By Rob Shaul, Founder

Background

My old workout partner, Curtis P (of the exercise fame) got me interested in watching Mixed Martial Arts when the UFC first became popular in the early 2000s.

I’d go over to Curtis’ house to watch the pay-per-view events, and Curtis would do play-by-play for me, introduce me to the different fighters, and some of the history of the sport.

Curtis really admired Frank Shamrock, who was a middle-weight UFC Champion in the 1990s, and during his peak was considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game.

Shamrock was known for his cardiovascular fitness and overall stamina, and would often wear down opponents over the course of the fight, looking for opportunities to pounce.

“Conditioning is my greatest submission weapon,” Shamrock would say.

Fitness is also a weapon for tactical athletes and comes to play for mission sets across all areas of the tactical athletes we work with – Military, LE and Fire/Rescue.

Programming and Weapons

Each athlete type needs a combination of physical endurance and stamina for long, grinding events or movements which can culminate in an intense, dangerous, violent confrontation, firefight or fire suppression. Then, in that dangerous situation, he or she needs work capacity, working strength, chassis integrity, tactical agility, stamina – to survive, and prevail over the enemy.

A fully equipped M4 with its optics, lighting system, ambidextrous controls, etc. is an integrated, sophisticated weapons system designed, built and tested by engineers and scientists.

The programming behind MTI’s base fitness and mission/event specific training is similarly sophisticated.

I taught a short programming course to a dozen or so Marines at USMC Base Hawaii in Spring 2018. There were a few junior officers in attendance, but the bulk were junior enlisted, including a squad leader or two – who in the Marines and Army, are the primary strength and conditioning coaches for their squad.

MTI programming is thorough and sophisticated. It’s taken me years of trial and error to develop our Fluid Periodization methodology on concurrently training the multiple fitness attributes included in Base Fitness. Then within each attribute is its own progression methodologies.

I invented this stuff. No one knows it better than me. I do it for a living. And still, it generally takes me a full day and a half to develop, design and write a 6-week Base Fitness cycle for Military, LE, Fire/Rescue or Mountain athletes.

I simplified this complex system as best I could for the Marines, and they took feverish notes, but it’s simply too much to ask these athletes to design their own programming. I’ve taught programming courses to Tier 1 SOF, Tier 2 SOF, and professional strength coaches – and many have struggled to grasp the entire system. I’ve had master-degreed and doctoral interns who’ve taken weeks of practice to finally understand and apply our programming methodology.

That sophisticated M4 is paid for by the service or agency and given to the infantryman to master and deploy during the real thing. His Fitness Weapon System? He has to build that himself.

Asking a tactical athlete to design his own programming is like giving him a block of metal, and a lathe and asking them to build his own rifle.

Without the years of educational background and practice, the resulting weapon would be a club. This is often what happens on the fitness side – squad leaders and team leaders responsible for fitness programming resort to what they know or what they’ve always done – often push ups, pullup, sit ups, burpees, running, repeat.

A Look At Overseas

The British and Australian Army do it differently. These services have an enlisted MOS fitness designation, and these active duty fitness experts design the programming for their units.

One of the Marine officers I worked with in Hawaii said British active duty enlisted strength coaches ran PT at OCS. In Australia, the SOF full-time coaches are active duty enlisted fitness coaches, not contracted civilians like here in the US.

Good idea. The US should copy it.

Questions, Comments, Feedback? Use the comment section below or email rob@mtntactical.com

You Might Also Like 5 Types of Tactical Athletes & Their Fitness Demands

By Rob Shaul, Founder

In 2018 I had the opportunity to put four USMC 1st Lieutenants stationed at USMC Base Hawaii through the MTI Relative Strength Assessment. There were two goals: (1) get a snapshot of the relative strength of active duty Marine Infantry Officers, and; (2) test a change to the way pull ups are scored in the assessment.

Background

MTI developed the Relative Strength Assessment in 2016 to answer this question for mountain and tactical athletes: “Am I Strong Enough?”

Both athlete groups have mulit-modal fitness demands – strength, work capacity, endurance, agility, core, etc. A confounding truth of fitness programming is time spent working on one fitness attribute, strength for example, comes at the expense of other attributes like endurance and work capacity.

With the MTI Relative Strength Assessment, we wanted to functional relative strength standard for our athletes, and for military athletes in particular, the strength assessment works with the MTI 3/3/3 Military Athlete Endurance Assessment and the MTI Tactical Athlete Work Capacity Assessment to establish standards for the three primary areas of mission-direct military fitness.

Importantly, this assessment measures “Relative” strength or strength per bodyweight. Both tactical and mountain athletes primarily move themselves during missions, training or events – thus relative strength is most important.

Also, by choosing to measure relative strength, this assessment automatically “scales” for each individual athlete regardless of size, allowing a small and large athlete to be compared “apples to apples” in terms of strength.

Assessment Details, Scoring & Change to Pull Up Weighting

The MTI Relative Strength Assessment deploys a 1 Repetition Maximum effort (1RM) on three classic barbell strength exercises – the front squat, power clean and bench press, as well as a max rep strict pull up effort. Here are the four events in the order they are completed in the assessment:

(1) 1RM Front Squat

(2) Max Rep Strict Pull Ups

(3) 1RM Power Clean

(4) 1RM Bench Press

Scoring for the barbell exercises is simple – the 1RM for each is that event’s score.

Pull Ups are scored differently: multiply your max rep pull up times 7% of your bodyweight.

For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, and get 12 pull ups, you’d multiply 7% of 200 (200 x .07 = 14) and 12.

14 (7% of your bodyweight) x12 (your max rep pull ups) = 240. 240 is your pull up “score” for the assessment.

** Note on Pull Ups … the Max Number you can use for scoring for this assessment is 20. So even if you tested at 25x pull ups, the most you can use for your scoring is 20.

Previously we had weighted pull up heavier. We has used 10% of the athlete’s body weight. But ultimately, feel this over-emphasizes pull ups in the ultimate score and thus reduced this to 7% of the athlete’s bodyweight times his or her max rep pull ups.

Scoring Example:

Here are the event scores for a 200-pound male athlete:

• Front Squat 1RM: 275#
• Max Rep Pull Ups: 21 Reps
• Power Clean 1RM: 205#
• Bench Press 1RM: 295#

His pull up score is 7% of his bodyweight times the number of pull up reps. Remember, even though he completed 21 total reps, the most he can use for scoring is 20.

200 x .07 = 14. 14 pounds is 7% of his body weight.

14 x 20 (max number of pull ups he can use for scoring) = 280. So is pull up score is 280.

Relative Strength Score = Front Squat 1RM + Pull Up Score + Power Clean 1RM + Bench Press 1RM divided by bodyweight. So…. 275+280+205+295 = 1,055 divided by bodyweight (200) = 5.27.

