LE Patrol/Detective Sessions

MTI’s LE Patrol/Detective Sessions are our year-round, day-to-day “Base Fitness” strength and conditioning program designed specifically for full-time Law Enforcement Patrol Officers and Detectives.

This program prepares officers for 90% of the mission-direct fitness demands they face on the street. This is precision, professional-grade programming for front-line law enforcement operators.

This is multi-modal, concurrent training. MTI’s LE Patrol/Detective Sessions train strength, work capacity, short endurance (running), chassis integrity and tactical agility simultaneously using our proprietary Fluid Periodization methodology.

“Base Fitness” bottom of MTI’s Fitness Mountain, serving as the crucial foundation for your mission-direct physical capability. A high level of job-specific Base Fitness allows you to seamlessly pivot to our intense event-specific programming—such as a plan for a PFT or SWAT selection.

The LE Patrol/Detective Sessions are programmed on a monthly schedule. Each cycle is 4 or 5 weeks long, depending on the number of Mondays in that particular month. Twelve cycles per year, and you’ll train 5 days/week, with an occasional, optional endurance day on Saturdays. Most sessions are an efficient 45 minutes long, and designed to be completed before your shift or at lunch.

Your body is your primary tool. As a tactical athlete, if you are unfit or injured, you are a liability to your team, not an asset. Officers and Detectives are professional athletes who use their bodies to earn a living; your paycheck, performance, and survivability depend on your fitness.

Why MTI?

MTI has been programming for law enforcement personnel since 2010. Many military veterans who used our programming for downrange deployments transitioned into law enforcement and demanded the same level of professional-grade fitness planning. In the years since, MTI’s law enforcement division has expanded to include daily sessions, PFT-specific plans, and selection training for local and federal SWAT/SRT units.

Over nearly two decades, MTI has built mission-direct workout plans for everyone from rural sheriff’s departments and urban special units to US Marshals, FBI, DEA, DSS, and other federal agents.

We understand the reality of the job.

We know you are busy, likely lack paid duty time to train, and may not have a unit gym. You need effective, efficient programming. To reflect this reality, MTI’s Daily LE Patrol/Detective sessions are designed to be completed in 30-45 minutes, allowing you to train before your shift or during lunch.

Fitness Attributes of a Law Enforcement Athlete

• High Relative Strength: Strength per body weight, with a focus on total and lower body strength. In tactical situations, LE athletes must move quickly and powerfully. We aim to make you as strong as possible without adding unneeded mass, keeping you fast and explosive. Strength is also the key to durability: stronger athletes are harder to injure and recover faster if they do get hurt.
• Upper Body Hypertrophy: LE athletes, especially those on patrol, benefit from upper-body mass. A stout upper body acts as a physical deterrent to potential threats.
• Work Capacity: The “horsepower” and aerobic power to exert maximum effort for short periods. This is critical for dangerous situations. Our programming emphasizes sprinting ability and recovery—the primary mode of effort when safety is on the line.
• Chassis Integrity: Functional, transferable core/midsection strength and endurance. This is essential for mission performance and long-term durability.
• Tactical Agility: The development of tactical speed, explosive power, and agility.
• Short Endurance: Running endurance (1–4 miles) for general fitness and extended operations.

What Makes MTI Different?

(1) Mission-Direct Research. Early on, we realized academic research was too narrow and slow for tactical athletes. MTI’s “Mission-Direct” research methodology includes rapidly completing studies, assessing, iterating, and improving our mission-direct programming. To date, MTI has conducted over 100 internal research studies most of which tested mission-direct programming methodologies for effectiveness. 

(2) We train for performance outside the gym. Our LE Patrol/Detective base fitness programming focuses on training that transfers directly to tactical performance and durability. Gym numbers are meaningless; all that matters is outside performance. We are not wedded to a single theory—our programming constantly evolves as we learn and improve.

(3) We build durability. By developing overall strength, core stability, and mission-direct fitness, we aim to make our athletes unbreakable. Industrial athletes—such as soldiers, mountain guides, and patrol officers—depend on their bodies for their livelihood. The best way to ensure durability is to make you fit for the specific demands of your job as a law enforcement operator.

