Page 2 – Mountain Tactical Institute

Mini Study: 1x/week Training Results in Grip Strength Endurance Improvement & Disappointing Burpee Work Capacity Results

BLUF

Training Work Capacity and Grip Strength 1x/week with hobbyist jiu-jitsu athletes results in 2.24% average increase on the Burpee Beep Ladder, and a 28.85% increase on the Gi Grip Assessment.

Background

We’ve seen a significant interest in training program options which work within time-constrained parameters. Careers, family, or hobbies mean training time can be limited.

The purpose of this mini-study, and several other of our recent efforts, is to determine what the absolute least amount of training work is required to see improvement in 4-6 week training cycles.

Our jiu-jitsu athletes want to improve performance and durability with minimal time commitment while still getting ample sport-specific grappling training.

This study focused on Work Capacity and Grip Strength Endurance, with the two being trained once a week, on the same day. The assessments and follow-on progressions are short… the Burpee progression takes approximately 8 minutes, and the Grip progression takes approximately 5-8 minutes.

With this study, we looked to determine if less than ~15 minutes of work over 5 weeks improves these two fitness traits.

Study Design/Deployment

Gi Grip Assessment & Progressions

The Gi Grip Assessment measures sport-specific grip strength endurance. Using a Gi Top or a towel hung through a ring or over a racked barbell so that the sleeves are hanging. Set a timer clock to beep every 10 seconds.

Hang from the top of the sleeves near the armpit or armpit/collar combination. Every 10 seconds, do a row, and come back to the hanging position. Hang on as long as you are able.

Our floor was quite slippery barefoot, so most athletes went feet down to avoid any inadvertent swinging. We found foot position doesn’t really matter, as long as you use the same position for the assessment, progressions, and re-assessment.

Progressions are based on total time broken into seconds (1:30 = 90 seconds) and then multiplied by our progression percentage. The lab rats completed the following progressions, 1x/week:

5 Rounds @ 30% Total Assessment Time
45-second rest between rounds
5 Rounds @ 35% Total Assessment Time
45-second rest between rounds
5 Rounds @ 40% Total Assessment Time
45-second rest between rounds

For example, my initial assessment was 88 seconds. For the first progression, I would hang for 26 seconds (88 x 30%) with a row every 10 seconds.

Burpee Beep Ladder Assessment & Progressions

The Burpee Beep Ladder is one of our best (and worst feeling) assessments for work capacity.

We started at 12 burpees in sixty seconds, using whatever time is remaining in the 60 seconds as your rest. The next minute moves to 14 burpees, then 16, and so on until the athlete can’t complete the prescribed reps in the round.

You then total your burpees completed for an overall score.

8 Rounds every 60 sec.
12% of your Burpee Beep Ladder Score.
Rest with whatever time is remaining in the 60 seconds.
8 Rounds every 60 sec.
15% of your Burpee Beep Ladder Score.
Rest with whatever time is remaining in the 60 seconds.
8 Rounds every 60 sec.
18% of your Burpee Beep Ladder Score.
Rest with whatever time is remaining in the 60 seconds.

For example, my initial assessment was 101 total burpees.

So for my first progression (101 x .12 = 12), I did 12 burpees every minute on the minute, for 8 rounds.

These progressions became very challenging, particularly at 18%.

Overall Weekly Schedule

Athletes trained 3x/week on this program, plus grappling training. The weekly schedule was as follows:

Tuesday: Strength (Hang Power Clean, Accessory)
Wednesday: Gi Grip, Burpee Beep Ladder
Thursday: Strength (Back Squat, Accessory)

Most athletes trained 4-6x/week on the mats in addition to this programming. There were no issues balancing the strength and conditioning with the mat training, but all athletes did state that these two progressions were tough.

Results & Discussion

I wasn’t sure what results to expect from this program design. My initial thought was a small increase in performance on both assessments.

The results were interesting. On the Gi Grip Assessment, we recorded a 28% average increase in grip performance. That’s statistically very significant and may be influenced by increasing familiarization with the exercise over the weeks. Even with that familiarization, results indicate that grip strength endurance may require less overall training volume for improvements.

The Burpee Beep Ladder results were far less impressive, with a neutral median change for the group. Chadwick saw a significant increase which skewed the average, but the remainder of the group reassessed within +/- 3 of their original score.

