found in different techniques depending on how the athlete responded. Find one sustainable and works for the athlete.
- Group that cut sugar lost as much weight as no carb group but they lagged in performance
- Better performance with the no carb group in 5 out of 7 assessments
- Fat and weight loss over performance shown more with no sugar group
Mini Study: Disappointing Results from Explosive Power “Geek Cycle”
- Showed only an improvement in backwards medicine ball toss of 10% with not much improvement in broad jump, sandbag toss and chase, and 10 yard prone to sprint.
Mini Study: Dumbbell Strength Training Maintains to Slightly Increases, 1RM Barbell Strength
- Dumbbell strength slightly increased max effort barbell strength
- Increased dumbbell based strength significantly for 8RM
- Effective training tool for maintaining mx effort for athletes that do not have a barbell or are injured
Mini Study: Effect of Loading on SCBA Duration
- 6 full time firefighters were tested to identify a best practice breathing technique for emergency situations.
- Aim was to determine the best method between air required and air consumed given an amount of work.
- Most effective technique could vary from each individual, and for best practice will be the one that balances the efficiency of what the athlete can tolerate.
Mini Study: Forward Sled Pulls Slightly Increase Leg Strength and Work Capacity
- Slight increase in leg strength and work capacity in forward sled pull intervals 3 times a week
- Maintained leg strength more than anything could be used if limited equipment
- Not much work capacity results
Mini Study: Grease the Groove Beats Density for Push Up & Pull Up Improvement
- Compared effectiveness of density and grease the groove progressions to improve 75 sec max rep hand release push ups and pull ups
- Grease the groove outperformed the density in both events
- Attrition higher in grease the groove potentially from more volume
Mini Study: Heat Loss in Ski Boots
- Best bang for the buck and keep the heat in ski boots study
- Toe heaters most cost effective, boot gloves more cost effective in the long run, intuition liners but has extra weight of batteries
- 3 exercises to improve overhead squat mobility
- No exercise stood out as providing better results
- Bets recipe for loaded movement, inconclusive results
- Needed longer assessment possibly closer to a ruck run for 12 miles
Mini Study: Intermittent Fasting Doesn’t Hasten Weight Loss
- Same amount of weight lost with fasted group and control group over 3.5 weeks
- Induced hunger after training shown as the main issue with no benefits
- Skiing up the same slope with heavy pack of 25 lb showed a 14.8% slower time than with a lighter pack 10lb
- Objectives should determine what pack load should be used, lighter can be most costly
Mini Study: Leg Blasters vs. Quadzilla Complex for Strength Gains
- Leg blaster group showed overall strength improvement over quadrille complexes
- Simple but effective reinforced for lower body tool
Mini Study: Load Effect on Tactical Shuttle Sprinting Performance
- Showed the cost of increase in weight of load with finish time of events
- Train sprinting under load in order to decrease finish time
Mini Study: Loaded Step Ups have Little Transfer to Rucking Speed
- Investigated transfer of loaded step ups to rucking
- Questionable transfer of step ups to rucking
- Worth noting for military in areas where they are unable to train outside for certain periods of the year
- Potential treadmill work with ruck instead of step ups
Mini Study: Loading Increased Caloric Burn for Uphill Movement 50+ Percent
- Assess the need for nutritional supplementation from increased caloric demand of a loaded uphill movement
- Have protein and carb supplementation in events lasting more than 2 hours
Mini Study: Mixed Pacing Equals Intervals Only for 6-Mile Run Improvement
- Effect of threshold running and multi pace running both improved 6 mile run times at 7-8%
- Limitations could be the length of study not being long enough, and other training impacting the running performance
Mini Study: Predicting Overtraining with the CNS Tapping Test
- CNS tapping test used to detect CNS fatigue
- Positive correlation between tapping test and CNS fatigue, could help with predicting a potential future injury of an athlete