(4) Fluid Periodization. Conventional strength and conditioning fails the multi-modal athlete. Unlike team sport, or competing individual athletes, many tactical athletes and mountain professionals can’t program their training calendar around pre-determined off-season, pre-season and in-season periods. Because of the unpredictable nature of tactical mission-sets and mountain emergencies, many tactical athletes and mountain professionals have to be fit across a wide spectrum of fitness attributes at all times. These are true, “multi-modal” athletes.

The programming challenge presented by Tactical Athletes and Mountain Professionals is how to concurrently train multiple fitness attributes in the same cycle and steadily improve or maintain fitness across all the attributes.

Conventional wisdom in the strength and conditioning world is this cannot be done, well. Conventional strength and conditioning programming sees only the two extremes of programming, “linear” or “random”.

At one end is linear periodization, where we could train just one fitness attribute at a time including detailed progression. For example, typical football-based strength and conditioning starts with a Hypertrophy Cycle, followed by a Strength Cycle, followed by a Power Cycle. During these cycles, the set/rep and loading/volume schemes are manipulated specifically to increase that cycle’s focus. So moderate loading, high volume for Hypertrophy, low volume, high weight for Strength, and lightweight, low volume and high speed for Power. 

Similar approaches are seen in traditional endurance programming – where a “base” cycle of long, slow work is followed by a “build” cycle combining moderate distances and slow paces with short distances and faster paces, which is then followed by a “speed” cycle of short, fast work.

It’s true that linear progression concentration is the best way to improve fitness in that one attribute, but while training was focused on it, the other fitness attributes would decline. So, while the football players are training Strength, they are losing some of the mass they built during the Hypertrophy cycle.

At the other end of this balance is random programming, where all the fitness attributes are trained, but without a systematic approach or any type of progression. Random programming leads to all the fitness attributes being trained, but without any system or progression, gains within each are suspect, and overall improvement in Base Fitness is limited.

This has been one of the key criticisms of CrossFit by academics …. that because of random programming and without attribute focus, CrossFitters never get really good at anything – strength, work capacity or endurance.

MTI Founder, Rob Shaul, developed and refined “Fluid Periodization” – which sits in the middle of these two extremes.  Through MTI’s Fluid Periodization methodology, all the fitness attributes which make up Base Fitness are trained, but the approach is methodological and includes deliberate progressions both within each cycle and overall throughout the macrocycle. 

Using Fluid Periodization we are able to concurrently train the multiple attributes. Fluid Periodization concurrently trains multiple fitness attributes during the same Base fitness cycle, with either a balanced emphasis across all the attributes or a cyclic emphasis on one or two attributes. 

This proprietary methodology allows us to train Strength, Work Capacity, Endurance and Chassis Integrity, concurrently while maintaining detailed, mathematical progressions. We do not have an “off-season.” You need to be capable across all domains, all the time.

Fluid Periodization has two goals: (1) build and maintain the athletes “base” fitness across multiple fitness attributes, and; (2) lay the fitness foundation for more intens

Nothing at MTI is random. Every rep in the Daily Operator Sessions fits into a larger picture of professional-grade strength and conditioning programming for military operators.

(5) We understand the “burden” of constant fitness. Professional tactical athletes cannot allow themselves to get out of shape, but constant training can easily lead to staleness and boredom. Our programming cycles through different attributes, includes cycle-based assessments, and balances intense sessions with recovery “unload” weeks to both challenge and protect the athlete.

(6) Constant improvement. Our programming today is different than it was 12 months ago, and it will be different 12 months from now. The more we coach, the more we learn. We are constantly testing and making changes to improve. We can always do better.

(7) We are our own “Lab Rats.” 

COMMON QUESTIONS

How long will sessions last?
These training sessions are specifically designed to be completed in 30-45 minutes. Work briskly, but not frantically, through these training sessions. We know you are busy, and want these sessions able to be completed before work or at lunch.

Required Equipment?
Completion of the program requires a fully-equipped functional gym, complete with barbells, racks, sandbags and plyo boxes.

What if I miss a day?
Begin where you left off when you return to training. This program is progressed – each session builds upon the prior session – so don’t skip a session or skip around. Follow the training sessions in order, regardless.

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.

Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE. The Run/Ruck Calculator is listed as an exercise.

What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.

How do I access the plan?
Access is online, via username and password. You can login either through our website or through our app (Mtn Tactical Fitness) available for IOS and Android.

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

Can I see sample training?
Yes. Scroll down to see a typical week of programming. 

More Questions? Email: coach@mtntactical.com

SAMPLE WEEK OF TRAINING: