About MTI

Above: Lat Rats research a new strength progression at MTI.

Mountain Tactical Institute (MTI) is an independent strength and conditioning research lab in Jackson, Wyoming which engineers mission-direct, professional-grade fitness programming for mountain and tactical professionals. The athletes we program for have jobs with significant fitness demands and for whom failure carries real-world consequence..

Mountain Roots

MTI was founded in 2007 in Jackson, Wyoming, training mountain guides, freeskiers, alpinists, and wildland firefighters. Our initial work focused on the specific performance needs of backcountry movement: uphill efficiency, downhill control, durability under fatigue, and the ability to recover overnight and go again.

In 2009, we were approached by deploying military personnel who needed to prepare for mountainous combat patrols in Afghanistan.. Their request marked a turning point — and the beginning of MTI’s direct support to military, law enforcement, wildland fire, and rescue professionals.

Our mountain athlete foundation didn’t just transfer — it shaped what followed. Uphill skin tracks became foot patrols. Chassis integrity under load became armor and gear. Event preparation became mission preparation.

Read More: Alpinists to Operators: The Mountain Sport Origins of MTI’s Tactical Athlete Programming

Our Work

MTI has developed, tested, and built 450+ mission-specific plans for tactical and mountain professionals. MTI’s programming libray includes day-to-day “base fitness” programming for military, law enforcement, fire rescue and mountain professionals and extends to event-specific programming for tactical PFTs, military and first responder courses and academies, military SOF selections. On the mountain side, MTI’s programming library includes pre-seaonson programming for every mountain sport (skiing, rock climbing, ultra running, whitewater kayaking, backcountry hunting) and specific mountain events including alpine climbs like Denalli and events like The Rut 50k Ultra Marathon.

Click the links below to browse MTI’s programming library.

How We Program

MTI programming includes multi-modal, occupation-based, day-to-day base fitness which builds durability and capacity. We also program for specific missions, events and mountain sports. Programming varies by season, mission cycle, and deployment calendar — but always follows one principle: train for the demands of the job.

This model emerged not from theory, but from necessity — because no job in the field is linear, isolated, or clean.

All programming is created and tested in-house, using MTI coaches, athlete lab rats, and feedback from real-world users. Plans are updated continually based on performance data and field results.

We do not crowdsource workouts. We do not copy methods from other coaches. Every training session, rep scheme, and progression model is purpose-built.

Read more:
Programming Is Everything,
MTI Programming vs. Conventional Wisdom: 6 Key Differences

What Makes MTI Different

We don’t design workouts. We develop tools.

Mission-first: Every plan starts with the demands of the job. We reverse-engineer programming from real-world tasks, not gym metrics.
Field-tested: Programming is tested by athletes in the field and in our lab. No assumptions. No guessing.
Non-dogmatic: If it doesn’t work, we change it. We publish our research — even when the results contradict our assumptions.
Research. Not only do we keep up with the latest academic research, but we conduct our own research and to-date have conducted over 100 research studies, most of which tested strength and condtioing programming effectiveness.
Constant Improvement. As we learn and improve so does our programming. Many of our most well known fitness plans are one their fifth or sixth version as we’ve updated them to our lastest methodology.
Unbranded: No slogans. No supplements. No endorsements. Just work.

Read More: Why MTI?

Thought Leadership

MTI is recogized as a thought leader in the mountain and tactical fitness programming spaces.

Our Chassis Integrity method of training functional core strength and strength endurance is widely copied and deployed by strength & conditioning coaches.
Several of MTI’s fitness assessments have been adoped by individual tactical units.
Our Quiet Professionalism essays have been widely recognized across the tactical and mountain communities.
Fitness, Tactical and Mountain media have regognized MTI’s work.
We’ve worked directly with Military, Law Enforcement and Fire/Rescue Units accross the US and on the mountain side have had partnerships with the American Mountain Guide Association and The North Face.

Finally, and most important, thousands of mountain and tactical athletes have used and had success with MTI programming on the job, for tactical selections, and mountain objectives.

CART