Mini Study: Run Time Correlates to Ruck Speed Much Better than Relative Strength
- Correlation test of relative strength and ruck speed and 6 mile run time and ruck speed
- 6 mile run time high correlation to rucking speed, while relative strength had small
Mini Study: Short Sprints outperform Heavy Squats and Lunges to Improve 3-Mile Run Times
- Short sprints of 50,100, ad 200m show better improvement of 3 mile run time vs strength progression of heavy lunges and back squats
- Compare short sprints to leg blaster for distance running improvement next
- Strength, hybrid group, and endurance groups with both performing a strength assessment, 6 mile ruck, and 6 mile run
- Strength and hybrid outperformed the endurance group to improve rucking
- Endurance group showed an equal strength to hybrid group
Mini Study: Stress Decreases Archery Accuracy 23%
- Stress on archery accuracy found simple stress with small fitness demand and shot time limit decreased performance
- For the 2 subjects the decrease of accuracy was an average of 23%
Mini Study: Threshold Ruck Intervals Best for Developing Short Distance Rucking Speed
- Red 400m track at 45#
- Interval group higher rate of improvement of 8 % compared to 2% of interval and moderate pace group
- Short distance rucking speed more efficient with intervals
- Validated the program design of MTI Wildland Fire Fitness Assessment Training Plan
Mini-Study Bench Press Progression: Classic Pyramid vs. Modified Big 24 Results Inconclusive
- Both classic and Big 24 saw an average increase in bench press but minor so inconclusive results
- Might want to try with leg exercises to see if a change
Mini-Study Results: Fully Equipped Beats Limited Equipment Programming for ACFT Improvement
- Fully equipped improved overall at 6% increase when compared to the limited equipment group of 3%
- Look at how to improve a limited equipment plan with the lack of trap bar deadlift
- All groups saw 1RM strength and bodyweight strength endurance improvement
- Data does not show scheduling advantage
- Measured power rather than pace
- Different percentages per athlete shown in improvement could be lack of power based training
- Max effort more improvements in 1RM back squat and 1RM push press strength and sandbag squat strength endurance.
- Sandbag strength endurance saw more improvements in sandbag push press strength endurance.
Mini-Study Results: Performance Impact of MTI’s Nutritional Guidelines Mixed
- Followed MTI nutritional guidelines with a strength, endurance and work capacity training program
- Nutritional group saw improvement in pull ups and prone to sprint. Non nutritional group saw a bigger improvement in 1RM front squat
- Both groups had improvements in 1RM push press and 3 mile run time
Mini-Study Results: Uniform Test Durability
- Tested uniform durability with different spectrum of metrics.
- Crye Precision uniform shown most durable
- Hybrid big 24 good reference for getting army ACFT trap bar numbers up. Had an increase of 9.5% trap bar dead lift strength increase over the 3.5 weeks
Mini-Study: 357 Strength matches Density Strength in Strength Improvement; Outperforms for Endurance
- The 367 strength with endurance outperformed in endurance performance in comparison to strength training with endurance
- Short work capacity transfers to endurance in this study
- Density strength progression outperformed super squat progression for the back squat and bench press
- Hinge lift progression outperformed kettlebell/dumbbell swings to increase 1RM hinge lift
- Loaded vs unloaded inconclusive on 1.5 mile run time
Mini-Study: Endurance Training Doing Step Ups Does Transfer To Running, but Only Half As Well
- Test transferability of one mode of endurance to another one
- Step ups still improved running assessment but not near as much as actually running
- Sport specificity matters if able
Mini-Study: Lab Rats Average 8% Fight Gone Bad Improvement Following Event-Specific Programming
- Increase of 8% on fight gone bad WOD
- Recovery could have been seen as an issue
Mini-Study: Measuring Sleeping Bag Performance
- 800 fill bag lost more heat than the 650 fill bag over 2 hours at 55.3 and 50.9 degrees F
Mini-Study: Muscle-Ups, Rope Climbs, Peg Boards…Which is Harder?
