KUDOS
Sincere appreciation for y’alls work. I recently came back fromSFAS and was completely prepared physically for what we faced.
I appreciate the support! – T
KUDOS
I’m a huge fan of your work. I appreciate the scientific rigor you use to create truly inspired workout programs for military guys like me. I just (mostly) finished the Ruck-based Selection train-up and it helped me finish in the top 10 of a support company of over 100 Soldiers during a week of physical events that included the APFT, pull-ups, rope climb, CWST, 5-mile run, and 12-mile ruck. – N
KUDOS
I’m a Spanish fan of your website and methods and Master of Kinesiology (Exercise Physiology) student at the University of Calgary, in Canada and I’m also studying to take the CSCS. And I also try to be a mountain athlete (even though lack of time and money are important limiters to my time spent in the mountains).
I really enjoy the articles you share in your website and I have learned a ton from them and I appreciate your vision of training: train for mission performance, fluid periodization and efficient programming, the unorthodox way in which you plan training. I think you definitely are onto something and you and the MTI will help move the field forward
– F
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KUDOS
Hi Mountain Tactical Team,
I recently completed the 50 mile training plan to prep for my first ultra in 10 years, which was a 50k. I threw in a lot of “bonus” rest days to take it slow, and would have liked to have had a few more/heavier more upper body pulling exercises in the program, (but then, I have chronically unstable shoulders, so maybe that’s just me). Anywho…
After doing this program, (mostly on a treadmill), I went and did my trail 50k and got first place among the females (16th overall). My stabilizers were more than capable of taking the strain of a trail ultra, and nothing got pulled or strained or overly stressed. The aid station crews kept saying it looked like I wasn’t even trying! I think that’s the mark of some stellar training.
Thanks for putting this together. You guys rock.
– S
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KUDOS
I’d like to thank you for all you do and the knowledge and advice you share! I had the privilege of competing in the OCR World Championships this past weekend in Ontario and couldn’t be more pleased.. I finished in the top 20% for my age group (40-44) in both races and more importantly completed every single obstacle and kept both my wrists bands! If you fail an obstacle they cut your band off and your considered disqualified for any prizes etc. I’ve been following your programs for over a year now and felt lean, durable and prepared coming into this event. I did a mixture of Humility which I’ve done in the past along with the mini events from the DEA FAST program with the running improvement program thrown in there towards the end of my training leading up to races. I followed your new thoughts on chassis integrity and my lower back and all around core performed great! I can’t thank you and your hardworking lab rats enough for the guidance I’ve found in your emails, Q & A section and the tried and true real world programs that you guys put out! I look forward to branching out into more adventures of different types and will continue training and staying prepared for whatever may come thru your great programs and the strong mind that ensues as a result!
-J
Based on your recommendation I completed the DEVGRU program (with a cut back in some ruck/run volume and adding in more bodyweight PT circuits) and it was definitely the right call for the SEAL screener. It was 28 hours, 50% got medically dropped or quit, and even several that finished came out of it with stress fractures and joint problems. Me and a buddy, who have been on your programming for a while, only experienced the muscle soreness of a really tough lift, and were consistently top performers. We credit your programming with that, so thank you!
– K
I’d like to thank you for all you do and the knowledge and advice you share! I had the privilege of competing in the OCR World Championships this past weekend in Ontario and couldn’t be more pleased.. I finished in the top 20% for my age group (40-44) in both races and more importantly completed every single obstacle and kept both my wrists bands! If you fail an obstacle they cut your band off and your considered disqualified for any prizes etc. I’ve been following your programs for over a year now and felt lean, durable and prepared coming into this event. I did a mixture of Humility which I’ve done in the past along with the mini events from the DEA FAST program with the running improvement program thrown in there towards the end of my training leading up to races. I followed your new thoughts on chassis integrity and my lower back and all around core performed great! I can’t thank you and your hardworking lab rats enough for the guidance I’ve found in your emails, Q & A section and the tried and true real world programs that you guys put out! I look forward to branching out into more adventures of different types and will continue training and staying prepared for whatever may come thru your great programs and the strong mind that ensues as a result!