Below is the scoring scale. A score of 5.27 is “Excellent” for male tactical athletes.

USMC Junior Officer Snapshot Scores & Discussion

The MTI Relative Strength Assessment was administered to 7 USMC Company Executive Officers, all 1st Lieutenants, on April 10, 2018. None of the Marines who took the MTI Relative Strength Assessment had trained specifically for it previously. All were volunteers. Scores are below:

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by these scores. Three of the athletes scored “Good” and one, Sean, scored “excellent.”

As Company XOs, each junior officer had the liberty to train on his own, and each included free weight-based strength work as part of his training program.

A major disadvantage of this strength assessment is it does require familiarity with the three barbell-based strength exercises. Many line-unit infantry in the US Army and Marine Corps simply don’t have this experience – especially in the junior enlisted ranks. I had hoped to give the assessment to more marines from this unit, but during a short programming course with about a dozen Marines, asked how many knew what a power clean was. Only the officers in attendance raised their hands.

We conducted the assessment using a company HIIT box of equipment, and even though we conducted the assessment at 0600 on a Tuesday morning, no other Marines were competing with us for equipment. It was not being used.

Questions, Comments, Feedback? Email rob@mtntactical.com

You Might Also Like MTI’s Relative Strength Assessment Training Plan

By Rob Shaul

Over the years, with thousands of hours coaching lab rats in the gym, programming hundreds of training plans, we’ve developed several, unique fitness challenges. Here are a few of my favorites.

1) 70+ Sandbag Getups in 10 Minutes @ 60/80# Sandbag

Not only is the exercises highly metabolic, but the bag sits on your shoulder, crushing your chest, restricting air flow, making it all worse. My first attempt, I barely managed 50 reps, and was crushed mentally, after.

Over the years we’ve done lot’s of work with this exercise, and have deployed a 10-minute Sandbag Getup for Reps assessment in several individual training plans.

Regardless of body weight, 70+ reps at 60# for women and 80# for men is no joke. My best ever is 76 reps. The best I’ve seen in all these years is 80 reps.

For this assessment, each get up counts as one rep, and you can switch shoulders as needed. We’ve found it takes some strategy to get to 70+ reps – especially few shoulder swaps. The last time I tried I started with 20 reps on my right shoulder, then went 20 on my left shoulder, then 10x each shoulder, plus a few extra on my right side to get to 76.

There is no rule that the number of get ups on each side has to be equal. You can do all 70+ on your stronger side if you want … though no one has been able to do this.

2) 4 Rounds Stepped Barbell Complex Progressions Finishing at Bodyweight

I’ve only seen one athlete actually do this, and have been too fearful to try myself. Here’s how it works. First weigh yourself, then round up to the nearest 5 pounds. Then, subtract 30 pounds, and begin your barbell complexes there. Add 10 pounds each round, finishing at your bodyweight on round 4. Rest as needed between rounds.

For example, an athlete’s bodyweight is 155 pounds, here would be the progression.

Round   Barbell Complex Load

1            125#

2            135#

3            145#

4            155# (bodyweight)

Again, rest as needed between rounds.

3) 10 Rounds, Rope Climb Every Minute on the Minute, 15-18’ Rope

Yes, you can use your feet, but expect pumped forearms and biceps. I’ve never been able to do this … my closest was 10 climbs in 12 minutes. Much more intense than you might expect.

4) Bodyweight or Higher Score on Operator Ugly

Operator Ugly is MTI’s comprehensive military fitness test, and our oldest-standing assessment. Over the years, I’ve seen just a handful of athletes score their bodyweight or better on this assessment. My best score ever was 152 …. three points short of my 155# bodyweight at the time.

5) 90 Plus Burpees on the Burpee Beep Ladder Assessment

This is pretty terrible and in our work with lab rats, only a couple have managed to make it past level 6 on this test. Real quick, this is an every minute on the minute assessment. The first minute you do 10x burpees, 12x the second minute, 14x the third minute, etc. until you can’t get the prescribed reps within the minute time frame. If you are able to get through level 6, you’ve completed 90+ burpees in 6 minutes….

Questions, Comments, Feedback? Email rob@mtntactical.com

You Might Also Like MTI’s Favorite Work Capacity Events By Duration

Military

Soldier Swarm: New Ground Combat Tactics for the Era of Multi-Domain Battle, Modern War Institute
Army missile defense systems Patriot and THAAD talk in test, Defense News
The Pentagon Plans for a Perpetual Three-Front ‘Long War’ Against China and Russia, War is Boring
US Reducing SOF in Africa, Small Wars Journal
New Army Precision Guided 155mm Round Destroys Targets Without GPS, Real Clear Defense
Is the US Still a Reliable Ally?, The Cipher Brief
Here’s How Russia and America Could Go To War in Syria, The National Interest
Russia’s Deadliest Commandos Speed Around in Jeeps, Armed with Mines, The National Interest
Pentagon Is Asking for 3 Times as Many Drones in 2019, Defense News
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Russia’s Military, Deutsche Welle
An Update on the War in Afghanistan, Brookings

Homeland Security / First Responder

Do Terrorist Groups Really Die? A Warning, Rand Corp
Tulsa Fire Engine Struck at Fire Scene, Firefighter Close Calls
30-Year Old Wisconsin Firefighter Dies after Hectic 48-Hour Shift, Firefighter Close Calls
Cops, Violence, Stress and PTSD, LE Today
How Can the Police Let This Happen, They Wonder? LE Today
Hypocrisy and the Never Ending Attack on Police, LE Today
Operation Blue: The Program that Teaches Cops to Stop Terrorists, Tactical-Life.com
The Toxicity of a Spiteful Leader, LE Today
4 Utah Officers Burned in Man’s Suicide Attempt, Officer.com
Youtube, Google Donate $280K to First Responder Foundation, Officer.com
Waterborne Hotshots, Wildfire Today
More Research Indicates Forests are Not Growing Back After Wildfires, Wildfire Today
Wildfire Suppression Costs, 1985-2017, Wildfire Today

Mountain

Stas Beskin Demonstrates New Technique for Climbing Delicate Ice, Climbing Magazine
Introducing ROAM: The robotic ski exoskeleton designed to save your knees, Freeskier.com
The Best 20 Degree Sleeping Bags Under Two Pounds, Gear Institute
Climbing in New Mexico’s Bat Cave, Outside Magazine
Young Nemuel Feurle masters Prinzip Hoffnung, Planetmountain.com
A Historic Moment For Backcountry Skiing in New Hampshire, Powder Magazine
Man Claims He Was Left on Ski Lift Overnight, Gearjunkie.com
Petzel Boreo: Most Protective Climbing Helmet, Outdoor Gear Lab
Give Your Sprinter to a Real Dirtbag!, Outside
6 Mistakes from My First Backpacking Trip, Gearjunkie.com
Tips for Cold Weather Streamer Fishing, Gearjunkie.com
Has Patagonia Grown Too Big for its Cultural Good?, Adventure Journal
National Park Service Backs Away From Nat Park Fee Raise, Adventure Journal
Nice Sunglasses are Worth It After All, Adventure Journal
Mexican Mule Deer Dreams, Bowhunter.net
Sherpa Teams Makes First Ascent of Langdung in Nepal, Alpinist
Best Rope Bag for Climbing, Outdoor Gear Lab
4 Lessons We Learned on a DYI Hog Hunt, Outdoor Life
The Best 20-Degree Sleeping Bags Under 2 Pounds, Gear Institute
Learn to Evaluate Trad Anchors With this 12-Point Rubric, Climbing Mag