Anecdotally, the hindering factor became muscular endurance, not necessarily an aerobic issue, in beating the previous score. The chest and shoulders fail before the lungs do.

However, this is still promising in terms of work capacity maintenance. With only training 1x/week and sport-specific training, we can reasonably expect the baseline to stay steady.

Both are important takeaways for future considerations in time-constrained program design. We’re slowly whittling away to the point of minimum work required.

Next Steps

We still need a greater data set on work capacity specifically, and an expansion of different types of grip (crushing, pinch, etc.). I’m curious if work capacity is maintained at 1x/week training frequency across different modalities such as sprinting, gym-based multi-modal, etc. with the same effect. Comparing against established VO2 and HRV metrics would be ideal, but that equipment isn’t currently available.

We have access to several assault bikes, which provide a ready comparison of output via wattage tracking. This would be a simpler, more detailed method to better assess and track athlete performance. I’m also interested in experimenting with different varieties of interval types to determine the most time-efficient and beneficial conditioning methods.

Thoughts, feedback? Email coach@mtntactical.com

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The Most Dangerous Activity At Our Mountain School? Kickball!

by SSD

By Felix Dowsley, MTI Contributor

Every week, our school fields seventy two students and fourteen staff in an ever-rotating program of whitewater paddling, rock climbing, service work, and downhill skiing. I read every incident report and look for trends, hoping to learn as much as I can and anticipate emerging risks. And at the end of the day, I have concluded that the most hazardous activity in our program is… kickball.

Our staff comprises the fittest classroom teachers I’ve ever met because they are also professional mountain athletes. Each one of us at a minimum paddles class III whitewater and skis Southeastern black diamonds (more hazardous than you’d think— watch out for rocks, mud, and deathwish first-timers). Many of them race the Green Narrows, a few gear up for the Linville, and Monday morning staff coffee banter centers around the times (mellow or extreme) we spent outside over the weekend. Furthermore, the staff all manage risk aggressively, as demonstrated by our incredible safety record. Unless we’re playing field games.

In one kickball game after a morning of grueling trail building, I tore ligaments in my knee and another staff member herniated his back. A student who wins at the national level in downhill mountain bike racing suffered his worst musculoskeletal injury during a game of touch football. A world-champion kayak freestyler and downriver racer was in a back brace for weeks because of an Ultimate frisbee game. In the two days between the first and second drafts of this essay, my ski-patrolling, kayak shredding friend strained her leg muscle… during soccer PE.

Why is PE more dangerous than all of our skiing, paddling, and climbing days put together? Because the risk/chaos intersection hovers just under the radar of a seasoned mountain instructor’s well-honed attention. Mountain athletes and professionals are pros at managing risk. But we can get hurt when we aren’t really focused on safety and intentional movement, even if the risk level and physical intensity of the activity are far less than our max.

“Kickball” — aka PE at our program, and field sports in general– should result in fewer injuries than mountain adventure. But it results in more injuries with my team of mountain professionals coaching/playing because the scenario doesn’t demand the same level of attention. Serious mountain athletes and instructors know the moments when our movement needs every ounce of attention: maintaining footing and core tension while placing a “thank goodness” piece of pro or keeping laser focus on the set-up eddy while ferrying above a hazardous drop. PE, on the other hand, is geared towards fun, friendly competition, and sports fluency. As we tell our students, “none of us are going pro in four-square today.” The objective hazards are also low: a pothole in the sports field, maybe, and the potential for a collision with a student or basketball post. The terrain is laughably tame compared to the mountains where we honed our risk management craft. So as a result, we get loose, play into the kids’ desire for catharsis (nothing relieves tension like getting to peg your principal with a dodgeball), and forget that our thirty, forty, fifty year old bodies can’t plant and pivot like a fourteen year old, even if we can plant and pivot on granite or waterfalls.

The observation that in our program PE results in more injuries than mountain adventure can be applied metaphorically back to mountain pursuits. My all-time worst climbing injury happened on the ground after the last climb of the day. The first heavy drops of an afternoon thunderstorm sent my buddy and me hustling for the trailhead and slapping each other on the back for our excellent timing. I’d left my approach shoes in the car, keeping my Chacos on instead because hey, it was the first Friday afternoon of the summer and I was going climbing! But the boulders below the north side of Looking Glass are slippery as snot when it rains. Jangling down the trail, I skidded out, dropped a couple feet, and landed on the side of my left foot. Turns out the side of a chaco is a massive lever, and I heard the audible pop of my fifth metatarsal. I spent my upcoming Colorado trip running river shuttles for my wife and our friends, puttering around in a ducky, and trying not to think about the epic lines in Rocky Mountain National Park I’d dreamed about all school year. Though ducky surfing the town wave in Buena Vista was truly rad, I wanted to kick myself for treating my hike out from the mountains as casually as a game of kickball.