-J
I recently completed the 50 mile training plan to prep for my first ultra in 10 years, which was a 50k. I threw in a lot of “bonus” rest days to take it slow, and would have liked to have had a few more/heavier more upper body pulling exercises in the program, (but then, I have chronically unstable shoulders, so maybe that’s just me). Anywho…
After doing this program, (mostly on a treadmill), I went and did my trail 50k and got first place among the females (16th overall). My stabilizers were more than capable of taking the strain of a trail ultra, and nothing got pulled or strained or overly stressed. The aid station crews kept saying it looked like I wasn’t even trying! I think that’s the mark of some stellar training.
Thanks for putting this together. You guys rock.
– C
I’ve been using your LE programming since April and have seen significant gains in strength, speed, and endurance – all while being pain free and without significant injury. I’m on a Federal SWAT team and the workouts are definitely applicable to the type of fitness required to do my job. I’ve done LE Whiskey, Tequila, SWAT Rugar and SWAT Beretta. I’m hoping to see you continue with the SWAT series as I feel its been the best programming for SWAT Athletes.
– K
First I wanted to just say thanks for your great training plans. I’ve been using your programs for years and seen great results from both your mountain athlete programs when I was a ski patroller and in my current military career. My question for you in this, I graduate BUD/s this week and it’s time to get back into ‘healthy’ training. My body is pretty beat up from the 6 month beatdown so I wanted your recommendation about what plans would be good to get into. Obviously I’ve been doing a lot of running and bodyweight stuff but not a whole lot of weights for a while. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Keep up the good work.
– O
Just wanted to let you know I followed your USAF TACP plan and supplemented some weight training prior to the ALO assessment.
Not only did I feel confident in my training during the extended training sessions, but I was selected out of a large pool of candidates.
– D
Wanted to send you another quick note and thank you for the recommendations and advice over the past year. As you know, I have completed several of your ope plans (Humility, Sandbag/Weightvest/Dumbbell) and recently used the Pre-Deployment plan to prepare for a week-long backpack-style archery elk hunt in the Rockies. Long story short, I was able to connect on a 5×5 bull on the last day of the hunt, with an hour of daylight left. As you know, just covering ground in Rocky Mountain “elk country” is hard work — but doing that for 6 days straight and then spending the 7th day packing out and elk? That is quite a bit of demand. I credit your plans for giving me the physical ability, durability, and mental toughness to make it through a long week, hunt hard right up until the end, and then still have something left in the tank to get an elk out of the backcountry. I killed the bull about 5 miles and 2,500 vertical feet up from the truck, so doing two round trips of that with a weighted pack made for a long day. (Thankfully I had a great hunting partner and a few pack goats to share the load with!) The Pre-Deployment plan prepared me for the climbing, as well as the weighted descent, and improved my core stability to bear the heavy pack.
– M
I just wanted to reach out to you about your Backcountry Big Game Hunting Program. I’m just coming off of a three week backpack trip in the Mackenzie Mountains in the Northwest Territories and I used your program to prepare for it. There’s no question in my mind that it more than paid off. I’d say that almost without exception, I was the only one not physically damaged in some way when we came out of the mountains. I think that endurance performance goes without saying, but the thing I noticed above all else was my durability. I mean we took some serious punishment and places where my body had previously failed me held up without the slightest problem. Seriously, well done on this and everything you guys do.
I love your philosophy, your simplicity and the sincerity towards your athletes.
– T
“Thank you for putting together the training programs and Operator Sessions. Everyday is a challenge and a felt sense of accomplishment once completed. This is THE best workout program out there for those of us burdened with maintaining a constant level of fitness. ”
I just wanted to drop you a line and say thank you for the awesome programming. I just brought my company back from a very challenging 6 months in eastern Afghanistan. The bottom line is that without your program we would not have been able to accomplish half of what we did and we would not have brought home as many guys as we did. My Soldiers hated me when I first instituted mind numbing amounts of leg blasters, step-ups, and sandbag get ups, and training that was like nothing they had ever done before, but all these things became a rallying cry as the Soldiers realized how far ahead of their sister companies they were in their physical and mental fitness. Keep doing what you are doing, the benefit cannot be understated.