Fitness / Nutrition

Peanut Butter & Jelly Should Fuel Your Next Adventure, Outside
Don’t Forget to Strengthen Your Feet, Outside
Gear to Help You Fuel, Outside
The Age of Peak Marathon Performance in Cross-Country Skiing—The “Engadin Ski Marathon”, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Associations of Physical Fitness and Body Composition Characteristics With Simulated Military Task Performance, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
A Practical Guide to Walking On Your Hands, Breaking Muscle
Build Your Base with Postural Mechanics, Breaking Muscle
Stopping Exercising Can Increase Depression, Science Daily
Primal Recipes on a Budget, Mark’s Daily Apple
Does physical activity influence the health of future offspring?, Science Daily
All About Heart Rate Variability and How To Track It, Muscle & Fitness
Why It Matters How You Think About Pain, Outside
Freestyle Swim Technique Tips, Men’s Health
An Hour of Running May Add 7 Hours to Your Life, Men’s Health
6 Ways Eating Too Much Sugar Damages Your Body, Men’s Health
7 Scariest Workout Injuries, Men’s Journal
How Long to Rest for Greater Muscle, Strength and Weight Loss, Men’s Journal

In the Fall of 2016, a 3-Woman Team received the MTI Crux Award for a Ski Traverse of the Tien Shen range in Kyrgyzstan. The trip was originally intended for 2017, but was delayed until 2018, and finally completed in February. Marion Krogh is a professional mountain athlete and was the expedition leader. – Rob Shaul

By Marion Krogh

Trip Background

The mountains of Kyrgyzstan are big and relatively unexplored, especially by ski. To plan and execute a ski traverse and ski 3 peaks, two which would have been unclimbed, and one which would have been unskied.

There was going to be a lot of work. This is exactly why we wanted to go there, but also why a lot of things didn’t go to plan and why we were able to learn so much about trip selection, planning, team dynamics, communication, and mountain safety in an isolated and cold part of the world.

We started planning this project in July 2016. There were about 10 female skiers who initially expressed interest in participating but this quickly shrunk to three. We set out to head to Kyrgyzstan in January 2017 but in December decided to push the trip back a year because of injury and our general lack of funds and preparedness.

Over the following 12 months we put in A LOT of work. The commitment was big, probably 10 hours/week of work required in trying to get sponsorships and apply for grants, study google earth, liaise with local guides and connections, follow the weather, etc etc. We also were training intensely following a customized six day/week program created by MTI.

We all underestimated how much work this project would be. It was an even bigger challenge with the three of us on different continents and therefore timezones. We all had to put in some late nights and early mornings to coordinate group Skype meetings.

The last time that we were all in the same spot was July 2017 hence we decided to meet up in Canada for a week prior to heading to Kyrgyzstan in January 2018 to reacquaint ourselves, reaffirm goals and objectives and test out our new gear. This was a good decision; we confirmed that our packs would be really heavy, that we still weren’t confident with a few different rope skills and that our stove wasn’t working.

To get sponsorship is not easy, ask any professional athlete. But we really thought we had a unique pitch and we were an all-female team. Surely companies would love us??

It really wasn’t so. We spent days writing to various companies asking for support and really didn’t end up with much in return. We got some pro deals and a few bits and pieces of clothing but no money and nothing substantial. It was pretty disappointing.

Grants were even tougher; long applications thoughtfully written accompanied by detailed maps, budgets and more. At one point I was positive that if we’d simply spent the hours we’d used on applications working at the local grocery store we would have been much more effective at raising funds.

All the hard work finally paid off however just a week before heading to Canada when we heard back from The North Face and were offered gear including a tent and -40 sleeping bags. It was a lifesaver.

What did we get right?

1) Our group size and commitment in the 6 months building up to the trip. Three was a good number to split workload and gear, and not too big to allow for larger disagreements or slacking off.

2) Our planning for most aspects of the trip was very good. We were dedicated to our training program regardless of where we were in the world and were all very fit and strong heading to Kyrgyzstan which made us a lot more confident.

3) We made the most of the unfavorable ski conditions and took advantage of our village location to really get a true local experience. Because of this, our trip was a success. Had we not had the cultural exploration element we would have left Kyrgyzstan very disappointed.

What did we get wrong?

Team Communication.

While our communication leading up to this project had been excellent however it fell apart at times when we were in the mountains. We were torn between trying to complete an objective and safely assessing the conditions. Ultimately our eagerness to summit a peak interfered with our ability to express our concerns about the snowpack safety and resulted in two of us being caught in a small avalanche.

It was small, nobody was hurt, but scary and could have been much worse had we been on a larger slope. It was also VERY cold. We knew that heading in and were well equipped with the best sleeping bags, mats, and tent for the conditions. We also had a well thought out emergency plan should one of us get injured and need a rescue.  

We were not aware of the non-visible signs of frostbite however and four hours after being out in temperatures well below zero Fahrenheit and numb feet one of our team got some serious frostbite.

Our expedition had to end early and we skied out of the mountains having barely actually skied at all.

If you had to do it again, what would you change, and why?

Potentially we could be more flexible with the location in Kyrgyzstan and have a backup area elsewhere in the country. We were set on the At-Bashi range because of the local connections we had there and its large number of virgin peaks.

We were aware that there wasn’t much snow and so we weren’t able to do any of the initial three traverses we planned. We moved further north in the range to a new location where there had been more snow which was marginally better. The avi danger was high here, but there was also significant danger in all parts of the country this winter.

More time would make a big difference. Even If we’d allowed four weeks instead of three it means an 8-day airline baggage delay wouldn’t have been as much of an issue and we could have had more time to investigate other mountain ranges and have more weather windows. Probably most significantly we wouldn’t go again mid-winter, we went in January as all of us were able to secure time off work then but a trip later in the season (probably but not guaranteed) would have meant warmer temperatures and a more stable snowpack.

Overall, would you do it again?

Yes absolutely. We’re already planning another expedition with kayaking to access skiing in Patagonia. We’re prepared for things not to go as planned again and have learned a lot from this trip to make the next one more successful in other ways.