So how can I beware of kickball scenarios in the mountains? When mountain travel is less demanding and more casual, it makes sense to lower my intensity of exertion, but I shouldn’t let low intensity bring lack of focus along with it. I can stay aware of my body even if the required intensity of effort is lower than my high-focus moment. Messing around is fun, but if I’m not still aware of my body, what it’s doing, and its limits, gravity will set me straight the hard way. Plus I’m more likely to throw my body around in an unusual way if I’m not thinking about it. So when it’s my at-bat, I take a little breath to check myself before I wreck myself in a casual kickball game.

Felix is an educator and mountain professional in North Carolina.

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Shin Splints? It Could Be Your Running Cadence

by SSD

Jesse Hall, MTI Contributor

“I run and ruck about 35 miles per week, have been consistently doing that for 3 months, and I usually do a long run of at least a half marathon on the weekend. My goal is a 30-minute 5-mile run and a 2-hour 12-mile ruck,” the Ranger told me.

“Problem is though, I’ve been having shin splints whenever I run, right here *points to boot top level on his right shin* and I even had to cut a run short because of it. I’m only a month away from BRC (Best Ranger Competition), what do I do?”

“Well, are your shoes still good?,” I asked?

“They are only a couple of months old and I only wear them when I run… I think they are still good.”

“Okay, so what’s your cadence?,” I asked.

“My what?”

“Your running cadence… pull up your Garmin app and let me see your phone.”

I looked through his most recent runs and found an easy run of about 10 miles, clicked it, and scrolled through his stats to find his average running cadence: it was 160 steps per minute.

Jackpot. His cadence was too slow.

“I think your cadence is too low and that’s why you’re having shin splints when you run,” I told him.

“Really? What’s a cadence?”

“Let’s go to the treadmill and I’ll show you.”

Whenever a soldier comes to see me with shin splints, the first thing I want to know about is their training history.

Shin splints are simply an overuse injury, and they happen when running and rucking volume is higher than the volume that someone’s muscles and bones are adapted to.

Picture going down a steep hill in your car. If you keep pressure on the brakes the entire time, the friction makes them get too hot and can damage the components. So, what you’re supposed to do is hold your brakes for a couple seconds, let go to let them recover, then go hard on the brakes again. Repeat all the way down.

You get shin splints when you don’t let your ‘brakes’ recover and your shin bones start to develop hot spots from the overuse.

With this Ranger, who was at the top of his game physically, the issue with his running and rucking volume was more about technique than the number of miles he was putting in. And that’s where cadence comes into play.

Running cadence is the number of steps you take in 1 minute. For most people, the ideal range is between 170 and 180. For someone used to running with a much lower cadence, running between 170 and 180 steps per minute will feel awkward – like taking short, choppy steps.

But with a cadence of 165 or lower, your foot is hitting the ground out in front of your body instead of underneath it, which forces your shin bones instead of calf muscles to absorb more of the shock when you hit the ground.

For those with shin splints and a cadence of 165 or lower, I want to increase their cadence so the calves do more of the work instead of the shins.

Here’s the method for increasing this Ranger’s running cadence:

Step 1: Download a metronome app onto your phone

Step 2: Hop on a treadmill and run for 5 minutes at an easy pace you could hold for a long time

Step 3: We want to find your natural cadence, so while you’re running at that easy pace, change the metronome to match the pace of your steps. Key point here: don’t change your steps to match the metronome yet.

For Ranger, his natural cadence was 160. Again, this means that he would take 160 steps per minute and the metronome would tick with every foot strike when set to 160.

Step 4: Changing your cadence feels clunky at first, so only increase the metronome by 5-10 beats at a time. Stick with that higher goal cadence for 2-3 minutes until you start to get the hang of it.

If the first change doesn’t bring your cadence between 170 and 180 per minute, all good; run at that initial increase for a week and then increase it again 5-10 steps/minute.

