Military Athlete Flex: Strength Emphasis

$29.00

  • 18 Session training program, with a Strength Emphasis. Work Capacity, Chassis Integrity, Tactical Agility, and Endurance are also trained, but the plan emphasizes strength.
  • The training sessions in this plan are designed for tactical athletes who are unable to maintain a 5 – 6 day/week training plan due to PT requirements, physical jobs, or other obligations.
  • This training plan is one of the 400+ Plans included with an Athlete’s Subscription.

Description

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

This is an intense 18 Session training cycle which concurrently trains strength, work capacity, chassis integrity, tactical agility, and endurance. This training plan has a strength emphasis

The training sessions in this plan are designed for tactical athletes who are unable to maintain a 5 – 6 day/week training plan due to PT requirements, physical jobs, or other obligations.

This plan includes 18 sessions that must be completed in order —don’t skip around. The plan provides three sessions per week, but it is not essential that you complete three sessions every week. Do the sessions as you have time to fit into your schedule, but keep them in order.

This plan was developed after we received an email from a full-time ROTC cadet with mandatory PT three times per week. It is built for tactical athletes in similar situations who need training that complements unit PT, physical work, or other obligations without the volume of our 5–6 day/week programming.

This is Version 1 of the Plan, Created September 2025

FITNESS ATTRIBUTES:

Strength
Strength is trained via a modified version of MTI’s TLU Strength Training. “TLU” stands for Total Body, Lower Body, and Upper Body. Within a TLU strength session, each component is trained (total, lower, upper)  but with a differing intensity (loading) and volume (reps to per set and total reps per exercise). While we call it TLU, the session’s alternate the order evenly throughout a cycle (UTL, LUT, etc).

For the first exercise, you will find your 1RM, followed by a Density strength progression of the same exercise: 5 Rounds, Every 90 Seconds of 4x @ 80% of 1RM. For Total Body exercises, you will complete 3x reps.

The second exercise uses 6 rounds and 3-5 repetitions (18-30 reps total) at a “hard but doable” weight. It’s paired with a explosive body weight movement similar to the movement pattern of the lift, completed immediately after finishing the lift. A mobility movement finishes up the round and doubles as the rest period.

The third exercise has the highest volume, with 6 Rounds and 4-8 repetitions  (24-48 reps total). This exercise is superset with a pull or push exercise.

Work Capacity/Chassis Integrity
Work Capacity and Chassis integirty are trained together via 25 – 35 Minute Grinds which progress in time as you progress through the plan.

Endurance
Trained via two methods: 60 Minute Moderate Pace Run, 60 Minute Moderate Pace Ruck @ 45#

Tactical Agility
Trained via Sprint and Obstacle/Level Change Drills

Schedule

  • Session 1 – Strength
  • Session 2 – Endurance OR Tactical Agility, Work Capacity/Chassis Integrity
  • Session 3 – Tactical Agility, Work Capacity/Chassis Integrity OR Strength

EQUIPMENT NEEDED
This program is specifically designed for military and other tactical athletes. Completion of the program requires a fully-equipped functional gym, complete with barbells, dumbbells/kettlebells, racks, sandbags and plyo boxes. In addition, you will need a Ruck with 45# of filler.

COMMON QUESTIONS

How long will sessions last?
These training sessions are specifically designed to be completed in 60 minutes. Work briskly, but not frantically, through these training sessions.

What if I miss a day?
Do the sessions as you have time to fit around your scheudle. This program is designed to be completed in order – so don’t skip a session or skip around. Follow the training sessions in order, regardless.

What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.

Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE.

Can I print out sessions to take to the gym?
Yes – you can print a week of programming at a time

Any modifications for women?
These are prescribed in the training plan. For example, if the session calls for Power Cleans at 85/135#, the first load – 85# – is for women, and the second load – 135# – is for men. If the plan calls for 5/10x Push Ups, this means women do 5x push ups, men do 10x push ups.

