QUESTION
I purchased the FBI SWAT selection course the other day. My selection starts a little over 9 weeks from now. Can you advise the best way to proceed with the program?
ANSWER
Repeat weeks 3 and week 6 in the plan to stretch it to 9 weeks. So…
Week 1 – Plan Week 1
Week 2 – Plan Week 2
Week 3 – Plan Week 3
Week 4 – Plan Week 3
Week 5 – Plan Week 4
Week 6 – Plan Week 5
Week 7 – Plan Week 6
Week 8 – Plan Week 6
Week 9 – Plan Week 7
– Rob
QUESTION
I am interested in using your BJJ program to train for my first judo competition in December. I saw several options including a seven week plan and some hero named ones. Which path do you recommend for someone with the athletes subscription? Also what do you do when you BBC complete the seven week plan? Can you repeat it? Thank you!
ANSWER
You’ve got 12 weeks until December 1. Here’s what I recommend:
Weeks Plan
1-7 BJJ Training Plan – 7 week plan – will prep you for the comp plan.
8-12 BJJ Competition Training Plan – complete the 5 weeks directly before your comp.
The Tactical BJJ plans and daily subscription are designed for tactical athletes (mil/LE) who practice BJJ on the side 2-3 days/week. This programming is designed to fill in the holes in terms of mission-direct fitness for their day jobs.
Repeat plans back to back? Sure … but not advised. Soon your fitness improvement will plateau and the training will become stale for you.
– Rob
QUESTION
You guys have a ton of programs, which is cool…. But I have absolutely no idea what to do. I’m looking for 6-7 days of training, preferably focused on weight/strength training with 2-3 days of cardio. I’ve got a home gym with a rack, plates, sandbag, weight vest, etc. What should I look at? The general fitness category or would it be better to do the police SWAT/SRT since that’s what my work experience is?
Some direction would be greatly appreciated.
ANSWER
We got your note from the online form – and this email.
Are you full time SWAT?
If so, you should be doing our mission-direct SWAT programming. This programming concurrently trains strength, work capacity (multi-modal and shuttle sprints – 30 min or less intense efforts), endurance – run and ruck, tactical agility, and Chassis Integrity – MTI’s proprietary functional core programming.
2 Options:
1) Plans/Order in the Gun Maker Packet for SWAT/SRT. These plans can be purchased together as a package, or individually. Start with Ruger.
2) Subscription to the Daily LE SWAT/SRT programming – start with September. Cost is $15/month.
I’m assuming your fit? Have a full functional gym to train? Know your way around a weight room? If not, let me know.
– Rob
QUESTION
I need advice on EFMB Programming until March
ANSWER
By my count you’ve got 25 weeks until March. Here’s what I recommend:
Weeks. Plan
1-8. Valor (repeat week 6 to stretch this plan to 8 weeks)
9-16 Fortitude (repeat week 6 to stretch this plan to 8 weeks)
17-25 EFMB Training Plan (Repeat weeks 3 and 6 in this plan to stretch it t 9 weeks)
The ruck will be a challenge at 63″, 130#. the only way to train for it is to increase strength and do lots of rucking. This programming does that.
Questions?
– Rob
QUESTION
I was looking at attending a smoke diver course next year 2025. I read that you recommend not starting the smoke diver training you offer until you’re seven weeks out.
41, 230, 6ft
I’m currently doing crossfit and lifting.
I’ve got a membership to the ymca, crossfit and the stations I have full gym. I do have sandbags.
What would you recommend?
ANSWER
At 6′, I’d like you at 185#. Losing weight will help everything – esp your knees, hips and low back at 41. Here are our ideal bodyweights for tactical athletes. First, fix your diet and you’ll shed fat. Here are our dietary recommendations.
Programming? By my count you have 28 weeks until mid-March. Here’s what I’d recommend:
Weeks Plan
1-7 Smoke Diver Training Plan – yep, now …it will give you a no-shit eval of your current fitness, and help both your physical and mental fitness tune up.
22-28 Repeat the Smoke DIver Plan the 7 weeks directly before reporting.
