Military / National Security How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell Apart, NY TimesArmy axes promotion boards that weighed opinions of peers, subordinates for commanders, Task & PurposeUkrainian bombing campaign turns Russia’s sheer size into a weakness, Atlantic CouncilTrump to sign order renaming Department of Defense to ‘Department of War’, […]
Knowledge
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 […]
Arete 8.30.25
Military / National Security The End of Mutually Assured Destruction? What AI Will Mean for Nuclear Deterrence, Foreign Affairs The Dawn of Automated Warfare. Ai Will Be the Key to Victory in Ukraine and Elsewhere, Foreign Affairs Navy Reserve, Naval Special Warfare Leaders Removed from Command, USNI Israel and the New Air Superiority. The Real […]
Touch Jump Touch to Box Intervals: MTI’s Most Intense Work Capacity Event?
Above: US SKi Team Downhiller, Tommy Beissemeyer completing a 20:40 round of Touch/Jump/Touch to Box intervals. By Rob & Emmett Shaul Development of Touch Jump Touch to Box Intervals followed classic MTI design method: Identify fitness demands of the sport or event, identify exercises that train to that demand, and then interate and simplify. […]
Arete 8.23.25
Military / National Security IDF begins invasion of Gaza City as hostage deal talks continue, JPost.com Poland says Russian drone crash is a ‘provocation’, UK Defense Journal Navy: 12-hour Fire Aboard USS New Orleans Extinguished, 2 Sailors with Minor Injuries, USNI Congo massacre of Christians spotlights rising ISIS influence in central Africa – analysis, JPost.com […]
Resilience vs. Discipline vs. Perseverance: Why the Distinctions Matter in Mental Fitness
By Rob Shaul, Founder Mental Fitness is often described as innate—some have it, and some don’t. This hasn’t been our experience at MTI. Both on the gym floor, in life, at work, in the mountains and on rivers and the sea, we’ve seen Mental Fitness built, and lost. We’ve found it to be mode-specific—just because […]
Lessons Learned Climbing the South and Middle Tetons in One Day
By Emmett Shaul, MTI Coach We started at 5 a.m. with headlamps, and the parking lot at Lupine Meadows was already packed, busier than I’ve ever seen it in past years. The first stretch up to the boulder field went quickly and smoothly. I used trekking poles during this section, and they worked extremely well […]
Alpinists to Operators: The Mountain Sport Origins of MTI’s Tactical Athlete Programming
By Rob Shaul, Founder By Rob Shaul, Founder MTI began as Mountain Athlete in 2007. That July, I sold my first company, and after a few weeks of intense twitchiness, I committed to a new career in strength and conditioning. I’d always been a gym rat and had already been coaching strength and conditioning sessions […]
MTI Q&A 8.18.25: Bodyweight Progressions, Ranger Prep, 200-Mile Ultra, NZSAS, BC Skiing Trip Prep
What’s the Next Program After Finishing Bodyweight Beginner and Starting the MTI Meal Plan? Athlete: I’m just starting Week 3 of the Bodyweight Beginner Program and really enjoying the structure and progression. On Monday, I’ll also be starting Week 1 of the MTI’s 4-Week Meal Plan and am looking forward to seeing how it supports […]
Arete 8.16.25
Military / National Security Sacrificing Ukraine will only increase the cost of stopping Putin’s Russia, Atlantic Council Trump’s DC police takeover has a likely expiration date, Semafor Garmin Tactix 8 Review, Western Hunter North Korean Workers in Russia Face ‘Slave-Like’ Conditions – BBC, Moscow Times The DIY cage armor in Ukraine keeps getting weirder, wilder […]