– B
Just got home from SFAS, successfully selected. I know you’ve got tons of athletes, but I’m going to run down a quick laundry list on how your program has had a direct and significant impact in my life:
In 2009, I was first introduced to your program as my USMA Sandhurst team used it to get ready for the 2010 competition. The training helped us place first in the nation that year. At the end of 2010, after working through operator sessions over the summer, I used your ruck based selection program to get ready for Ranger School. Day 4 of Ranger School, I blew my knee out on the Darby Queen.
Not knowing the extent of the injury, I got up, dusted myself off, and completed the next 59 days of Ranger School. I would later learn I had torn three ligaments and my meniscus. In November 2011, I had surgery on that injury and used your single leg program to get back in shape while my knee healed. With the help of the single-leg program, I recovered a month ahead of schedule and was able to assist in the rehabilitation of over twenty other soldiers in my unit dealing with leg injuries.
My unit used your programming to prepare for our 2013 Afghan deployment, to much success. In February 2014, I coached a Best Ranger Competition team from Fort Campbell- we used your BRC prep. The team, first time competitors, finished 21st out of 50 teams with zero training or competition injuries. Finally, I used your Ruck Based Selection Program to get ready for SFAS this past May- I placed in the top 10% for the course with zero recovery issues and zero injuries.
Thanks for what you do, from the programs to operator sessions to the forums and gear. Your work has helped me reach so many goals in this profession. Look forward to more.
J
“I took your advice I jumped feet first into the Bodyweight Training Program and one week in I have been completely humbled. Honestly, I was worried about losing the strength gains I had made through Starting Strength, halfway through my first mini leg blaster I could care less and I realized how out of shape I really was. If anyone doubts the effectiveness or difficulty of this program, please feel free to refer them to me! Thank you again! ”
It has been close to a year now since my injury and I wanted to say thanks for your help and programming. It was hard getting back into the groove of working out and not being afraid of re-injuring myself, but your low back training plan allowed me to get back to doing the things I love. I am happy to report that this January I was able to summit Cotopaxi, Cayambe, and Chimborazo in succession (~19k, 18k, and 20k feet respectively) with no problems whatsoever! I have also been able to begin pushing myself on sport and trad again. I am very excited for this spring climbing season.
Just thought I’d share, and wanted to say thanks once again.
“Not only did I never fail a physical evolution throughout this past year and a half, I was able to excel in them and experienced no injuries. It’s true that BUD/S is a mental game, but I can remember several times thinking to myself, “I could not have trained or prepared any better for this”. In any event, thank you for your program.”
What I like the most about your stuff is that it is programmed, progressed and it works. I trust it. I don’t waste emotional energy worrying if the work I’m doing is what I really should be doing.
I just finished Fortitude… awesome stuff. I was doing some swimming concurrently (only time I could get coaching) which when coupled with the Big24 progressions of bench and push press, was just murder on my shoulders (impingement). I found the speed of my runs and rucks didn’t increase much throughout the program, but I definitely feel that it built a solid base ready for some future speed work. I just did my assessments for Valor and my run and ruck times per mile at max effort have dropped considerably.
I utilised your stuck in a motel programming for a cruise I recently went on just after Fortitude. The program fitted perfectly with the equipment available on the cruise ship, though I did add some pull ups because there was a pullup bar. I did however get a lot of weird looks when doing such things as a renegade manmaker and treadmill run work capacity session in a pretty packed gym, but anyone who asked got pointed your way. It was also interesting doing exercises such as craig specials and front squats on a rocking ship, definitely taxed the proprioception. I feel that the programming has suitably maintained my fitness ready to start Valor.
I will be working through Valor before then doing the USAF PFT programming (this suits Australian Army BFA training) before taking a test in March. Not too sure after that but I’m thinking a gym based work-capacity program would be ideal.
Your programming really is the shit. Quite often when looking at the next days programming it looks easy. Then you start the workout and the lightbulb soon goes off that Rob Shaul won’t let you off that easily. What I like the most about your stuff is that it is programmed, progressed and it works. I trust it. I don’t waste emotional energy worrying if the work I’m doing is what I really should be doing. It’s not “working out” it’s “training” and that’s also one of the things that keeps the motivation so high.
Keep up the good work.