Q&As 10.20.25

Avoid Overtraining: Why You Shouldn’t Repeat the Smoke Diver Plan

Athlete:
Good morning,
I recently purchased the Smoke diver prep course from yall. I have a little under a year before I go to the next selection and figured I could just repeat the program leading up to selection. Is that advisable or what would you recommend?
Thank you. 

Rob:
No … the plan is too intense, and you’ll overtrain an/or plateau. 

Do the Smoke Diver Plan now …. it will give you a no-bullshit snapshot of your current mental and physical fitness currently. 

Then, take a full week off of rest, then either complete the plans/order in the Big Cat Series for Fire/Rescue or subscribe to the Daily Urban Fire/Rescue Training Stream. 

Both are Base Fitness programming for Fire/Rescue and concurrently train Strength, Work Capacity, Short Endurance, Tactical Agility and Chassis Integrity. The programming is designed as day-to-day programming for full time Urban Firefighters and provide the fitness to meet 90% of your mission-direct fitness demands. 

Then, the 7 weeks directly before your course, re-complete the Smoke Diver Plan. 

All of this assumes you’re currently training and relatively fit. If you’re current fitness is suspect, email back with you age/weight/height, and current training and I’ll suggest plans to level you up. 

Questions?
Happy to hop on a call if needed.

Athlete:
Ok that all makes sense. Thank you for that info! I’ll follow that to a T

Rob:
Good luck. Email any questions. – Rob

No MTI Affiliate in Seattle – But Here’s What You Can Do

Athlete:
I’ve been a long time follower of your programming having used it for Ranger School, Afghanistan Prep, and SFAS Prep. Now I’ve been doing more mountain sports (backcountry skiing, trail running, hiking and Nordic skiing). However at this point in my life, I need a trainer or in person coach to work with from accountability standpoint. I’m currently living in Seattle and would love to find an affiliate or someone that follows your programming to work with me. I’ve tried others but they just go back to what they know instead of following your best practices and programming to achieve the goals I’m looking for.  Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. 

Rob:
I’m sorry … we don’t have anyone I can point you to in Seattle. It’s asking a lot to ask a personal trainer to deploy MTI programming … our stuff is so different from what conventional trainers know/learn it will be hard for them to click in. 

From our programming – if you want to try on your own, you’re a few weeks from backcountry skiing and we just updated our Backcountry Ski Pre-Season Training Plan. It’s no joke … and will feel familiar in intensity to the military plans of ours you’ve completed. 

Questions?
Happy to hop on a call if needed.

Training a 17-Year-Old for Wrestling, a 21-Day Trek, and a Service Academy Test

Athlete:
My son is active and just-turned 17 yr old. He is a fit active guy, roughly 6 ft 1 and 220 lbs. Fit not fat.  I am working to support him in getting to next level and achieving his goals. There is some common ground across his goals, but I suspect we need to stack several plans together in order to achieve his goals. 

Paul’s goals:    

1. Perform well in wrestling season. Starts Nov 1, goes to March 15. We need to keep working on strength in addition to wrestling fitness and technique work he does in practice.
2. Prepare for BSA backpacking trip. He sucessfully led his BSA patrol on a 12 day trip to Philmont in the mountains of northern New Mexico. This year, he is going back to Philmont to do a 21-day Rayado trek. We expect the trek to exceed 200 miles. There is not much information out there about actual miles/day but we’ve been told to expect 15-20 miles a day, and 3-4 days between re-supply opportunities. He will likely carry a 50-60# pack over the course of the trip
3. Max Out fitness portion of Service Academy or ROTC fitness tests – aiming to take the tests in late July after the backpacking trip. He is currently a junior, so academy applications will be fully resolved by the beginning of September of his Senior year in order to compete for Appointments in our state.