- Little difference in HR between movements
- Peg board showing most amount of muscle activation with muscle up a close second
- Pull up conversion chart listed here
Mini-Study: Running Transfers to Rowing Slightly Better than Rowing Transfers to Running
- Improvements in both modes
- Rowing slightly improved running performance, running alone was three times better than rowing
Moving Uphill, a 10% Grade Cuts your Speed by 1/3…Not 1/2
- Completed a treadmill test
- Incline not as dramatic on speed as expected
- Toblers hiking function usable conversion for hiking/rucking on inclines
MTI’s Research Project on Fear Inoculation Training
- Research used to assess and improve fear inoculation training
- Helps athletes to be able to perform effectively when in extreme situations
- Ideas and progressions listed for fear inoculation training
No Difference Between Squatting and Lunging When Building Athleticism
- Agility shown even in pro agility and t-agility events between the two assessments
- No significant difference in lunge vs squat for strengthen agility building
- Lunges would be a preferred choice for the dynamic component
Operator Ugly and a Snapshot of U.S. Special Operations Soldiers
- Ugly Operator Fitness Assessment utilized
- Shown in the study was the breakdown of score for each group
- Shown who would score well was athletes with high lower body strength and higher upper body strength
- Missing was the ability to differentiate between athlete abilities in the anaerobic event
Paying More For Lighter Footwear is Not Worth It
- Change in heavier shoe only increases HR minimally
- Not worth a lighter show unless needed for marginal gains in performance
Pinch Grip Correlation Investigation
- Pinch grip strength endurance did correlate with four finger open hand strength endurance
- Variance depends on the type of climber with pinch times and correlations lunge for sport climbers. Trad climbers smaller hang times and less of correlation between he holds.
Plate Carrier Load Bearing Study
- Crye system better at reducing weight on shoulders
- Lab rat preference in mystery ranch system despite weight distribution
Pro Skier hits 8G’s, Burns 2,900 Calories in a day of Resort Skiing
- Showed physical and psychological demands faced on a modern downhill skier
- Need to move towards showing athletes physiological responses with more use of technology for data collection
Rock Climbing Exposure Mini Study: How Can We Measure Fear?
- Data suggests a contribution of fear to HR and HRV
- Metabolic load plays a factor in having to distinguish between fear
Rock Climbing Exposure Mini Study: How Can we Measure Fear? Part 2
- Difficult to use HR as a measure due to continued physical effort or CNS reaction to fear causing the increase in HR
- Not been able to identify an accurate identifier for physiological impact of fear
Ruck Deep Dive – Study #1: Physical Attributes Which Relate to Rucking
- Physical characteristics shown for performance indicators in rucking in both male and female
- Utilized ANOVA tests
- Females performance indicators different than males
- Females rucking performance usually based on height and weight , with the best predictor being a combination of size and aerobic capacity
- Male rucking performance 2 mile times should most predictive in rucking performance
Ruck Deep Dive – Study #2: Best Ways to Improve Rucking
- Full recommendations listed in improving rucking performance for both male and females
- Female firs focus lower body strength (front squat)
- Males should first train to increase upper body muscular endurance and core strength
- Chart depicts individualized classifications for size and fitness level of athlete
Ruck Deep Dive Pilot Study Results
- Strongest ruck performance associated with high levels of relative strength and a fast 1.5 mile run time
- Relative strength highly related to bench press, max pull ups, front squat, and 1.5 mile run
- High aerobic fitness do well on short hard events
- High aerobic fitness low bodyweight and relative strength do well for low intensity and extended effort events
- Relative load important for the athlete
- Summaries listed of individuals who have non contact and degenerative issues
- Multi modal athletes suffered more non contact injuries than endurance athletes
- Degenerative issues being seen with the endurance athletes
Stress is a Major Contributor to the Physiological Demands of Ice Climbing
- Used bioharness to access physiological measures while climbing
- Found 37% of athletes HR is related to stress in the climb
- High demand of physical strength with HRs in 90-95% which does not account for the physiological demands
Study Results: Gore-Tex Not Worth the Cost Based on Breathability Alone
- Breathable fabrics significant improvement over non-breathable fabrics
- Baseline sweat rate significant impact on jackets breathability, using HR as a predictor
- Jacket pricing not related to the breathability of the jacket
Study Results: No Easy Answer On Pull-Up Improvement
- Recommend traditional pull ups over eccentric or weighted pull ups if performing 2 days a week for 5 max sets
Study Results: Power Clean vs. Power Snatch. Which is Better at Creating Speed and Explosiveness?