What if I have more questions?
Email coach@mtntactical.com

DISCLAIMER
Before beginning any exercise program, consult with your physician to ensure that you are in proper health.  Physical training contains inherent risks including, but not limited to, muscle strains, tears, physical and bodily injury up to and including death.  This training program is not meant to provide medical advice; you should obtain medical advice from your private health care practitioner.  If you are unable to assume these risks then you should not engage in this training program.  No liability is assumed by Mountain Tactical Institute, Inc, its owners or employees, and you train at your own risk.  Mountain Tactical Institute makes no warranty, express or implied, of any kind in connection with this training program.

Required Equipment

fully-equipped functional gym, complete with barbells, dumbbells/kettlebells, racks, sandbags and plyo boxes. In addition, you will need a Ruck with 45# of filler.

Sample Training

SESSION 1


Obj: Strength

Warm up:
3 Rounds
5x Power Clean – Start light and increase weight as you warm up
10x Squat
Instep Stretch
Lat + Pec Stretch

Training:
(1) 1RM Power Clean
Work up to 1RM Power Clean
Add 5-30# to your finishing warm up load and do 3 reps. Then add 5-30# and do 2 reps. Then add 5-30# and do 1x rep (single). Keep adding weight and doing singles until you reach your 1RM. Aim to get there by your 4th single.
RECORD 1RM POWER CLEAN

(2) 5 Rounds, Every 90 Seconds
3x Power Clean – @ 80% 1RM
Set a repeating, countdown timer to 90 seconds. On "GO" complete your prescribed number of reps as fast as possible. Faster you finish, the more rest you get before the next round begins.

(3) 6 Rounds
5x Back Squat – Increase load rapidly each round until 5x is Hard, but Doable, then immediately
2x Jump Squat – Be Explosive!
Hip Flexor Stretch

(4) 6 Rounds
8x Bench Press – Increase load rapidly each round until 8x is Hard, but Doable
4/6x Pull Up

(5) 2 Rounds
Toe Touch Complex
5x Shoulder Dislocates


SESSION 2


Obj: Endurance

Warm up:

Training:
(1) 60 Minute Ruck, Moderate Pace – 45#
"Moderate" = comfortable but not easy

(2) 1 Round
Foam Roll Complex


SESSION 3


Obj: Tactical Agility, Work Capacity/Chassis Integrity

Warm up:
3 Rounds
4x 40 Foot Shuttle Sprint – Start slow and increase speed as you warm up
10x Hand Release Push-up
10x Squat
Instep Stretch
Lat + Pec Stretch

Training:
(1) 4 Rounds
Tac Sepa: Tactical Pro Agility Drill
60 Second Rest Between Rounds

(2) 4 Rounds – Wearing 25# weight vest, pack, or body armor
Tac Sepa: Tactical Pro Agility Drill
60 Seconds Rest Between Rounds

(3) 25 Minute Grind
5x Kneeling Plate Half Moon – 25/35#
5x Sandbag Keg Lift – 40/60#, Increase to 80# if possible
10x Sandbag Getup And Run – 40/60#, Increase to 80# if possible
20/20 Standing Founder
"Grind" = work steadily not frantically for the prescribed time or rounds. Pace yourself, but don't stop to rest

(4) 2 Rounds
Pigeon Stretch
Frog Stretch

Testimonials

11.27.25
Just wanted to say that Military Athlete Flex is one of the most helpful plans (for me) you have ever put out. I am overwhelming busy during the work week as a teacher so have a super-adaptable plan organized around three sessions is perfect for me. Looking forward to the next iteration of this plan.  - Bill

1)  Mission Direct

Gym numbers mean nothing. All that matters is mission performance. 

To this end, MTI’s fitness solutions and programming are not boxed in by convention, tradition, orthodoxy, public opinion or any other artificial constraint driven by inside or outside forces.

We begin with the raw fitness demands of the mission and build a fitness solution which directly prepares the athlete for those demands.

 

2) Fitness Solutions Built from the Ground Up

MTI’s programming is not “re-tread” bodybuilding, football, CrossFit, kettlebell, strength or general fitness programming. We’ve built our fitness programming for mountain and tactical athletes from the ground up.