You Might Also Like The Mountaineer: My 3 Most Dangerous Mountain Mistakes

We recently re-published an article on fitness standards within the first responder community. Once again, we received lots of comments/feedback from the MTI Community which we wanted to share with you. If you too have thoughts, comments or questions on this matter, email us at coach@mtntactical.com.

Orginal Article → First Responders: Why Do You Tolerate Unfit Police and Firefighters?

COMMENTS

I just ran across your article on unfit firefighters/cops and I would like to commend you for speaking on this topic. As a career firefighter/paramedic, your article was well written and dead on. Frankly put, if you are a fat piece of shit in the station….I’d expect the same out of you on scene. This could turn into a lengthy discussion but I have seen our department go from having almost no structured exercise to most of our guys working out in some capacity in the last 5 years. It is great to see. I credit our Peer Fitness Program for this and also the senior men setting a good example for the junior guys. This means, getting up and doing something 25-30 minutes a shift between our high run volume. Run, do farmers carries, throw the sand bag on the floor above the bosses bedroom and piss him off, hit the heavy bag. Do something and sweat some. When you’re cutting someone out of a car with etools, pulling line, doing CPR, seaching a bedroom for a kid or anything else physical….you’re expected to be in working condition. Not cover model condition, working condition. I try each shift to get into the weight room and do what I’m preaching above, if I miss it I do something at home even if that’s chasing my wife around. That’s my responsibility to myself, my family and my coworkers. I may die at work but I’ll do whatever I can to make sure it isn’t because my heart exploded.

I believe it was the old country singer Porter Wagoner who had a song called, “The cold hard facts of life.”  Amazing perspective on this topic. I am a police academy instructor. There are 6 full time staff and I am blessed to work with a great crew. However, we are deeply divided in the area of fitness. The 3 masters degree guys pretty much wont even walk through the gym much less work out.  The other 3 of us “knuckle draggers” work out with the students with the lead PT instructor having a CrossFit instructor rating. We follow Cooper protocol for entry and exit recruit testing. I really feel a burden to set an example for the younger and older guys in training. I’m almost 52 and pretty stocky but can keep up with most of the kids. I wish there was a way to motivate them to get back in the gym. I have even had recruits ask why the other 3 don’t work out with them so obviously they are seeing it as an issue. I wish only the best for my brother instructors but would love any insight into a solution you can offer. I’m guessing their issue may be ego-based in part. Nobody likes to look bad in the gym or on the range. Another interesting aspect of our work is the number of 20-something’s who show up to the academy unable to do more than a couple of pushups or sit-ups. It’s a battle on all fronts!! Sorry for rambling but this struck a chord. Love your work, stay the course!

That drives me up the wall, how am i supposed to care for a patient when my partner is just as likely to fall over from an MI or lecture a patient about not being on top of their diabetes when my partner is 300+

Not to mention my major fear of them not being able to extract me from some place should i ever get injured

Especially given how large fitness culture is now this shouldn’t be a thing

Unfortunately sometimes you don’t have a choice but to tolerate them. If you tell them they’re unfit and need to do something about it they will file a harassment complaint. It’s more likely to cost you your job than to make them change.

My partner and I have been shut down by admin for adding basic PT and conditioning at the beginning of our department DT sessions…they said it was “unfair” and singled out “some” members

It’s such an officer safety issue!! You need to be fit and strong to stay safe and keep others safe!

Because they’re too busy worrying about cops with tattoos to be concerned about fitness.

Culture. The culture still accepts it. But I think tides are turning. If you look at the spread of causes for LODDs in firefighting it’s arguable that you should spend more time working out and less time doing RIT yet find me a Chief Officer with the fortitude to stand behind that statement. They’re few and far between. Sadly it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the facts.

It’s in the military too. Yes there are height and weight standards and PT tests but they’re a joke. 

If you’re military, or first responders of any kind (police/fire/ems) you need to be a prime example of a human being. Best of the best and hold yourself to the highest standards. No exceptions.

I think it’s a cultural thing. You either have the drive to stay fit or you don’t. When I tore my Achilles, I got out of shape because I couldn’t run anymore… also got depressed a bit. It felt wrong to me, though, because I’ve always kept myself in shape. All it took for me was to glance in the mirror and see the number on the scale and I set my alarm for an hour earlier… I’m still doing PT for the Achilles, but I’m hitting a good 40 minutes of cardio every day. I’m still nowhere near where I want to be, but I’m never going to be as bad as I was.

My department has no standard. So you can’t discipline anyone for poor fitness. To change the policy requires the state legislation to change a law.. So…. We have no standard.

I am in charge of the fitness committee at my Job. We use to have the pack standard for our arduous testing for red cards annually. That has changed over the years due to injuries during the test. Cal Fire is not the only organization that does not have a standard. When I tried to implement a standard/change it gets very complicated due to employees rights and one of the biggest hurdles is ourselves and the Union standard/lack of standards.

In North America we have decided that everyone is to be tolerated at all times and no one’s feelings are ever to be hurt under any circumstances. Inclusion is more important than performance. Tell someone at work they are out of shape? The sky would fall. And then you’d be up to your eyeballs in harassment complaints, conflict resolution meetings and sensitivity training.

Not really excuses. If there is no standard or policy that says you HAVE to meet a fitness standard, you CAN’T fire someone. The agency, Union, and coppers/hose draggers have to get behind it and put it on PAPER. It can’t be some theoretical “you should be in good shape”. There has to be a standard!

True there has to be a standard, but on an even more basic level, why? Why would an individual sign up …no work hard to do one of these jobs only to fail because of preventable physical limitations. Police, fire and military are learning professions. Be a student of your profession mentality. Endeavor to excel physically

don’t see any mention of the effect of altered shift and sleep schedules, ptsd or cumulative stress which are all documented to have effect on the physical well being of first responders. This article seems to suggest that it’s simply a lack of motivation that leads to unfit members. If the organization is going to demand fitness it needs to provide opportunity ( gyms and time to use them) and it needs to account for stress and sleep issues and the hormonal effect they have on the human body.

I believe it was the old country singer Porter Wagoner who had a song called, “The cold hard facts of life.”  Amazing perspective on this topic. I am a police academy instructor. There are 6 full time staff and I am blessed to work with a great crew. However, we are deeply divided in the area of fitness. The 3 masters degree guys pretty much wont even walk through the gym much less work out.  The other 3 of us “knuckle draggers” work out with the students with the lead PT instructor having a CrossFit instructor rating. We follow Cooper protocol for entry and exit recruit testing. I really feel a burden to set an example for the younger and older guys in training. I’m almost 52 and pretty stocky but can keep up with most of the kids. I wish there was a way to motivate them to get back in the gym. I have even had recruits ask why the other 3 don’t work out with them so obviously they are seeing it as an issue. I wish only the best for my brother instructors but would love any insight into a solution you can offer. I’m guessing their issue may be ego-based in part. Nobody likes to look bad in the gym or on the range. Another interesting aspect of our work is the number of 20-something’s who show up to the academy unable to do more than a couple of pushups or sit-ups. It’s a battle on all fronts!! Sorry for rambling but this struck a chord. Love your work, stay the course!