Paul has been lifting, mountain biking, kayaking regularly over the summer, now with limited kayak access since August. Current performance in the gym is below

• Bench Pressing ~205# for 1 rep, ~185# for 3-5 reps
• Squatting ~275# for 5 reps
• Dead Lift ~375# for 1 rep, ~315 for 5-10 reps
• MTB trip in late June was 112 trail miles across 5 days in the Pisgah National Forest region of WNC.

Is there a single program in your library he could use to support his preparation to hit all 3 goals above successfully? Or conversely, could we stack several different plans together across the next 8 months?

Thanks for the guidance.

Rob:
No single program. 

Overall, the best thing you can do for him at this age, in general, is strength train. At 220 and only benching 205# and squatting 275#, he’s relatively weak. 

Next would be to clean up his diet. At 6’1″ my ideal bodyweight for him is 190#. It could be he’s especially dense, but few are – esp. at his age. Here are our nutritional guidelines … cutting 30# will help everything, – increase relative strength, increase bodyweight exercise performance (push ups, pull ups, etc.), speed over ground (1.5, 2 mile run times) and long distance endurance. 

Plans…. 

Wrestling Season? TLU Strength – just the strength sessions and only 1-2x/week. Priority is his wrestling practice and you don’t want to do anything outside of wrestling that will fatigue him for practice or meets. The strength sessions in this plan are stand alone sessions, and not progressive from previous sessions – so you can plug them in anywhere. 

Backpacking Trip? Backpacking Pre-Season Training Plan – Ideally complete the 7 weeks directly before his trip. 

CFA? Service Academy Candidate Fitness Assessment Training Plan – Complete the 6 weeks prior to his official CFA. It’s critical that he trains event-specifically for this assessment if you want him to score as high as possible. 

You can work in TLU Strength Sessions as time space allows. 

Questions?

Ranger School Timeline: How to Train Without Burning Out

Athlete:
I have just over three months until ranger school, committed to the Ranger School v6 program. Planning to do the program twice to cover that span of time. What is your recommendation?

Rob:
Congrats on the date … I wouldn’t recommend repeating the plan back to back …. it’ too intense and designed to have you peak directly before RAP week. Repeating the plan back to back might lead to over training and plateauing. 

I’d recommend weeks 1-4 of the plan, the weeks 1-4 of Fortitude, then complete the full plan the 8 weeks directly before RAP week. 

Fortitude will maintain and continue to build your overall infantry fitness, but not overtrain you. 

You can “flex” the weeks of Fortitude depending upon how many exact weeks you have – cut or do additional weeks as needed. 

Athlete:
Thank you for your timely response and appreciate the advice. No questions, looking forward to seeing what these programs have to offer.

Rob:
I had a guy who used our plan for Ranger email last week. 

He was plenty fit, but failed the orienteering course during RAP week …. just a good reminder that fitness is just part of the solution and to ensure your technical skills are dialed. 

Again – good luck! — 

Athlete:
I attended class xxx and completed the ruck march up to mile 11 gate, but unfortunately, I missed the time by 30 seconds. During training, I consistently met the rucking standard at a 12:30 per mile pace with 50 lbs and a 10 lbs rifle. Additionally, I met the RPA standard with an 11:00 time and 7:15 per mile for the 4 mile. A significant factor in this success was the exceptional Ranger Prep program your team provided.

With these lessons learned, I’m grateful for the opportunity to reattempt in 7 months. I’m now seeking recommendations on programs that can help not only improve these times but also strengthen my overall resilience. Specifically, I’m aiming to develop a more robust body that can withstand the extensive corrective training that often occurs between events, which typically leads to performance degradation. Surrender is not a Ranger word!

Thank you for your continued guidance and support.

Rob:
Dang!!! 30 seconds? 

Training – 

Full week’s rest if you haven’t already. 

7 months = 30 weeks. Here’s what I recommend:

Weeks     Plan

1-8.          Humility (Repeat weeks 6 in this plan to stretch it to 8 weeks)

9-15.        Valor

16-22.      Fortitude

23-30       Ranger School Training Plan – 8 weeks directly before reporting to pre-Ranger or the school itself. I’m not sure if you’ll have to attend pre-Ranger again. 