– Rob
QUESTION
ANSWER
QUESTION
I hope all is well! I emailed you a few years ago about your hip replacement because I was about to get mine replaced. I ended up getting the surgery in Nov 2021. Took four months off work (career firefighter/paramedic), then right back to shift. I’m about 95% pain free (at least in the hip). I’ve been able to get back into bjj and even picked up my purple belt since then.
Only thing that sucks is I don’t run anymore and seems like every time I try to train my lower body my knees or hips get aggravated. Could be the surgery or could be the miles on the body, or my own self being dumb and pushing too hard.
Anyway I’m wondering what adaptations you’ve had to make following your surgery if any and any suggestions to keep the legs strong and healthy? Should I replace squatting altogether with something else?
Also, I just signed up for the swat/srt daily program. How would you recommend I schedule my training through the week? I work a 24/72 schedule. I try to get in two bjj sessions a week, on top of strength and conditioning training. I’m 43 and feel beat the F-up most days. I’m just trying to stay strong and to feel athletic again would be nice.
Long winded email! Sorry. I hope all is good and you’ve still been getting after it!
ANSWER
Leg Strength? My hip is still weak and hurts for certain movements – for example, doing sandbag getups comes with a type of pain that I know isn’t good – so I can’t do those any more.
But hip and knees are different. My knees hurt too on squatting movements, but get better when I warm up. I push range of motion as far as I can each rep – which means how much pain I can tolerate. Also – I’ve been doing exercises recommended by the Knees over Toes guy (instram/youtube) and these have helped significantly – so I’d recommend you try those.
There is no real alternative to weighted lunges or squats to build leg strength. Our leg blaster complex (bodyweight) can do it … but there’s a lot of deep squatting/lunging in it as well.
So …. welcome to your 40s. Suck it up, and do the best you can with loaded lunges/squatting. The only exercise sub that might work is heavy sled drags. We did a Mini Study testing the affects of forward sled drags on leg strength and found they increased it. So this might be an short term option as drags don’t require deep knee bends. The problem is that eventually my guess is you’d plateau and at some point, heavy sled drags would only make you better at heavy sled drags, and will stop increasing leg strength.
Schedule? I generally recommend tactical athletes do as much training as possible on their duty days, but with a 24/72 schedule, you’re going to also have to train on your off days. As well, I recommend training first thing in the morning.
So here’s what you could do and still train 5 days/week:
What sucks about this is you’ll need to train right after coming off shift – and sometimes, I imagine you’ll be sleep deprived. That’s okay – I’ve trained many times on 2 hours or less sleep and managed.
– Rob
QUESTION
Do any of your programs have programming of box step ups from beginner to advanced level?
I’d like to spend a year on this going from easy to very advanced
ANSWER
Our Mountaineering and Hiking Prep plan is designed to bring unfit athletes up to the level of uphill endurance needed to complete on of our event-specific mountaineering plans.
So – I don’t have 52 weeks of this, – but you wouldn’t want to do that anyway.
I’d recommend the Mountaineering and Hiking Prep plan followed by the Big Mountain Climbing Plan.
Overall, this is 14 weeks of programming if you train 5-6 days/week. If you need more recovery, you could cut it back to 3-4 days/week, shift the calendar to the right, and stretch it out in terms of weeks.
Following these plans, drop into the Mountain Elite Daily programming stream to maintain mountain endurance.
– Rob
QUESTION
Followed your programming for a while now. I joined the Army in 2016 as an 18x and your programs prepared me well for what I faced there. Unfortunately I was injured in the course and didn’t make it, but you are a very well known man in the military community as you know.
Now, as a relatively older man of 29 I have decided to give my all in the Russo-Ukrainian War. I want to go there and fight with a full heart and be an asset to my brothers with my fitness and a heart full of boldness.
I looked through your page again and found that you haven’t made a program pertaining to this war yet. I’d highly advise you do so, because you are a household name in the veteran community and many men will look to you first in preparation of what will be asked of you there which, as we know, is the most asked of any warfighter of our generation.
Anyways, sir, wondering if you could make a recco on a program or two to prepare me for what lies ahead and to not let my fitness be a liability to the men I serve with.