I completely agree.  The last small department I was on, I constantly pushed for fitness, and had to fight tooth and nail to even be able to work out from 8-5.  I have always supported one pass/fail test, as well as helping firefighters make achievable goals to improve/maintain fitness.  Unfortunately, it’s pretty difficult to effect change without bugles, and when fellows are much more comfortable not exercising.  As the saying goes, if you can’t stand the heat, get out.  These are not career fields where you get second chances.  I completely respect the time a veteran FF/LE puts in, but if they don’t maintain physically and mentally, they are a liability and causing or risking harm to their “brothers and sisters” and to the public.

I read your article and some of the responses. I am deeply appreciative of
your no holds barred, truthful, research based, common frigging sense
stance. As a 46 year old female federal LEO, I know the challenges that
face “legacy” officers. Too. Bad. If you can’t, or won’t, do the job, then
simply don’t. Find one that does not require a certain level of fitness and
save tax payers money while likely saving your, or someone else’s, life in
the process.
Administration is often too worried about hurting feelings or being sued if
they cull those unwilling to do the work to be fit. That might change if
the public was made aware of the milieu of cost incurred (insurance,
training, man power, etc), not to mention the fact that an unfit officer is
much less likely to protect and serve the community they represent.

Keep doing what you are doing. Visiting your gym, lab, business is on my
bucket list!

I’ve written to you several times. Again I’ll open with thanking you for everything you do.
I read the article on unfit first responders as well as the reactions to them. I’m personally disgusted by the negative reaction to the article, and I imagine I know which camp the detractors come from. First of all, to summarize my opinion: a smart cop is good, but a smart and fit cop is much better.
As a veteran, I saw the importance of fitness overseas and how miserable an unfit person is outside the wire doing even menial tasks.
While day to day policing is less physical than the military, the days do come where we are taken to task. The last foot pursuit I was in was over a kilometer of mixed rural and urban terrain ending with a yard to yard canine search. The one before that was similarly enjoyable, with a chase into ravines and over fields and fences.  Fitness played no small part in running the suspects down and ultimately arresting them.
Older members have a wealth of knowledge to pass on, and are by no means disposable. But the fact is unfit partners impact the safety of each other and the communities we serve. An older member might not score 100, not every officer needs to be in the running for SWAT, but a minimum expectation for someone wearing a uniform is not improper, and mitigates risk to all involved.
“It’s not about you”

I’m not a first responder, I’m a light infantry rifle company commander. This article and some of the weak responses to it strike a nerve with me because we go through the same thing at the company level, and it boils down to this. Everyone has an excuse. Period. Until you don’t allow excuses. You trim the fat, literally, by forcing adherence to standards….”oh this guys is a great field Soldier [insert first responder]” but he’s fat. Why is he fat? He eats like shit, he doesn’t work out, and at end state has proven that he lacks the discipline (discipline-not, in fact, related to age***) required of those in the warrior profession.I have learned over the last year that I don’t have the time or patience for it in my own organization and quite frankly as a taxpayer who expects first responders to help me or my wife out in a time of need, expect the same from them in theirs. Civil service isn’t a welfare program like so many treat it. You earn your keep or get out. Is that tough? Sure. Am I 29, still “limber and fit” etc. yea, but I also had bilateral groin surgery and was a graduate of ranger school 9 months later, not because I’m physically talented or gifted, on the contrary I’m clearly not, its because I give a shit, and I understand there are no exceptions in a line of work that isn’t fair, and that at its worst, will leave people dead.

As the saying goes “everyone wants to be a gangster until they have to do gangster shit.” Being fit, mentally tough, resilient, etc. goes along with the responsibility of carrying a gun, axe, radio, whatever you happen to carry. Guys will make excuses for days as to why they don’t have to do these things, because of some special gift they happen to have. It’s weak, its unacceptable, and the excuses about age, injury, etc. don’t cut it. When you can’t meet the standard, it’s time to leave, and I’m good with that because one day it will (we all have to get out, its the only guarantee) happen to me.

Sorry for the rant, but in short I appreciate what you guys do, I’ve followed you and atomic athlete dudes since 09ish and think this helps to move us in the right direction. I strongly disagree with (in both military and LEO communities) the rampant sense of entitlement that seems to pervade our organizations. Its “what can YOU do for the [insert organization])” not “what can the [insert organization] do for you.” When that reverses, its time to go, whether you get your pension or not stud.

Hi Rob…I have been receiving these articles since I attended your booth at NTOA in Salt Lake last September.  I was happy to see the stance you have taken on fitness and first responders something I have a keen interest in with my organization.  I have been a member of the Emergency Response Team (ERT) for 16 years and the Team Leader for the past 5 years.  Fitness is a way of life for the guys I supervise and through my connections (my brother who attended the Western University  and has a degree in phys-ed and sports physiology and his wife who is a sports medicine physician ) we changed our fitness test for ERT over 10 years ago.  Prior to 2002 the test was pushups, sit and reach (flexibility), crunches and 1.5 mile run…it didn’t test anything we really did on ERT and was scaled for age.  We then moved to a Task Specific Fitness Test (TSFT) with a non-gender non-age (it is the same for everyone) cut off of 35 mins.  You have to wear a 40 lb vest and carry a “blue gun” (plastic) and the course replicates a K9 backup track which is our toughest physical challenge on our job.  The size of the course is roughly the size of a basketball court and you complete 6 laps and do a task….the tasks are a 4 ft wall, duck walk for a lap, tactical bound the length of the course and back, belly crawl the length of the gym, 200 lb dummy drag and finally simulating arresting an individual you do 10kicks, 10 knees, 10 elbows, 10 open hand strikes and 10 baton strikes on a “Bob” mannequin.  So you do 6 laps followed by a task then 6 laps a task…etc.… It is closely monitored by our peers who are certified fitness appraisers and blood pressure is taken before and after the test…

I am 48 years old and take great pleasure in beating the guys who are in their late 20’s and early 30’s on our team…it gives bragging rights for the year and motivates everyone to keep their fitness level up.  Operationally I can’t be a liability to my members and a recent k9 track in March was a good example…there was snow on the ground and we were tracking several males who had just committed a break in and were armed…the track lasted over an hour and thanks to my Fitbit, I know my heart rate hit a max of 172 bpm and was an average of 130-140 for the entire track…we made the arrest and later found two loaded handguns when we completed an evidence search that the bad guys had dumped.  I can’t be that guy who falls out on a track and becomes a liability to the other members of my team and a danger to them as well.  I agree the older guys need to be able to perform as well as the younger guys.  You have to work a bit harder to keep the level up, but it can be done.