- Improvements in vertical jump, pro agility, overhead squat
- No injury in 6 weeks of training
- Power snatch and power clean used effectively in novice athletes to increase performance with the power snatch recommend if choosing between the two
- Lighter trigger pull helps with the surprise anticipated from the recoil
- Low cost options could help improve marksmanship for distance greater than 15 yards
- Recommended dry fire and other methods of practice due to limited ability
Study: Energy Drinks Can Help Maintain Marksmanship Performance
- Single energy group non stressed best performers
- Two energy group out performed the no energy group significantly
- Single and double energy group out performed the no energy group during stressed marksmanship
- Energy drinks had no impact on subjects HR and HRV
Study: Moderate Stress Significantly Impacts Marksmanship
- Decreased marksmanship shown at 80% of MHR that lead to a decrease in performance of 24.1%
- Recommendation is to train stressed marksmanship drills
Teton Traverse Nutrition: Part 1
- Developed a meal plan to meet caloric needs while keeping a pack as light as possible
- Utilize predicted calorie deficit with recommendations on ratios of macronutrients for the event
- Ned to test before trip
Teton Traverse Nutrition: Part 2
- Full meal plan listed with supplements and hydration methods
- Can duplicate with other athletes once getting their height, weight, and body fat percentage to customize
The Best Way to Improve Pull-Ups? Part III – The Results and The Verdict
- Volume training showed highest improvement in pull ups
- Weighted pull ups still relevant but keep the weight lower so reps can still be higher
- Eccentric training beneficial for athletes with a lower pull up count
The Best Way to Improve Push-Ups: Mini Study Results
- Mex effort, interval, and bench press plus interval could be effective
- Need more time and more lab rats
- Bench press only proved to be least effective
The Effect of Ruck Weight on Speed – from 0% to 70% of Body Weight
- 1% BW adds 6 seconds per mile
- Linear relationship between load and speed, but only up to about 40% BW
- Speed drastically affected by additional weight when over 40% of BW carried with gait affected at 50%
- MTI loaded speed equation listed
The MTI 15/15 Shuttle Beep Test for Measuring VO2 Max
- MTI hustle bee test protocol listed
- MTI test has correlation of .90 which is higher than most studies
- Great for testing with minimal space and simple design
The MTI Route Card – Estimating Rucking and Hiking Times
- Shows how to use the MTI route card.
- Great reference
The MTI Route Card – Initial Results, Lab Rats Needed
- Helps athletes estimate the time it will take them to complete a ruck, hike, or mission
The True Impact of a Summer Guiding Season
- Guides need to take their season very serious as far as pre season training, with in season, and off season training
- Establish a strong foundation in season with aerobic capacity
- In season mobility and flexibility work with monitoring neutron and rest
Trigger Pull Study – Initial Findings
- Longer distanced of 50 and 100 yards an improvement of 15% with light triggers compared to the control group that improved 8%
Uniform Comparison Study: Army Combat Uniform
- Shirt is uncomfortable and not functional
- Pants is comfortable but possibly too loose fit with the snag and tripping shown
- Might need to tailor the waist rather than only using a belt for small soldiers
Uniform Comparison Study: Crye Precision GS (Fire Resistant) – Week 1
- Durable long lasting uniform, comfort lacking
- Not ideał for dessert or jungle with lack of breathability
Uniform Comparison Study: Evaluating Fit
- Crye pants and leaf shirt best fit across the board for different sized men
Valor Update: Lab Rats Increase Strength and Ruck, Run, Speed over Ground
- 10 lab rats full 7 week 5 day study
- 12.9% increase in barbell complex strength
- 14.1% increase in 3 mile ruck at 45#
- 3.3% improvement in 1.5 mile run
- Lagging would be the 1.5 mile run time in comparison to the percentage gains in the other areas. Potentially move around certain days if ruck is hindering performance.