The Fluid Periodization methodology we deploy to concurrently train multiple fitness attributes is completely original and has continued to evolve and improve over the years.

Our mid-section training methodology, Chassis Integrity, is also original, as is our endurance programming, 7 strength training progressions, tactical agility, and work capacity programming.

Our mountain sports pre-season training plans, tactical PFT, selection, school, course, and fitness improvement training plans across military, LE and Fire Rescue are MTI-developed, tested and athlete-proven.

Over the years hundreds of athletes and coaches have taken our advanced programming and unit fitness leader programming courses and MTI is widely recognized within the mountain and tactical professions and fitness media as a thought leader in fitness programming for military and tactical athletes.

 

3) The MTI Method

→ Research: MTI begins program design with extensive research of the fitness demands of the mission, sport or event, identifies the exercises and progressions which sport-specifically meet those demands, chose end-of-cycle goals, and program backward to design the training plan.

→ Deploy & Assess: We deploy the training plan “Lab Rats” at our Wyoming facility. Training session and cycle issues are identified and fixed as we work through the training plan. Post cycle we assess the programming’s effectiveness and efficiency. We keep the stuff that works, and fix or toss the stuff that doesn’t.

→ Publish & Assess Again: Plan is published for purchase as an individual training plan and made available to our subscribers. Feedback/results are assessed.

→ Iterate: We take what we learn from lab rats and athletes, re-visit, update and improve already published training plans. Several of our individual training plans are on their 4th or 5th version.

 

4) Mission-Direct Research

MTI exists to “Improve Mountain and Tactical Athletes mission performance and keep them safe.” To that end, we have developed a unique research methodology aimed at identifying real world areas of improvement and identifying immediately deployable mission-direct solutions. Click HERE to learn more about MTI’s Mission-Direct Research methodology, and Here to read about just few of our research efforts.

 

5) Field Proven

Our stuff works. Weekly we receive unsolicited reviews of our programming and testimonials to its effectiveness.

 

6) Programming Breadth

MTI’s library of 200+ sport-specific fitness plans for mountain and tactical athletes is unmatched. Resources range from specific programming for tactical special forces selections, to specific plans for climbing Rainier and Denali, to general fitness solutions such as running improvement, to post-rehab from injury.

Over the past decade, MTI has partnered with hundreds of athletes throughout their individual mountain and tactical careers, and provided fitness solutions as they face new mountain objectives, tactical schools, selections, PFTs and deployments, and came back from injury.

 

7) Worldwide Influence

Our work is not limited to US Athletes.

We’ve developed selection-specific training plans for Canadian, UK, Australian and German Special Forces Selections and worked with individual military personnel from Scandinavia, South, and Central America.

Canadian, Australian, UK and western European law enforcement and fire/rescue athletes have used MTI programming for mission-direct fitness.

On the mountain side, Alpinists from Japan to Slovakia have consulted with MTI and used MTI’s programming to prepare for mountain objectives.

 

8) Mission Performance beyond Fitness

MTI’s exists is to improve Mission Performance for mountain and tactical athletes and keep them safe. 

This focus on “mission direct” solutions, enhancements and improvements drives our work and research and extends beyond fitness solutions to include training, leadership, gear, team culture, and safety. 

Fitness is just one area of our work.

Our non-fitness research has included tactical cultures, combat uniforms, and gore-tex performance, and effect of stress on marksmanship.

Our work on defining what it means to be a Quiet Professional has had penetrating influence and driven healthy conversations with both mountain and tactical professionals.

 

9) Direct, Honest, Clear Answers

Since 2007 we’ve taken and answered dozens of questions weekly from mountain and tactical athletes. We’ve saved these individual Q&A’s and now thousands are archived on our site.

We’re not salesmen, and our answers are noted for their directness, honesty, and clarity. Our stuff isn’t for everyone. If we can help, we’ll let you know. If we can’t, we’ll let you know that, too.

– Rob Shaul, Founder

 


All of the Above is Backed Up By Our Promise: Our Stuff Works. Guaranteed.