Not only is it important for your own well-being, public image is important as well.  Several years ago we had to escort a violent prisoner who we were taking from some out of shape, quite dishevelled prison guards at a court proceeding…he looked my partner and I up and down and then looked at the other guards and said to us “I guess I had my chance to get away, you guys have your shit together and are in shape”!!  We always have clean polished uniforms and he obviously noticed our guts weren’t poking out from under our vests…bad guys notice too!!

First and foremost I do appreciate the article that you presented on this topic. I’ve been in law enforcement for fifteen years and my father retired after thirty six years of service. I strongly support fitness and though I will be thirty nine in a month, I’m still in better shape that young men half my age. Sure the job takes its toll on policeman and sure there are limited budgets, however the real talk is there aren’t many quality candidates anymore. Selections I’m seeing made today would not have even made it through the door ten years ago. I can sum up all the long winded theories and suspicions of why this is happening. There is a new generation that is not like the old days when compensation was not a real factor. Back when the public could easily say “it’s not about the pay you should want to do this”. Well Rob a great deal of that is over and for the new generation it’s about compensation and recognition. They have to have both or they are gone. Now compile that with the fact that the newer generation is also not very motivated for fitness. When we give entry level PT test for hiring, the thirty five and up candidates dominate the twenty one to thirty candidates. It’s not uncommon to see a young male in his twenties struggle to do ten push ups. Sadly this will continue to decline until the public professions are allowed to be honorable again by the media as well as agencies refusing to cut training budgets first such as fitness.

Great article on a topic that really affects the public-at-large.  As a member of the Armed Forces and  a 40+ year-old individual, I find that fitness is key to both being able to conduct my duties as well set an example for junior military members.  Having spent most of my military career in the southern U.S., I am often disturbed and angered at seeing numerous public servants in the fire department, police department, and sheriff’s offices that are extremely overweight.  Couple that with reality TV shows that document law enforcement duties being conducted by corpulent officers is setting a bad example to the public at large.  It has made me develop a mindset that if something bad was to happen, such as a car accident, fire, etc., that I can expect that it would be upon myself to survive the situation, because a fat, out-of-shape officer of the law will be unable to assist me, my family, or neighbors.  It’s a scary feeling, yet a reality.

Had to contribute to the discussion when I saw the military’s age-based PFT scoring system brought up in defense of maintaining the status quo. It’s true that the scale adjust based off age, but the difference (a few reps on bodyweight exercises and seconds on the run) between age groups is insignificant when you’re talking about performance on the battlefield. Older soldiers are not allowed to be more unfit then their younger counterparts, because the mission is the same. Many people, myself included, find that getting older doesn’t mean the PFTs get any easier.

One of the commenters mentioned that it’s basically impossible to “keep up with the twenty-somethings”…but that is exactly what it is all about. On my first day in front of my platoon, I called out the fastest kid they had and we went on a run. We were pretty evenly matched, but I ended up smoking him by the end. I was 23 and he was 18. On the first day in front of my company, I called out the fastest kid and we went on a run. I was now 30, but that kid was still 18. He beat me, but not by much. Now I’m closing in on 40, that kid is still 18, and he pushes me to be stronger and faster every day. I might not win every time, but it’s about showing your unit that you are dedicated to being fit…and that you won’t be a liability on the battlefield. It’s hard to keep up with the twenty-somethings. It’s damn near impossible if you have been doing it your entire career…that’s the whole point. You have to be doing it your entire career.

Don’t use the military’s age-based scoring as an excuse for maintaining an unfit status quo. PFT scores are a very, very small part of the culture that ensures we lead by example in all things, including physical fitness. When you relax the standard because not everyone needs to be fit due to their “place on the scene”, you stop leading by example. We’re not talking about a few reps or seconds on a run, we’re talking about people who are completely unfit or obese…and that only happens because the culture allows it.

Fantastic article. I hope that safety in fitness becomes standard someday.

I have been mil/leo for over 20yrs.  You are spot on and I have said the same thing for over two decades. I noticed that some responses run the gamut of using the brain, being big, blah, blah, blah. I have heard the I will use my gun more than I can count. I love how they seem to know the when, where, how many, environment, etc of a deadly force encounter. They seem to be clairvoyant. And then you gotta love how they take something(your article) and try to turn it into something else. I have been fortunate to talk to many (100’s) that have been in life and death struggles. One question I always asked, what would you do differently? Every single one said they wished they had been better conditioned, stronger, combatives, etc. Not a single one has ever said they wished they had been less conditioned. I have always thought that standards are abysmal and pretty much laughable. These public service jobs that involve life and death matters should be tied to physical fitness standards in order to keep your job. PERIOD. And it should be something you have to work at to keep. There should be no second chances. You fail you are out, end of story. Then I see all the BS about they only give me X amount of time to workout. Bullshit. I have worked out in the mountains, desert, hotel rooms all over the world. This includes 40, 50, 60+ hour work weeks. Maybe I had a flight of 20 hours or more, living in a sleeping bag for 30+days, going from country to country, no sleep, no food,  didn’t matter, I still worked out when my training plan called to workout. I care not what one of these self pitying, whining, whimpering, you know what thinks. I have always known that my fitness has saved me from many bad situations that could have went the other way. They can keep up the undisciplined pity party-all I can say is they better hope their number isn’t called upon to respond to save themselves or a teammate.  Great Article and as always Rob love your stuff.

I read the article in question, and I strongly disagree….. It was written in a cruel fashion, and is totally untrue…. There are many, and I say MANY good officers and firefighters that in today’s profile would be considered morbidly obese, and do their job at a high level of efficiency… I’m offended and ticked after reading this article. The focus should be on their efficiency and ability not on size and perception.

I’m a firefighter.  15 years on. I agree with most of your views.  I was hoping you had more on how to introduce the safety issue. I rarely hold my thoughts in when asked and you are right silence equals acceptance.   The chiefs do nothing and do not back the officers so again nothing is done. You are correct again. How watching an unfit ff and officer struggle hurts us all.  Not sure on a solution well one that doesn’t come across as screwing another ff out of a job.  I know. It’s not safe for us all but a touchy subject.    Tell the truth and risk becoming shunned or suffer in silence/acceptance

RESPONSE

I don’t have a quick answer for you. Best for us is to continue to look for cases where the lack of fitness has been an issue in a first responder’s injury or that of others. These cases, and perhaps lawsuits that have resulted, will highlight the issue – although it’s obvious already.

No one is owed a job – especially a public service job. You should be angry at the unfit firefighters on your department who put you in this position. It is entirely within their control to get fit and solve the problem.

– Rob

You folks have hit a nerve amongst my audience, kudos! From a seasoned firefighter, [this is the] most accurate article I have seen on true attitudes of those who are fit towards those who aren’t. Silence Acceptance = Quiet Approval. Best statement ever.

