With 450+ Plans and 9x Daily Programming Streams, the training options are wide and many. Below is an overview of what kind of training option is best for you. First, some definitions:
Base Fitness Training Priorities
- Build and maintain a high level of Base Fitness for 80% of mission-direct fitness demands.
While we can’t program for every mission and fitness demand all the time, it is possible to anticipate and train for the most common type of mission-direct fitness demands. Importantly, by “mission-direct” we’re not referring to regularly scheduled tactical PFTs, schools, or selections, but rather actual, job-specific fitness demands. This is an important distinction as often the specific events of a PFT for example, don’t necessarily reflect the mission-direct fitness demands of athletes. On the tactical side, the most obvious example of this is load carriage. Military, Urban Fire, and Wildland Fire athletes, especially, have mission-direct load carriage demands, but few unit, service, or agency PFT’s include a loaded movement event. This is one reason we’ve built PFT and other event-specific training plans. - Lay a solid base fitness foundation upon which to build “Event” and/or “Sport-Specific” fitness.
Most of MTI’s Event and Sport-Specific programming is very focused, and very intense. Having a solid level of Base Fitness before beginning one of these Event-Specific plans increased the chances of solid event performance by the athlete completing the plan. - Address the “Burden of Constant Fitness.”
Tactical athletes especially, as well as many professional mountain athletes and mountain professionals (Rangers, Game Wardens, Mountain Guides, etc.) can never afford to be out of shape. This means they must be constantly training fitness, and without some variety, this constant fitness demand and training can lead to mental “staleness” and fitness plateaus. At MTI we understand this, and build out Base Fitness programming that not only addresses 80% of our athlete’s mission-direct fitness demands, but also acknowledges their Burden of Constant Fitness and attempts to add in programming variety, progressions and other design tools to keep things interesting mentally, and progressing physically. - Address Career Longevity and Durability
MTI’s approach to mission-durability is contrarian to the trendy recovery, nutrition, wellness and mobility techniques and shortcuts put forward by much of the fitness industry. In our experience, the best durability we can give the athletes we train is a high level of mission-direct fitness for their job. Soldiering, Firefighting, Law Enforcement and all the mountain professional career types are physically demanding, high-impact occupations. Athletes can and are severely injured or worse, doing these jobs. We’ve yet to find any magic supplement, stretch, nutrition gimmick or trendy recovery technique that matches the durability “armor” mission-direct fitness builds for these athletes. At the same time, we work to be smart at mission-direct programming and avoid training techniques that don’t directly relate to mission-direct fitness demands or cause unnecessary wear and tear. One common way we do this is to periodically “unload” athletes for a cycle. For example, if our Military Base Fitness programming for a cycle includes heavy barbell-based strength work and rucking, the next cycle might deploy bodyweight strength work and unloaded running. - Read the full article on Base Fitness here
Sport or Event Fitness Training Priorities
- This is training based on the requirements of the school, selection, mountain, or season the athlete is preparing for. The programming becomes hyper-focused on those requirements. Because every summit and selection is different, we have created a massive library of plans that are specific to those requirements.
- If it’s an event or sport you’re fully investing your time and energy into (not to mention also risking serious injury), you owe it to yourself and those around you to be as sport-specifically fit as possible to achieve your objective.
The Athlete Subscription
The Athlete Subscription is by far our most popular training option. It gives you unlimited access to our full catalog of training plans and daily programming streams training at $35/month.
Who It’s Best For
- Athletes who need to transition between Base Fitness and Event or Season-specific training. Example: A multi-sport Mountain Athlete who has multiple summits or adventures planned throughout the year. Another example would be the Soldier who has multiple schools, a selection, or a deployment scheduled over the next year. Or a Firefighter that wants to be ready for the job, but also prepare for hunting season in the fall.
- Athletes who want variety. Example: If you want to develop strength, maintain it, and then get ready for a marathon later in the year.
- Athletes who like to jump programs. Only want to do the first 4 weeks of 357 Strength, followed by the first four weeks of Operator Sessions, followed by 4 weeks of Run and Ruck Improvement?
- Athletes New to MTI. If you’re new to MTI, we recommend the Athlete Subscription so you can explore the programming and determine the best training path forward. We don’t have contracts or cancellation fees, so if it’s not for you, simply cancel it.
Daily Programming Streams
The Daily Programming Streams are a recent addition to MTI, offering year-round base fitness programming for the athlete types listed below. Each programming stream has 1-month cycles uploaded at the beginning of every month, and will have 4-5 months of previous programming available. At $15/month, this is by far the simplest and most affordable training option.
- Military Operator
- Urban Fire/Rescue
- Wildland Fire
- LE SWAT/SRT
- LE Patrol/Detective
- Mountain Elite (for Mountain Athletes)
- Busy Dad (Short and efficient training for busy athletes)
- Jiu-Jitsu/Grappling
- MTI 45+ (for Athletes 45-55+)
Who It’s Best For
- Athletes who only need base fitness training. No events, schools, or specific mountain seasons to prepare for? The Daily Programming is for you.
- Athletes who have 1-2 recurring annual events. If you have base fitness needs through the year, but need to prepare for an annual physical fitness test. Use the Daily Programming throughout the year, and purchase the individual plan to get you ready to smoke the fitness test. We offer a 25% discount for purchasing a Daily Programming Stream + Individual Plan together.
Individual Plans and Packets
Our library of individual training plans is massive but remains a part of the business out of pure demand. When you purchase an individual plan or packet, it’s yours forever. No recurring charges, just a simple transaction. Additionally, whenever we update a plan that you have purchased, your plan will automatically be updated in your account. Packets are simply a collection of plans that we’ve consolidated and discounted, often built together for something specific such as a Ruck Based Selection.
Individual Plans and Packets can be sport-specific or base fitness. At this point, we generally recommend the Daily Programming Streams for base fitness needs, as the monthly cycles allow us to grow and improve the programming on a more frequent basis.
- You want to have a plan for an annual event. Common individual plan purchases are our Ski-Season prep plans and military PFT plans. You do it every year.
- You just love a particular plan and doing it a few times a year. For example, several of our strength-focused plans are examples of programs repeated frequently throughout the year.
- You don’t want another subscription. Netflix just increased their price again
- Need to buy 2 or more plans that aren’t included in a packet? We have a 25% discount for that.
Still don’t know where to start?
We answer dozens of athlete questions every week. Email us – coach@mtntactical.com