Our Stuff Works. Guaranteed.

By Rob Shaul

I received notes frequently from athletes hesitant to purchase a subscription or training plans asking me to sell them on why they should make the purchase.

While I understand the question, I’m not a salesman – so I can’t put a hard sale on anyone for our programming.

I can tell them the process we go through to design our programming.

We begin with extensive research on the fitness demands of the event, identify the exercises and progressions which sport specifically meet those demands, chose end-of-cycle goals, and program backward to design the plan.

Then we test the cycle on ourselves and our lab rats here in Wyoming. We document, note what works and doesn’t work, re-assess, and make changes and modifications.

Then we publish the programming in the form of one of our plans or as part of our subscription daily training sessions for tactical and mountain athletes.
We don’t stop there – our daily programming is the “tip of the spear” for our programming evolution. We use these sessions to learn and make continuous improvement.

As we learn more and improve, we go back, and update the sport-specific training plans on the website. For example, we’re currently on Version 5 of our Ruck Based Selection Training Plan and Version 3 of our Dryland Ski Training Plan and Version 4 of our Big Game Back Country Hunting Training Plan.

We understand our programing isn’t cheap, but we believe it’s a great value. The $79 for the Ruck Based Selection Training Plan, and $39 for the Dryland Ski Training Plan reflect the, research, work, innovative theory, iteration, testing and feedback we’ve put in and received to make these plans effective.

All that matters for us is outside performance, and we feel strongly that Our Stuff Works in the real world.

Here’s our guarantee:

1) Individual Training Plan Purchase:
If you purchase an individual training plan, follow it as prescribed before your season/event/pft/selection, and if you don’t feel you were physically ready for your season/event/pft/selection, and/or didn’t see dramatic improvements in your early season performance, we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

2) Athlete’s Subscription
If you purchase an Athletes’ Subscription, follow the training sessions as prescribed, and are not satisfied with the quality of the programming, notify us within 30 days of purchase, and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

Questions?
Email: rob@mtntactical.com

COMMON QUESTIONS:

Do you have any reviews or testimonials from athletes who have used your Athlete’s Subscription
Yes. Click HERE.

Is it true you guarantee your stuff works?
Yes. If you purchase an Athletes’ Subscription, follow the training sessions as prescribed, and are not satisfied with the quality of the programming, notify us within 30 days of purchase, and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

How is MTI programming different than CrossFit?
This is a common question. Read our answer HERE.

You have a lot of competitors. Why should I choose MTI?
MTI is driven to improve mountain and tactical athletes’ mission performance and keep them safe. This emphasis and focus on mission performance sets us apart. Read about more that sets us apart HERE.

If I purchase a plan or subscription, how do I access the programming?
All of our plans are online, accessible via username and password.
You can log in through our →Website  or Mobile App →IOS and Android.

Do you have downloadable .pdf’s of the training plans?
No. But you can print the programming, by week, from your browser. You access individual training plans online via a username and password.

Do you have a mobile app?
Yes, we do. Available for IOS and Android.

What is the difference between purchasing an individual training plan, packet of plans or an Athlete’s Subscription?

  • Plan – Like purchasing the DVD of the first Star Wars movie. You own it forever, including any updates we make to the plan.
  • Packet – Like purchasing the DVD’s of all the Star Wars movies. You own them forever, including any updates we make to the plans.
  • Athlete’s Subscription – Like subscribing to Netflix. You get access to all 200+ plan in our library, but lose access if you unsubscribe.

If I purchase an Athletes Subscription Can I cancel on my own, anytime?
Yes.

Do I have to contact MTI to cancel or can I do it myself?
You can do it yourself. Instructions HERE.

If I purchase a subscription and have questions about where to start or what plans(s) to use for my goals, will you help?
Yes. We answer dozens of training questions from athletes weekly. Email coach@mtntactical.com.

If you add new plans or update existing plans after I subscribe will I have access to them?
Yes. We are continuously adding training plans and packets (2-5/month) and updating plans. With your subscription you’ll have access to all new plans, new courses and plan updates.

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

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