So basically you’re saying, fat people are all lazy, and don’t deserve to be in certain lines of work? Well you sir are a fucking asshole.

I found your article interesting. I am a 44 YO FF in a smaller rural dept. I am also the health and wellness coordinator for our dept. We adopted the Air Force Fit for Duty standards a few years ago. It is age and gender specific. Our program is punitive with a remediation process if a member falls below a minimum standard. Unfortunately, we do not have slower stations or jobs that members can assume if they are not fit, but pass our standards. We have run up against some unique situations. I have repeatedly discussed with our committee and management that our fitness requirements begins with our hiring of individuals that will not become liabilities in the future and second, more importantly, is adopting and embracing a culture of fitness.  A problem we are finding is our seasoned members are having ortho injuries, knee replacements, hip replacements etc., but are still capable of performing their expected duties. I have found that we need to protect the employees from themselves during our fitness testing. They will damage themselves in order to complete the tests at 100%.  Also, the individuals are a wealth of knowledge. We are unable to shift them into command positions as we just don’t have those positions available. I don’t feel it is fair to just cast these members away after a career of faithful service. These injuries are a result of their service.  These members scores fall into the same category of someone who is not fit and does not take fit for duty serious. We are attempting to navigate this situation, but I notice a similar attitude from some committee members that I sensed from you in your article. An attitude of removal from service. It is a rigid stance that needs to be defined to the lazy employee. This rigid stance does not allow a separation between the good employee and the lazy employee and I cannot get this fact recognized. Unfortunately, as I said before, good employees are falling into this situation. I firmly believe in performance standards and myself have already had knee surgery and expect another in the future. I stay in top physical condition and can outperform the majority of our membership. I am also a cert. personal trainer, only for our membership.  Also, members with ortho injuries scores are not reflecting their true fitness levels, but are being interpreted by other members as being unfit due to a percentage score. An example being a timed run. I am short and muscular with a knee that at the present time tolerates running. Yet I run an average of seven miles on each of my four days off, two 5k every other day. My scores fall average in the scale, but I can on average perform between eighty to ninety push ups in a minute, yet our scoring system is weighted heavily in the run with a low weighted score for strength. My scores are routinely lower than younger members whom I outperform on all incidents and fitness training. They get great scores for running fast yet do the minimum strength component and get the same maximum points even though they are unable to handle a chainsaw all day or throw a ladder.  Is my safety at risk from the weak employee without the strength to drag me to safety but he scores great within our standards due to his skinny frame blazing around the track?  Remember my dept. doesn’t have the luxury of unlimited available resources. IRIT is common practice, leaving two members to perform interior fire suppression. I am interested in your thoughts as you may have already heard this situation already.  Thank you for your time.

RESPONSE

I certainly understand the potential knowledge loss from legacy members who due to age or past injuries can’t meet the physical safety standard.

Your department is not alone with this issue. The military faces it with members injured – amputees, etc., but who want to return to combat duty. If I understand right, these members must still pass the same fitness gates as uninjured members – there are no allowances. Those who can’t meet the standards aren’t allowed to return to full combat duty.

Airlines have a mandatory retirement age of 65 for pilots. This age is mandatory, regardless of the pilot’s fitness, competency, etc. As you can imagine, there are a lot of super experienced, excellent pilots mandatorily retired at 65.

These are tricky issues, especially at a small rural department where everyone is family. There is no comfortable answer.

But unfit members, or those unable to pass the fitness safety standard for whatever reason, are an unacceptable safety risk. Unacceptable.

In a perfect world, the most professional of the legacy members who find themselves in this situation would step down. They would never risk the safety of their fellow firefighters.

But it’s not a perfect world.

First step is to establish a realistic fitness safety standard – a better assessment than perhaps the one you describe – which genuinely reflects the most dangerous demands of a structural fire. I believe our assessment is a step in the right direction. Regardless, the assessment should be conducted semi-annually. A semi-annual assessment doesn’t give guys enough time to let their fitness completely go between assessments.

Second, in addition to a shorts and t-shirt fitness safety assessment, I recommend a practical fitness and skills safety assessment in full turnout gear and under air. This assessment too, should be conducted semi-annually.

This practical assessment is actually an equalizer for legacy members who’s pure fitness assessment score may decline with age, but practical competency improve.

Safety aside, know that the legacy members in your department, who’s physical competency for the job is in question because of ortho injuries or whatever, are hurting the unit’s cohesion and morale.

Considering your fitness assessment, believe me I understand the “validity” of the Cooper Test from a scientific and legal perspective. But it struggles to meet the common sense test. Turnout gear is heavy, and functional movement in this gear takes a level of “tactical chassis” strength not assessed by the Cooper Test.

I’m no attorney, but of the case law I have read there has never been a clear link between a fitness assessment and a safety standard. Perhaps making this link will give departments the legal cover to create assessments which align with the job.

– Rob

Really enjoyed reading your article on fitness in the first responder. You make a lot of great points. I just turned 40 and have been working as a firefighter for almost 10 years now and i have seen what you talk about first hand. Talking about the legacy employees. What should we do with them? I mean these people have been working hard and most close to retirement age. In my state they are trying to pass retirement age increases. I also see this as a safety issue but hard to fire someone who has worked hard and almost ready to retire but unable to do to political pressure.

Thank you. Great article.

RESPONSE

A persons’ right to remain on at the department doesn’t outweigh safety – regardless of his/her previous contributions to the department or years of service. The fire simply doesn’t care. A safety standard is a safety standard.

Legacy members know this more than anyone and I’m disappointed that so many legacy members put their fellow firefighters, like you, in this uncomfortable position. It’s not about them. It never has been.

I often receive questions from military amputees striving to get back to combat duty. Regardless of their injury and obvious service to the military and country, if they want to get back to their old unit, they have to perform at certain level. There are no allowances given. Same should be true for first responders.

It is entirely possible for a older firefighter to be fit for the job. Is it harder? Yes. But it’s possible. Many work hard to stay strong and fit and not be a liability or safety hazard to their fellow first responders.

Again, I’m disappointed so many legacy members put the others on the force in this position. It’s a tragic leadership failure that needs to be directly confronted and called out for what it is.

– Rob

COMMENT

I recently read your article on FB. I am a person who had to retire early from the fire service. Not because I am unfit but because of jack ass people that believe they are fit. In other words people that some how become experts on the art of firefighting. There is no such a person. You learn knew things every day. Not sure who made you the deciding end all be all of fitness…. But your stories are vague and have been told many times. I will tell you this. One of the people I worked with, one you would consider to be unfit, was by far and away and still is the best engineer in the department. Keep your fitness rules to yourself. No one else care.

To reinforce your point, experience and tactical knowledge will not carry the day in crisis situations. You must have both fitness and tactical knowledge to win in the extremes. The problem is a lot of these legacy clowns get by at room & contents fires. When they get into a true shit storm they will fold. I don’t want these duds working for me. If other Chief’s had the guts to stand up and say this the problem would start to go away.