Mini Study: Pre-Season Mountain Bike Program Produces an Average of 17.4% Faster 8 Mile Time
- 3 Lab Rats full 5-week/ 6 days a week mountain bike preseason plan in Boise, Idaho.
- Pre-Season Mountain Bike Program Produces an Average of 17.4% Faster 8 Mile Time
- Individual officer daily sleep duration ranged from under two hours, to over twelve, but the overall daily average for the 7 officers who had enough data to analyze came back with a remarkably similar average nightly sleep duration of around seven hours, the the overall average of 7:10 hours.
- Bike Officer 3, Bike Officer 2, Patrol Officer 4, Patrol Officer 2 and Patrol Officer 1 all scored in the “Fair” range, while Bike Officer 1, with an average sleep score of 85.4 scored in the “Good” range.
- This Mini Study sought to give a snapshot and comparison of the relative strength and work capacity of three types of Tactical Athletes and civilians.
- The results found that for the athletes tested, Urban Fire Athletes scored higher overall in relative strength than State SWAT/SRT, Federal SWAT/SRT and civilian athletes. Five of the six Urban Fire athletes tested scored “Excellent” in the MTI Relative Strength Assessment.
- The types of tactical athletes scored much closer in Work Capacity, with the Federal SWAT/SRT athletes coming away with the highest overall average score. All six of the Federal SWAT/SRT athletes scored “good” in the MTI Tactical Athlete Work Capacity Assessment.
- For this mini study, the standard percentage-based strength progression based on 1RM outperformed the Tempo progression for Back Squat 1RM improvement by about 2%. However, the differnces in Bench Press improvement (4.99% vs 4.35%) was negligible. Also negligible was the max rep pull up assessment change between MTI’s proven percentage-based interval progression and negative pull ups.
- Three weeks of 3 day/week, aerobic-base running resulted in unconclusive results for aerobic-base assessment improvement.
Mini Study: Confounding Results on HIIT vs Sprints for Work Capacity Improvement
- We conducted a mini study comparing the work capacity improvement of shuttle sprint repeats vs short, multi-modal HITT efforts, but the results were inconclusive
- Both groups had nearly the same average improvement for the 300m Shuttle for Time, and the Sprint Group’s improvement in the HIIT assessment was significantly greater than the HIIT Group’s average improvement.
- As well, nothing in these results indicate an advantage for one work capacity training mode over the other (Sprint Interval vs HIIT).
Mini Study: Explosive Repeat Intervals Leads to 12% Work Capacity Increase in Jiu Jitsu Athletes
- Our study conducted and examined the impact of an explosive repeat conditioning cycle on athletes engaged in Jiu-Jitsu training 4-5 times a week, revealing a notable 12% increase in work capacity during the 4-week cycle.
- Training Work Capacity and Grip Strength 1x/week with hobbyist jiu-jitsu athletes results in 2.24% average increase on the Burpee Beep Ladder, and a 28.85% increase on the Gi Grip Assessment.
Mini Study: Reducing Alpine Pack Weight by 7 Pounds Boosts Uphill Speed by 24%
- Two-month single-person mini-study to examine the impact of weight reduction on speed during fast alpine ascents.
- The study found that reducing pack weight in increments of 8 ounces (227 grams) consistently improved climbers’ speed and potentially decreased their exposure to hazards. Overall, the study concluded that lighter packs enhance climbing performance and safety, with an average speed increase of 2% per 8-ounce reduction in pack weight.