Questions?
Happy to hop on a call if needed.

Athlete:
That loss at the end was tough, but there’s no time to dwell on it, it’s back to work and back in the gym. I appreciate the training plan you provided.

Do you have any recommendations on nutrition? Specifically, should I be focusing on gaining or losing weight at this stage?

Rob:
What is your height and weight?– 

Athlete:
160lbs at 5’6.

Rob:
You don’t need to gain or lose weight. You’re at or near my ideal bodyweight for you. 

Nutrition? Eat clean 6 days/week:

– No refined sugar (including in condiments)

– No bad carbs – bread, rice, potatoes, cereal/brain of any type, pasta, etc.

– Very little fruit. Avoid if you can.

– Don’t drink any calories – no fruit juice, sugary soda, beer, wine

Eat only meat (lots) and veggies. Drink only diet soda, water, coffee/tea, or sugar-free drinks. 

Sugar substitutes are okay. They’re not the best for you but they are better than refined sugar. 

No caloric restrictions … eat to satiety. You should never be hungry. Always have a cooked chicken thigh or pork chop handy to snack on. I drink a lot of diet coke and it helps with sugar cravings. 

1-day/week – cheat like a mother. 

More HERE.

Lean, Strong, and Ready at 58: Training for Corrections Officer

Athlete:

I am a 58-year-old female that does strength workouts 3x a week and steady rate cardio 2x per week. I’m looking for a program that will help me lean out and increase my strength and endurance. As a corrections lieutenant I must pass a PAT test annually and am constantly training with recruits. What plan/s, would you recommend for me?

Thank You

Rob:

Height and Weight? 
Any equipment restrictions? 
How are your joints? – I’m 57 and already have a hip replacement and foot fusion. Any replacements for you? 
Knees pain? Is squatting ok?

Athlete:
Height and Weight? 5’3 140
Any equipment restrictions? Tennis elbow
How are your joints? – I’m 57 and already have a hip replacement and foot fusion. Any replacements for you? No. I did PRP on my elbow.
Knees pain? Is squatting ok? I can squat but I do not do long runs.

Rob:
At 5’3″, my ideal bodyweight for you is 130#. Cutting 10 pounds will make everything better – bodyweight exercises, running, joints. 95% of weight loss is diet-related. Here are our nutritional guidelines. 

Training? Plans/Order in the SF55 Training Packet. These plans/programming is designed for Mountain and Tactical Athletes, ages 55-60. Below are the key principles behind the training:

• No 1RM (1 repetition max Strength Efforts)
• Eliminate all loaded deep squatting/lunging movements to minimize knee wear and accommodate likely knee arthritis. Bodyweight squats and lunges may be prescribed.
• Less barbell work in favor of sandbags, bodyweight, and dumbbell/kettlebell training
• Avoids super intense, high impact work capacity efforts
• No max effort endurance efforts. Endurance efforts are completed at a “moderate” pace
• Continued emphasis on Chassis Integrity (functional core) training
• Shorter (45-minute), efficient training sessions
• Designed to build and maintain foundational “base fitness” for older athletes.
• 4 day/week training plan on a 2:1, 2:1 schedule: i.e. train Mon-Tue, rest Wed, train Thurs-Fri, Rest Sat & Sunday

Questions?
Happy to hop on a call if needed. 

Hypertrophy After Course: Choosing Between Ultimate Meathead and Skinny Guys

Athlete:
I’m a member of the CAF, I just came off course over the summer. Before going I completed onramp + fortitude with core on top and it was phenomenal for that course. Others were complaining about their lower backs, I was not. 