You probably don’t know anything about cops from reading your article on deconditioned police and fire. I do agree fitness should be incentivized. Fat cops are a poor reflection. But let me use this example. The gun guru that shoot 100%, had a closet full of guns, lives and breathes firearms ,,, usually are the worst cops. The muscle they had to be the fittest ,,, the brain. Case law, attorney general guidelines, policies and procedure,,,, the washed up football player doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s brains first in 2016. That’s said our department give us 10 vacation hours for a voluntary fitness test and let’s us get a comprehensive physical while working. Just my 2 cents. I get the spirit of your article. But fitness does not equal good cop.

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By Rob Shaul, Founder

Background

In January 2018 MTI identified 7 Major Problems with the Proposed Army Combat Readiness Test and developed/published the Soldier-Athlete Fitness Test (SAFT) – our proposed replacement for the US Army APFT, and the USMC PFT.

After a prescribed, simple warm up, here are the SAFT events:

1. Max Rep Bodyweight Pull Ups in 2 Minutes
2. Max Rep Hand Release Push Ups in 60 Seconds
3. Max Rep Pull Up Bar Heel Tap in 60 Seconds
4. MTI Tactical Athlete Work Capacity Fitness Assessment (All Athletes Run This together – Entire Event Takes 11 Minutes)
   Rest 15 Minutes Before Starting Ruck Run
5. 3 Mile Ruck Run for Time @ 40# ruck (All Athletes Run This together)

We feel the SAFT offers several advantages over the current APFT, USMC PFT, and many other military fitness assessments:

• Requires limited equipment
• Better assesses Mission-Direct military fitness – especially loaded work capacity and movement under load
• Is easy to Administer and Simple to Score

Fitness Attributes Assessed by Each Event

Putting 10 Marines Through the SAFT

On April 4, 2018, ten US Marines with the Alpha, Charlie and Weapons Companies of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines stationed at USMC Base Hawaii completed the entire assessment.

We had contacted Marines stationed at the Base prior and asked for volunteers to try the assessment, and members of the 1/3 responded positively.

Military members from several US branches have completed individual elements of the SAFT – especially the MTI Tactical Work Capacity Assessment, but this was the first time actual military members conducted the entire assessment as designed. 

Scoring:

50 Points Total 

General Score    Total Points
Poor                     0-20
Good                    21-35
Excellent              36-50

Results: 

Discussion

Overall, the Assessment went well for its first real-world application. The final scoring appears slightly inflated.

Ideally for a group of 10 athletes, with a typical curve, two would score “Poor”, two would score “Excellent” and 6 would score “Good.” In this case, we had four “Excellent” scores, four “Good” and just two “Poor”.

Range of motion issues with the Hand Release Push Ups (see below) could account for some of this. Stricter enforcement or a different exercise would likely lower the Push Up score and decrease the overall results.

As well, the Pull Up Bar Heel Tap exercise range of motion was not consistently enforced. Several times I corrected athletes for tapping their toes above the pull up bar, not their heels. Tapping heels are harder, and this being better enforced may have reduced scores.

Finally, most of the Marines who completed the SAFT volunteered and thus were likely pre-disposed toward fitness and curious at trying a new assessment – meaning as a group there was likely much more fit than the average population.

Lessons Learned

1) Range of Movement Issues with the Hand Release Push Ups
From the score chart above, the Hand Release Push Up Scores were suspiciously high. The issue was the range of motion during completion of the Hand Release Push Ups – specifically, just raising the torso and not bring up the butt/midsection in one motion during the exercise. I demonstrated the technique prior to the assessment, but in watching the Marines perform the assessment, it was clear the message didn’t get through.

Frustratingly, I’d chosen Hand Release Push Ups over regular push ups because of exercise technique/range of motion issues with regular push ups. Plus – Hand Release Push Ups are simply more difficult.  Done strict, Hand Release Push Ups are a great upper body pressing exercise.

Often when there are technique and/or range of movement issues with an assessment exercise, coaches blame the athletes. However, we like to look at the exercise … is there a more simple, more direct exercise we can deploy to address the issue?

In this case, what comes to mind is metronome Hand Release or regular push ups like those deployed at Ranger School. Slowing the exercise down with a metronome count, and ending the exercise for the athlete when he/she can’t make the next count may address the range of motion issue. This could also work for the Strict Pull Up event.

The only problem with the metronome counting is it adds another layer of equipment – test administrators will need a smartphone and perhaps speakers so athletes can hear. Also, this may extend the event beyond it’s prescribed 60 seconds for push ups and 2 minutes for pull ups. We’ll need to do some testing.

2) Ruck Loading @ 40 Pounds
The prescribed 3-Mile Ruck Run loading for the SAFT is 40 pounds. Even though this was disseminated to the Marines prior to the assessment, several either didn’t get the message or simply didn’t weigh their rucks prior.

Many of the participating marines brought rucks with pre-made 45-pound “bricks” – duck-taped bags of sand they regularly use for ruck training. My sense is 45 pounds is a common ruck training load – we use this load ourselves often, and perhaps an easy fix is simply to use 45 pounds as the loading for this event.

From an equipment issue, ruck load is the most complicated for the SAFT. A platoon may have 1 or 2 ruck scales, but these may or may not be readily available and this complicates getting the road correct, obviously. Adding in the different types of rucks, and extra pouches, etc. only complicates things.

Moving forward, a possible change to the SAFT is simply making the load for the Ruck Run 45 pounds, minus the ruck.

3) Overall Assessment Duration
The Assessment ran long – beyond the 105 minutes I had hoped, to around 120 minutes total to complete by the time the final athlete finished the ruck run.

Part of this duration can be explained by the Marines’ unfamiliarity with the assessment and several of the events – including the MTI Work Capacity Assessment, Hand Release Push Ups and Pull Up Bar Heel Tap.

Issues concerning ruck load also slowed us down as we had to shift hear around to get rucks close to the 40-pound prescribed load. More communication ahead of time and prescribing a 45-pound ruck load will help address these delays.

As well, the current warm up (see below) ran beyond the 10 minutes I’d hoped, and a possible change will be to cut the warm up to 3 rounds and eliminate the Lat + Pec Stretch.

Also, the 15-minute rest between the MTI Tactical Athlete Work Capacity Assessment and the 3-Mile Ruck Run can be cut to 10 minutes.

Potential SAFT Changes

1) Fix the Hand Release Push Up event – either by being more specific about range of motion, conducting it on a count or metronome, or changing the exercise altogether.

2) Reduce the Warm Up – to 3 Rounds and cut the Lat + Pec Stretch to shorten it.

3) Prescribe a 45-pound Ruck Load – not including the Ruck, for the Ruck Run event.

Questions/Comments/Feedback? Email rob@mtntactical.com

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