- This study specifically examined ‘the approach, the initial part of an alpine ascent where climbers cover horizontal or moderately inclined terrain. The findings do not extend to vertical terrain, where different muscle groups and technical skills are more critical.
- Four weeks of power-focused programming—incorporating max effort strength, speed strength, ballistic strength, and plyometric/sprint-focused tactical agility drills—improved Tactical Power across four assessments for six remote “lab rats.”
- The program achieved consistent improvements across all Tactical Power assessments, with the greatest improvement in the 75m prone-to-sprint shuttle @ 45# Ruck. This is encouraging, as no part of the cycle specifically “trained to the test,” suggesting broad applicability of the training methods.
- Performance on the four Tactical Power assessments improved across the board. Max Effort Strength (e.g., 1RM Back Squat, Bench Press, etc.) also increased, though specific gains varied.
Case Study: Loaded Sled Drags Demonstrate Transferability to Uphill Movement Under Load
- Ten 60-minute sessions of sandbag drags at a controlled Zone 2 heart rate resulted in an 11% improvement in a loaded step-up assessment, also conducted at Zone 2.
- Step-up Assessment Improvement : +88 reps / 10.88% gain. Both assessments were performed wearing a 20-pound plate carrier and at a controlled Zone 2 heart rate.
- Zone 2 was defined as 180 minus age; for me (age 56), that’s 124 bpm, with an allowable range of 119–129 bpm.
- These initial results are promising. They suggest that extended, loaded drags may be an effective—and possibly more engaging—alternative to loaded step-ups for building uphill endurance under load.
Case Study: Can you improve Max Effort Strength and Loaded Uphill Endurance Concurrently?
- Two MTI Lab Rats completed a 4-week mini study designed to test whether max effort barbell strength and loaded uphill endurance could be trained concurrently.
- Both athletes were able to concurrently improve max effort barbell strength (Hinge, Bench Press, Back Squat) and loaded uphill endurance concurrently.
- The 50% step up progression target proved too aggressive. Emmett was unable to complete the required reps within the time limit—hitting 438/451 in Round 1 and 422/451 in Round 2. In contrast, 45% of his step up total landed closer to the target range, finishing with approximately 90 seconds of rest in Round 1 and about 50 seconds in Round 2.
Mini Study: 3 Hours of Weekly Zone 2 Running Improves Aerobic Base
- Despite the low total training time (either 1.5 or 3 hours/week), aerobic base improved in most athletes who completed the protocol. This challenges the prevailing consensus in exercise physiology, which recommends a minimum of 3 to 6 hours/week for general fitness and 6 to 10+ hours/week for competitive endurance athletes to improve aerobic capacity.
- The Daily LE Patrol group, which completed just 90 minutes per week, saw mixed but notable results: one athlete regressed slightly, while the other improved by 6.74%. This suggests that even low-end protocols like 2 x 45-minute sessions/week may hold value—especially in constrained training environments.
Mini Study: Chassis Integrity Assessment Needs Refinement
- Four MTI athletes tested a new Chassis Integrity assessment format over a 5-week cycle. The test included movements targeting flexion (Sandbag Sit-Ups), extension (Good Mornings), rotation (Sandbag Keg Lifts), and isometric tension (Elevated Weighted Bridge Holds).
- Improvements were made across all domains in the individual movements.
- Extension (Good Mornings) showed the most significant percentage gains, particularly for Jackson (+157.7%), Emmett (+127.7%), and Sam (+70.8%).
- Four MTI Lab Rats completed a 5-week mini-study designed to explore which upper-body pressing movement provides the greatest strength transfer across horizontal and vertical patterns.
- Results were mixed. While the Bench Press showed strong potential for overall transfer in some athletes, others experienced regression despite training the same lift. The Push Press yielded short-term gains that did not always hold. Military Press training failed to sustain strength across pressing patterns. Based on this data, no single lift clearly emerged as the most transferable pressing movement.
- We will redo the mini-study for a future geek cycle to see if there is a clear “king” of upper body lifts as the results were muddled at best.
- Four MTI Lab Rats completed a 5-week mini-study to evaluate which lower-body training protocol produced the greatest improvement in standing broad jump distance.
- Emmett improved by 2.1% over the course of the cycle, while Seung initially recorded a 4.5% gain at the mid-cycle mark before regressing slightly by the final test.
- A 2% gain may fall within the margin of day-to-day testing variability and does not represent a large enough effect size to justify strong claims about the superiority of this method for increasing Broad Jump distance.
- Taken together, the data is not substantial enough to suggest that explosive movements, like the power clean and loaded broad jump, at least within the context of the progressions MTI deployed, improve broad jumps.
- Four MTI Lab Rats completed a 5-week mini-study comparing two methods of improving 20m Beep Test performance: MTI’s traditional assessment-based progression and a fixed-time, non-assessed interval progression.
- All athletes improved, with an average gain of +1.35 levels. The highest individual improvement came from athletes using the non-assessment based model.
- Athletes using the MTI assessment-based progression—Emmett and Sam—showed steady gains with structured, individualized workloads tied directly to their baseline capacity. Furthermore, both were able to complete their designated reps each round while feeling a high RPE, indicating that the assessment based progression was aptly scaled to their individual abilities and limits.
- Meanwhile, Seung and Jackson—who trained with the non-assessment-based interval model—also saw significant improvements. Jackson’s increase of +1.5 levels and Seung’s +1.6 represented the two largest gains in the group, suggesting that fixed intervals can still be highly effective, particularly for athletes with lower initial scores or less exposure to structured sprint-aerobic work.
- 46-Year Old Army Officer and MTI Athlete Team Member, Dan Stuewe, completed the full 7 week plan.
- Overall, he averaged a 14% max effort strength gain improvement on the back squat, bench press, hinge lift and bodyweight pullups, and improved his 6-mile Ruck Time by 14%.
Mini Study Results: MTI Finds No Perfect Grip Test for Tactical Athletes
- Four MTI Lab Rats completed a week-long assessment comparing five popular grip strength and endurance tests to evaluate their relevance for tactical performance.
- No single test emerged as the “best.” The Grip Dynamometer — a common tool for assessing max grip strength — did not consistently predict performance on endurance-based tests. Instead, grip endurance and task-specific control appear far more important in tactical scenarios.
Mini-Study Results: 2/1 Interval Strategy Faster and Mentally Easier Than Continuous Ruck Run
- Over a 4-week mini-study, MTI compared a continuous ruck run versus a 2-minute run / 1-minute walk interval (2/1) strategy over six miles with a 60-lb ruck.
- Results showed that the 2/1 interval strategy yielded significantly faster average finish times and was rated easier to sustain mentally and physically.
- Four MTI Lab Rats completed a 4-week mini-study designed to examine the potential of a velocity-based approach to improving 1RM back squat performance.
- The participants were divided into two groups: one followed the RAT 6 intensity scheme using velocity as an auto-regulator, while the other used prescribed set velocities to determine training intensity.
- Both groups showed positive improvements in back squat strength, highlighting the effectiveness of velocity-based autoregulation—even with different regulation systems in place.
- MTI tested three sandbag get-up progression models over four weeks to determine which most effectively improved 10-minute max-rep performance.
- All four athletes significantly improved their get-up totals—ranging from +24% to +123%.
- Athletes trained 2–3x/week using one of three assigned progression models
- When comparing July’s chassis integrity reassessment with June’s end-of-cycle results, athletes showed declines across all four core integrity metrics. These findings suggest that while the sandbag get-up trains the chassis in total it fails to develop isolated movements when used alone.
- This mini-study shows that interval-based swim training can effectively improve endurance for most athletes, even with low frequency (1x/week). Three of four participants improved their swim times — including one who was previously unable to complete the 500m test.
- The drown-proofing progression proved valuable but overly ambitious for some. While Emmett succeeded in completing the entire progression, Jackson was the only other participant able to follow it consistently. Sam and Seung were unable to complete even one full round, highlighting the need for MTI to further refine our water confidence progressions.
Mini-Study: Loaded vs. Unloaded Mobility — MTI Finds No Change in FMS Scores After 4 Weeks
- Over a 4-week cycle, four MTI Lab Rats tested a mobility training protocol to explore the effectiveness of loaded vs. unloaded dynamic mobility exercises. Mobility was assessed via a modified FMS Overhead Squat test, using increasing heel elevation to gauge range of motion (0–25 lb plates).
- Despite training 3x/week, none of the participants improved enough to reduce their required heel elevation, and no quantifiable improvements were observed in test scores. Slight visual improvements were noted in two participants, but these were not sufficient to shift assessment outcomes.
- This suggests that while loaded mobility training may feel subjectively beneficial, more time, increased frequency, or different mobility protocols may be required to produce meaningful, measurable improvements in deep-range mobility or foundational movement patterns.
Mini-Study: Climbing Gains Despite Constraints — MTI Tests Adapted July Climbing Program
- Over four weeks in July, four MTI Lab Rats followed a climbing-focused training cycle aimed at improving performance on the vSUM climbing assessment.
- All four athletes improved or maintained their vSUM scores — particularly between Weeks 1 and 3. The results suggest that even an improvised climbing plan, when executed consistently and with appropriate load management, can yield measurable gains in performance over a short cycle.
Mini Study: 300m Shuttle Progressions Improve Work Capacity in Just 3 Weeks
- Two MTI athletes completed a 3-week shuttle sprint progression and improved performance in a short, multimodal work capacity assessment.
- Even with just five sprint sessions across the cycle, both athletes showed measurable improvement — Emmett cut 4 seconds, and Michael cut 10 seconds.
- The short cycle yielded a 3.5% improvement for Emmett and 6.4% for Michael, both without any direct practice of the assessment itself.
Case-Study: 3 Weeks of MTI’s Working Strength Progression Improves Max Effort Strength
- We tested MTI’s Working Strength methodology over a short, three-week cycle to see the effects it has on improving max effort strength.
- Both Michael and Emmett improved their Back Squat, Bench Press, and Hinge Lift 1RMs. Michael’s Craig Special was unchanged.
- Even with limited frequency, Working Strength increased max effort strength in major lifts.
Mini-Study: Touch/Jump/Touch to Box Reps Increase 25% During Dryland Ski Training Cycle
- A 7-week Dryland Ski Training Cycle using an assessment based Touch-Jump-Touch to Box (TJT) progression increased 2 minute TJT scores for all six lab rats by an average of 26.3% (range 8.0–51.7%).
- Heart rate data from the hardest TJT session showed athletes repeatedly working at high heart rates while still dropping an average of 4–9 bpm during ~30-second rest intervals, supporting our goal of improving recovery for downhill skiing.
- Over 3 weeks (9 training sessions) with 4 trained athletes, we compared three 10 x 10 second maximal crush grip protocols: barbell deadlift holds, pull-up bar dead hangs, and dynamometer squeezes.
- All three protocols increased max effort hand dynamometer scores, with an overall average improvement of about 15 lb (~11%).
- The deadlift-hold and dead-hang protocols produced the largest average gains.
- Two MTI Lab Rats immediately followed a 4-week, multi-modal Base Fitness cycle which included heavy strength and running by 7 weeks of MTI’s Dryland Ski programming to determine How much did the sport-specific cycle impact their strength and running.
- One athlete maintained his Bench Press 3RM and slightly improved his Hinge Lift 3RM. The other lost strength in both. Both athletes also ran slower 6-mile run times following the Dryland Ski Cycle.