Now I’m back at school and was looking at the ultimate meathead cycle but was wondering if it was recommended? It seems to be about the only plan outside of leo for hypertrophy and it looks quite interesting. My goal at the moment is to pack on some upper body and lower body muscle – even just strength but some size would be nice. I just completed the new onramp coming out of course (I was weak as shit) and I’m feeling great so I’m deciding between Apollo, Valor, and the ultimate meathead. They’ve just introduced a 5k run at 0600 on tuesday and thursdays, the pace is fine – 6:00 – 6:30 but it can be annoying when I have endurance that day so I’m not big on running at the moment. 

Rob:
Yes on Ultimate Meathead if you want to do a focused cycle on upper body hypertrophy.  But after you’ve completed it you’ll  then need to shift back to multi-modal military athlete base programming – strength, work capacity, endurance, chassis integrity and tactical agility. This would be the Virtue Series, Greek Hero Series or Daily Operator subscription in MTI programming. 

Our Hypertrophy Program for Skinny Guys also trains hypertrophy. 

The difference? Ultimate Meathead trains upper body hypertrophy and lower body strength …. so it’s not designed to add mass to your legs, just strength. 

The Skinny Guys plan trains hypertrophy (mass) for both upper and lower body. 

Unfocused Training and Extra Weight: How to Reset with Valor and Clean Nutrition

Athlete:
Currently, I’m 6’0” typically weighing in around 205-210. I have a history of weight lifting. At one point I was training for a selection course prior to being injured and that’s when I put on a decent amount of muscle that made me overall heavier. However, I currently have some weight that I could lose.

Currently, I’ve been training but it hasn’t been focused. I usually do anywhere from 2-3 hrs worth of cardio (long distance runs, stair stepper, etc) then go into a basic strength circuit that I found online. However, I find that the strength circuit really doesn’t seem to do much and there is no real consistency in what I’m doing, which causes discrepancies in my training. 

As far as equip restrictions, I have access to a full gym on base. There may be some pieces of equipment here and there that I may not have, like a sled or battle ropes, but I have the standard gym equipment to work with.

Rob:

Got it. 

At 6 feet, you’re too heavy by 20-25 pounds. My ideal body weight for you is 185 pounds. You can’t outwork a shitty diet – and 95% of fat loss is diet related. Here are our recommendations. Start eating clean and you’ll shed fat. 

Training? I’d recommend you start our stuff with Valor. If you want a swift kick in the but and a structured program Valor is the ticket. Intense plan that is one I deploy for all SOF Selection train ups – it concurrently trains strength, work capacity, chassis integrity and endurance. Much of the plan is assessment-based, and follow-on progressions based on your most recent assessment results. 

This way the plan automatically scales to your incoming fitness, and with a mid-cycle re-assessments, it continues to push you as your fitness improves.

Clean up your diet, do Valor, and you’ll be on your way. Email back on the other side of Valor. 

Questions?

Happy to hop on a call if needed.

Athlete:
Good to go. Thank you. I’ll check it out. Do you have a typical calorie/protein goal that you’d recommend I stick to? I know diet was the one thing I was struggling with a for a while living in the barracks. I never wanted to eat the chow hall food and that led to a lot of shitty decisions. Recently, I’ve been able to move off base, so I have access to my own kitchen. I have really been trying to eat cleaner but I also stand to make improvements as well.

Rob:
Read our guidelines  … and I just wrote a new article on Nutrition. Click HERE.

If you eat clean, you don’t need to count calories or worry about macros. 

#1. Cut sugar and you’ll shed fat. 

Can’t blame the chow hall or anyone else if you can’t avoid sugar. This is on you … and it’s hard. Sugar is addictive!!! I drink diet coke and use splenda in coffee to help my address my addiction! 

At your age you still get a cheat day under my guidelines. This will help too.

Athlete:
Awesome, thank you for the guidance! I look forward to being back on track and headed in the right direction again. I’ll reach back out once I’ve completed the Valor program. I really do appreciate your assistance and the no bullshit advice!

Rob:
There are no shortcuts … just eat clean and keep grinding.