MTI’s Mountain/Wilderness SAR Fitness Assessment

By Emmett Shaul

The fitness demands of Mountain/Wilderness SAR professionals and volunteers include relative strength (strength per bodyweight), chassis integrity (functional core strength), work capacity, and mountain endurance (uphill movement under load)

SAR professionals and volunteers must move quickly and efficiently in the mountains under load, while also possessing the strength to handle and evacuate patients.

MTI’s Mountain/Wilderness SAR Assessment is designed to assess these fitness demands and give the athlete a snapshot of his or her Search and Rescue fitness. Below is the fitness assessment, followed by how it is scored and an explanation of why each event was chosen:

Required Equipment:

• 40/60# Sandbag
• 16 – 18″ Step Up Box
• Stopwatch and Repeating Interval Timer (smartphone will work)
• Pull Up Bar
• Backpack and 40# of filler

MTI Mountain/Wilderness SAR Fitness Assessment

Warm Up:

3 Rounds:

• 10x Step Ups – 16 – 18″ Box
• 1/2x Pull Ups
• 5x Hand Release Push Ups
• Instep Stretch
• Lat + Pec Stretch

Assessment:

1.) 40 Minute Step Ups at 16 – 18″ Box, 40-pound  Pack, for Total Reps
Loaded step ups test lower body strength, and uphill hiking fitness and endurance.

***Rest 10 Minutes***

2.) Max Rep Bodyweight Pull ups
Strict, bodyweight pull ups test upper body pulling strength. No time limit. You can rest in the elbows locked out, “dead hange position” but your feet may not touch the ground or a bench while resting, and both hands have to remain on the bar. 

***Rest 3 Minutes***

3.) 5-Minute Sandbag Getup and Run @ 40/60# for Max Reps
Set two cones to 40 feet apart, and a countdown timer or stopwatch for 5 minutes. The athlete starts in the standing position with a sandbag on his/her shoulder at one end. At “go” the athlete lays down, does a sandbag getup, and then runs, with the sandbag to just past the far cone where he/she does another getup and runs back to start. Every length counts as 1 rep (so down/back = 2 reps). Athlete can switch shoulders as he/she sees fit. Only full-lengths count.

***Rest 10 Minutes***

4.) Max Rep Hand Release Push Ups in 2-Minutes
Strict, bodyweight HR Push Ups test upper body pushing strength. Hands up to elbows locked out. Body must come up stiff (no midsection sag) – Athlete can “rest” in the down position (laying on the ground).
** Note: The head, chest, butt and calves must raise together for each rep. The body must remain as stiff as a board – no sagging or bending at all allowed at the waist. Some athletes will raise only or mostly their upper bodies. This is not allowed and the rep won’t count. Be strict!

***Rest for 3 Minutes***

5.) Max Time Dead Hang
Max time dead hang tests your grip strength and grip endurance.

Scoring Standards:

Points	Step Ups (40#, 40:00)	Pull Ups	HR Push Ups (2:00)	SBGU & Run (5:00)	Dead Hang (sec)
10	>1,100	>20	>65	>32	>200
9	1,050 – 1,099	18 – 19	62 – 64	28 – 31	185 – 199
8	1,000 – 1,049	16 – 17	59 – 61	25 – 27	170 – 184
7	950 – 999	14 – 15	56 – 58	22 – 24	155 – 169
6	900 – 949	12 – 13	53 – 55	20 – 21	140 – 154
5	850 – 899	10 – 11	50 – 52	18 – 19	125 – 139
4	800 – 849	8 – 9	47 – 49	17	110 – 124
3	750 – 799	6 – 7	44 – 46	16	95 – 109
2	700 – 749	4 – 5	41 – 43	15	80 – 94
1	650 – 699	0 – 3	38 – 40	14	60 – 79

SAR Professional Scoring Standards

Category	Score Range
Respectable	30 – 36
Good	37 – 43
Great	44 – 50

SAR Volunteer Scoring Standards

Category	Score Range
Respectable	26 – 32
Good	33 – 39
Great	40 – 50

ASSESSMENT NOTES AND EXPLANATION

The broad fitness demands for Mountain/Wilderness SAR professionals and volunteers include relative strength, functional work capacity, chassis integrity, and mountain endurance (uphill hiking under load). The events in this assessment test each.

Relative Strength 
What’s important to SAR professionals and volunteers is their “relative strength”  – or strength per bodyweight. The three strength events in this assessment – pull ups, hand release push ups, and dead hang, are simple, common exercises, which via our calculation, can give us a good snapshot of the athlete’s relative strength.

• Pull Ups
  Strict pull ups test upper body pulling strength. For SAR professionals and volunteers, this is critical for rope system work, litter handling, ascending fixed lines, and maneuvering in steep or vertical terrain.

• Hand Release Push Ups
  HR push ups test upper body pushing strength. This is important for patient handling, lifting/lowering in awkward positions, and bracing during long-duration work in confined or unstable settings.

• Dead Hang
  The max dead hang tests grip strength and endurance. Grip endurance is essential for long litter carries, maintaining rope/litter control during technical rescues, and handling heavy loads in the mountains.

Functional Work Capacity and Chassis Integrity
The 5-minute Sandbag Getup & Run for reps event test both functional work capacity (loaded shuttle sprints) and functional chassis integrity (sandbag get up). This is a no-joke event, which also pre-exhausts the athlete for the coming endurance work, and tests mental fitness and stamina.

Mountain Endurance
This fitness assessment tests endurance via uphill movement under load. The loaded step ups test his loaded uphill movement endurance.

There is a reason endurance has a priority in this assessment, as mountain and loaded endurance is the major fitness demand of SAR professionals and volunteers who often have to maneuver the mountains with load to reach their patients.

Questions, Comments, Feedback? Email coach@mtntactical.com

Check out the training plan to assess and improve your Mountain/Wilderness SAR Fitness Assessment –  Click Here