From what I can gather from others experiences there and my own military experience, situations requiring extreme explosiveness and endurance can be expected. Whether that be making prolonged kinetic assaults on enemy positions or walking 15k back to the CCP after being wounded, or of course lifting and carrying your boy that weighs 200lbs with in full kit and no legs to safety, or humping a 50 into position on your back and being able to shoulder press it off your ruck into a trench line and lay hasty suppressive on the enemy. I am also aware that the US military mantra of “no man left behind” does not apply there. If you can’t get your ass of the X with your kit you will be left behind. They cannot afford to sacrifice a squad or fire team of men keeping up with your fat ass.
Currently I’m 5’10 about 205-210, relatively detrained. In the last 5 or so years I have lifted but not done much cardio. This year I have detrained a lot and not been very consistent in my fitness. I think it would benefit me to lose weight and build as much strength and endurance as possible obviously. Any input here for diet and programming based on your vast experience would be great. I am looking to step off around January and don’t mind doing two-a-days and living a life of training, work, eat and sleep until then if I must. I also work a factory job with 12 hour days, 2 days on, 2 days off if that is relevant to your recommendations, which I think it is.
ANSWER
You have 16 Weeks until Jan 1. Here’s what I recommend:
Weeks. Plan
1-7 Valor
8-10 Fortitude (This is a 7 week plan, so you can add weeks as you get more info on your January deployment date)
11-16 Urban Combat Pre-Deployment Training Plan – last 6 weeks directly before wheels up to Ukraine
Diet? Here are our recommendations.
Be careful and good luck!
– Rob
QUESTION
I recently signed up for your Busy Dad daily programming. I liked it. I appreciated the variety, brevity, and i felt like I was getting a well rounded workout.
The issue I am facing is what I really love to do is be outside and running (trail mostly), cycle (road, mountain, gravel), some swimming, skiing (downhill and cross country) etc. I know performing this type of mainly aerobic activity under develops my strength and power.
I am naturally or perhaps because of my activity preferences skinny. I’m 6’ 2.5” and weigh around 185 lbs. I have put on 10-15 lbs of Dad fat because I am not able to train as much. When I was really fit I was around 168-170 lbs.
I am nearly 43 with 4 kids oldest is 7 years old. Full time job. Limited time. Want to be fit and well rounded.
I am looking for suggestions on how incorporate weight well rounded lifting / strength / overall programming that would complement the other activities (cycling, running, swimming, skiing) I really enjoy doing. I’m not sure if there is a 2-3 day a week routine that I could try, or a daily programming I could do 2-3 days a week, or if I should try to do daily on top of these? Any suggestions for a well rounded approach?
ANSWER
Not every month of the Busy Dad programming has the same schedule or emphasis. This month has one day of programmed endurance, some months will have 2-3 and have a slight endurance emphasis.
As well – we’ll change up the endurance mode … this month (sept) the mode is gym-based endurance.
All that being said –
Weight? 95% of weight loss is diet-related. You can’t outwork a shitty diet. At 43, your metabolism is slowing significantly and if you’re not eating clean, you’ll add belly fat. First – clean up your diet – esp. cut out all refined sugar and bad carbs (bread, rice, potatoes, etc.) Here are our dietary recommendations. Second, if you haven’t already, get a blood test and see where your testosterone levels are … mine were low at your age and getting a prescription for testosterone helped significantly with recovery and keeping my weight down.
In terms of programming, you can readily replace all the endurance sessions in the daily busy dad stream with our outside endurance mode, and add in a Saturday/Sunday endurance effort.
That being said, if you want to be be doing outside endurance consistently 3-4 times/week, the Busy Dad stream may not be the best fit. Instead I’d recommend our In-Season Strength Training Plan for Endurance Athletes. These sessions are designed to be completed 2-3x week as your schedule allows, and will build/maintain your strength while you still build your endurance. Each of these sessions includes heavy barbell-based strength training, and a solid chassis-integrity circuit to build/train functional core strength. As designed, these sessions last 60 minutes, but you could get them down to 45 minutes by doing just 4 rounds of the strength work, and dropping the CI circuit from 20 to 15 minutes.
– Rob