Now that you know what it feels like to run at the higher cadence, it’s time to practice so you can develop muscle memory. Before starting a run, prime yourself by warming up with a 5-minute light jog at the goal cadence using the metronome.

If running on the treadmil, have your metronome up in front of you as you run. If running outside, run while listening to the sound of the metronome in your headphones.

Both of those tactics are highly effective but overkill after a while. Once you get into the groove of what it feels like to run at the goal cadence you won’t need the metronome.

For Ranger, he actually felt a difference in his shin pain while running at 170 instead of 160 steps per minute. He looked at me in a “how did you know” kind of way, and I just smiled and set the metronome to 175.

At 175, he had practically no pain with each foot strike—he was shocked.

From my perspective, it was clear why his pain went away: the front of his foot, AKA his forefoot, was hitting the treadmill before his heel and directly under his body. He had his chest up with a slight forward lean.

His calves were doing their jobs—absorbing the shock with each step and using it to propel him forward.

Step 5: Go train at the higher cadence

I reached out to Ranger a week later to see how he was doing. Through his text, I still got the impression he wanted to say “how did you know,” because the results were a complete 360 from the last time we spoke.

“Increasing the cadence has helped a ton. I ran a 20 miler on Sunday and felt great!”

My man. Good luck at BRC. RLTW.

So, does this mean shin splints are always an issue of running technique? No. I’ll give you three other instances where the issue is likely to be something else:

Your shoes are toasted, and it’s time to change them out. 400 miles max per pair of shoes, maybe 300 if you have one of those high-performance shoes with the carbon plate.

Your weekly mileage has increased significantly in the last 8 weeks in big chunks, an example being going from 10 to 20 miles per week in back-to-back weeks. Here’s my rule of thumb for increasing running mileage week over week: You can increase your mileage 1 mile for every session of training you do in a week, but no more. So, if you run 3 times per week, you can increase your weekly mileage up to 3 miles next week. If you run 6 times per week, increase by no more than 6 miles next week.

You’re out of shape compared to how much running and rucking you’re trying to do. This is very common in basic training when you get new recruits that have never ran a single mile in their lives before joining the military and now they have to run everywhere, all day. This also happens in selection environments when candidates may run and ruck 100 miles in a week. That’s tough to prepare for no matter your training history.

Well, there you have it. It is amazing what a slight change in running form can do for shin splints. If you are dealing with shin pain, I recommend you ask yourself if you fall into either of those 3 groups above. If not, check your cadence. Increasing it could provide you with the solution you’re looking for.

Got a question for me? Hit me up at jessehallpt@gmail.com.

Jesse is a US Army Captain and Brigade Physical Therapist and Strength & Conditioning Coach.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:
All content found on Mountain Tactical Institute is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.

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Q&A 4.4.24

by Mintra Mattison

QUESTION

Just wanted to clarify before starting the program:

When doing sets is it:

5 rounds – 5x of 1 leg box squats , does that mean do the right leg for round one and then left leg round 2? Or do the (5) reps with the left leg and then (5) reps with the right leg would be one set?

ANSWER

1 Round = 5x on the right leg, and 5x on the left leg.

QUESTION

So I’m in need of improving my running and have picked up the run improvement program. I still want to enjoy BJJ 2-3 times a week though. I’m wondering what recommendation you might have to work both into a busy week.

ANSWER

A few options…

Option 1: AM/PM Sessions. So 2-3x week knock out your Run Improvement training in the AM, then your BJJ training in the afternoon/evening.

If this isn’t possible due to schedule…

Option 2: Consolidate the Run Improvement training, specifically the strength training, into 4x days. See the screenshot below on how to split up the Strength days within a week. This frees up two days for BJJ.

Option 3: If this feels like too much training for you handle at the moment, you can simply skip the strength training days and focus just on run training and BJJ.

QUESTION

I am interested in applying to Borstar. I have purchased the plan for Borstar and would like some recommendations to supplement this workout. I plan to apply myself next year if possible. I am looking for a training plan schedule starting now to apply for BORSTAR next year. I would appreciate your response.

ANSWER

These would be plans in order over the next year. Take a week of rest between each plan. This should bring you right to your selection date next year.

1) Military OnRamp

2) Barbossa
3) Black Beard
4) Captain Morgan
5) Madame Cheng
6) BORSTAR STC

If you purchase these plans together, you’ll get an automatic 25% discount applied to your cart at checkout. The other option is our Athlete Subscription, which will give you access to all of these plans. Your pick.

Ping us with any questions as you’re working through them!

QUESTION

I am a law enforcement officer looking for a good training program to get me back on track with my fitness. Unfortunately, a few injuries and kids have set me back, and I am out of shape. While I have a solid foundation in fitness from my pre-injury and childless days, my conditioning and strength have seriously declined.

I would like to subscribe to one of your programs, but I am not entirely sure which one is right for me. If you could offer some guidance, that would greatly appreciated.

ANSWER

The best place to start is our Law Enforcement On-Ramp plan. Built for guys exactly in your situation.

QUESTION

I’m starting your big game hunting prep packet on Monday. Elk rifle season 2 is Oct 26th in CO. and I’m getting excited for it!

My father is going to be going with me. I would like to have some recommendations for him to get better prepared than he has in years past. My concern is he is 71. His doctor has told him his heart is good. He keeps himself in okay shape. He is not over weight or skinny, just normal. He already does a lot of body weight lunges and squats…like, A LOT. I’m not convinced those alone are enough or he’s done them so many times he no longer gets any good out of them. He has gone out in years past with his hunting boots and ankle weights walking around the public school next to his house, which sits a top a 1/4mi hill. I told him to wear his hunting pack and add weights to it as he gets closer to the season.

Do you have any recommendations for his condition?

ANSWER

Sounds like an awesome trip, and your dad is a badass. I’d recommend taking the ankle weights off and focusing on wearing the pack. Start light – 20# is a good starting point.

Depending on what kind of mileage/terrain you intend to cover on your hunt, working up to 6 miles is a good starting point, then slowly increasing the weight.

In terms of our programming, the SF60 Packet is going to be the best option for your dad. The endurance work is “Athletes Choice”, and he should focus on walking with his pack over mixed terrain.

QUESTION

I’m starting a online Masters program and will be limited on time. I’m going to jump on the Busy Dad sessions.

A couple of questions:

I notice in the sample training you use dumbbells for the strength sessions. I don’t have a full set. Can I do the corresponding movements with a barbell?
When is the best time to jump in (ex. beginning/end of the month)? Or does it matter?

ANSWER

Congrats and good luck on the Masters program!

1. The Busy Dad sessions have dumbbell and barbell work, dependent on the cycle. No problem substituting dumbbells for barbell work. You can use this chart to find the appropriate exercise substitution.

2. Pick any month of programming you want to do, and start at the beginning of the month.

QUESTION

Hey MTI, I’m an active duty soldier with basically a year long layoff from serious training. I noticed y’all have a ton of great looking programs but they all seem a little volume intensive for me currently. My question is what program would you recommend for me as I rebuild my fitness level in order to move onto your ranger school program? My current stats are (2mile) 16:20, (pushups) 56, (chin-ups) 7, (sit-ups) 53. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

ANSWER

The plans within the Rookie Packet (https://mtntactical.com/shop/rookie-training-packet/) is the place to start. You can go with the packet, buy the plans within individually, or get access to all of them via our Athlete Subscription (https://mtntactical.com/shop/master-subscription-plan/)

QUESTION

Is it possible to buy just the TBS plan and not the IOC plan or do you have to buy them together

ANSWER

Here you go: https://mtntactical.com/shop/usmc-the-basic-school-tbs-training-plan/

QUESTION

I had a question I’m 5’9 155 pounds I’m pretty skinny. I have a lot of lean muscle on my frame with not a lot of body fat. I want to add some mass and size on without getting too out of shape. Which program would be best for me hypertrophy for skinny guys or the ultimate meathead cycle?

ANSWER

Hypertrophy for Skinny Guys will be the way to go!

QUESTION

I purchased the busy dad daily and im going to start tomorrow (Friday). My 5 days are Friday-Tuesday bc of work. My question for you is, should I start the busy dad workouts at the first week of January or just start at the 4th week of march?

ANSWER

It’s really up to you. The programming moves through cycles which can be balanced, strength focused, work capacity focused, or endurance focused. They’re designed to be able to pick up anywhere. However, start at the beginning of a cycle, whichever one you choose.

QUESTION

What program is recommended for someone wanting to prevent Achilles tendinitis from worsening while continuing to train as a tactical athlete

ANSWER

Not sure I have a great answer for this. The best recommendation would be the Post Rehab Leg Injury Plan (https://mtntactical.com/shop/post-rehab-leg-injury-training-plan-ssd/) which will work around the chronic issue, but won’t solve it unfortunately.

QUESTION

I have 17 weeks until SFOD-D support selection. 10 days that covers APFT, 12-18 mile ruck, misc events, psych, etc. What programs would you recommend? I have an okay baseline but am currently in regiment.

ANSWER

Next week, start Resilience (http://mtntactical.com/shop/resilience/). Finish that program, take a week off, then begin the Ruck Based Selection Plan (http://mtntactical.com/shop/ruck-based-selection-training-plan-v5/) leading up to your report date.

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Arete 4.6.24

by SSD

Military, National Defense, Foreign Policy

Iran’s Khamenei promises ‘Israel will be punished’ for Syria strike, Al Jazeera
US ‘strongly opposes’ China’s renaming of areas along disputed Indian border, South China Morning Post
Call between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden conveys stability, deep disconnect in US-China ties: analysts, South China Morning Post
Constellation Frigate Delivery Delayed 3 Years, Says Navy, USNI News
Nobody Actually Knows What Russia Does Next, Foreign Policy
Ukraine Is Winning the War’s Other Front, Foreign Policy
The Russian Air Force Is Hollowing Itself Out. Air Defenses for Ukraine Would Speed That Up, RAND
A Brief Genealogy of Philippine Claims in the South China Sea, The Diplomat
Marine battalion commander fired for “loss of trust and confidence”, Task & Purpose
‘Black Hawk Down’ Ranger veteran awarded Silver Star, Task & Purpose
What Is Volt Typhoon? A Cybersecurity Expert Explains the Chinese Hackers Targeting U.S. Critical Infrastructure, Homeland Security Newswire
How to ace the Marine Basic Recon Course, Task & Purpose
Ukrainian drones strike Tatarstan for the first time, 12 students hurt, Pravda Report
China’s former justice minister Tang Yijun facing corruption probe, top anti-graft agency says, South China Morning Post
The Air Force’s new $60 million Special Warfare aquatics center honors a fallen pararescueman, Task & Purpose
How the United States Lost Niger, Foreign Policy
What Sweden’s Accession Means for NATO, RANDThe Moscow Attack Showed Terrorism Is Asia’s Problem Now, Foreign Policy

First Responder / Law Enforcement / Wildland Fire/ Homeland Security, Wilderness Professional

Domestic Violet Extremists’ Threat to U.S. Nuclear Facilities, Homeland Security Newswire
Footage released in Calif. fatal OIS of teen kidnapping victim, Police1
‘It was a tough fight’: 1 dead, several injured in Boston 6-alarm fire, FireRescue1
A Paramedic Was Skeptical About This Treatment for Stopping Repeat Opioid Overdoses. Then He Saw It Help, FireFighterNation
DRIVER DIES AFTER CRASHING INTO AMBULANCE – SOUTH CAROLINA, FireFigher Close Calls
VIDEO: Police Drag 52-Year-Old Shackled, Bodypainted SeaWorld Protester From Airport Baggage Claim, PETA
Gunfire From Deputies Killed Teen Who Had Been Reported Kidnapped, Video Shows, NY Times
Finland School Shooting: 12-Year-Old Suspect Detained After 1 Dead and 2 Injured, NY Times
U.S. Unpersuaded by Report Blaming Russia for ‘Havana Syndrome’, Homeland Security Newswire
Suspects in NYPD officer killing indicted for murder, weapons charges, NY Times
Judge demands answers from FDNY after firefighters heckle attorney general, FireRescue1
282 names to be added to D.C. memorial in honor of fallen officers, Police1
Cops Running DNA-Manufactured Faces Through Face Recognition Is a Tornado of Bad Ideas, Homeland Security Newswire
Five Arrested for Trafficking Military Grade Firearms to Mexican Drug Cartel, Homeland Security Newswire
Ariz. officer attacked, shot multiple times while intervening in robbery, Police1
Wis. officer deploying spike strips struck by cruiser during pursuit, Police1

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I’m an Army Physical Therapist: These 3 Simple Steps Improve Low Back Pain in 10 Minutes

by SSD

By Jesse Hall, MTI Contributor

A loss of mobility—not a weak back—is the most common cause of low back pain.

And fortunately, the solution to mobility loss is often simple: what you have to do is stretch the painful joint by pushing into the stiffness over and over again until it loosens up. If you push at the right angle and with the right amount of pressure, you’ll “unlock” the joint, and be amazed at how much better you feel so quickly.

As an Army Physical Therapist, this is the exact process I use to fix low back pain for Soldiers. Close to 400 Soldiers a year come to my office with low back pain, and the vast majority of them walk out feeling better than they walked in.

So, if you have low back pain, this self-assessment process I am going to outline below is for you. And if you don’t have pain right now, save this article because it may be your best friend down the road.

By the end of this article, you’ll know how to do 3 things:

Determine if you’re safe to self-assess or if you need professional help
Set your pain baselines
Decrease your pain and improve your mobility

The Stretch Test for Low Back Pain:

Step 1: Determine If You Can Safely Self-Assess or Need Professional Help

Ask yourself the following questions. If you say yes to any, I recommend you get professional medical help about your pain. If you answer no to all of them, continue with caution to step 2.

My low back pain was caused by a sudden traumatic injury, like a car accident or a fall from a ladder
I have pain, numbness, tingling, or burning going from my lower back into either leg
I don’t know what caused my back to hurt, and what makes it worse is completely unpredictable
My back pain is a 9 or 10/10
I can’t use the restroom normally since the injury; I either have trouble going or I can’t hold it
I recently lost (or gained) 10 or more pounds for no apparent reason
I have a fever and the area of my back pain is red, hot to touch, and tender to touch
I am scared to move
I do NOT think it would be safe for me to do guided exercises to self-assess my low back pain

Step 2: Set Your Pain Baselines

Before doing any exercises, you need to do the movements that increase your back pain. Why? Because you won’t know if you’re back pain has changed unless you measure the starting point.

This is just like troubleshooting why your car won’t start. After each thing you try to fix, you should always try to start it again. You know you corrected the problem when the car starts, just like you’ll know your low back pain has improved when these movements (AKA your baselines) feel better.

Most commonly, for low back pain, these movements are bending forward to touch the toes and bending backwards with your hands on your lower back. Other movements work too, but keep them simple and easy to recheck.

One common issue people come to me with is low back pain with driving. Pain with driving is a good example of a pain baseline. If you have this issue, try to put numbers to your pain. How is it on a scale of 1-10? How many minutes until the pain comes on? If you know those numbers, you can use them as baselines.

Step 3: Make Your Baselines Better/Improve your Pain and Mobility

How the stretches at the bottom of this article work:

At the bottom of this article, there are 5 stretches. The goal is to find the single stretch that makes your pain baselines feel better… and then do 100 or more reps of that single stretch every day. Really simple.

Stretch #1 is the most likely to improve your baselines, so you’ll start there. You’ll try the stretch, recheck your baselines (example: touch your toes again), log what happened to your baselines in the chart below, and determine what to do next. You’ll work through the stretches from #1 to #5, but stop once you find the stretch that helps. At that point, simply do only the stretch that helps and don’t worry about the others..

And one important note: you’ve already said it is safe to self-assess your low back pain in step 1 so it is okay to do these stretches, even if they cause pain. Often times, you have to stretch into low back stiffness to make it better. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, I suggest you seek professional help.

This table is to help with finding that single most helpful stretch.

Tips:

I always recommend you do AT LEAST 20 reps before rechecking your baselines. There is no problem with doing 40, or even 100 before rechecking. The more you do, the easier it is to detect any change.
If I recheck my baselines after 20 reps and my back feels better, I’m going to do 20 more and recheck again, just to make sure it is the right exercise. I want to see back to back improvements before I make a decision.

Exercise	Sets x Repetitions	What Happened to Baselines	Next Action
Press Up (1)	1-2×20	Feels better, worse, or same	Do more, or do next exercise
Press Up With Pressure (2)
Crooked Press Up (3)
Seated Rotation (4)
Knees to Chest (5)

Here’s a personal example from October when I hurt the left side of my back deadlifting:

Step 1: I answered no to all questions and therefore was safe to self-assess

Step 2: I tried touching my toes and could barely get to my knees because of pain; that became my baseline

Step 3:

I tried stretch #1; no change
I tried stretch #2; no change
I tried stretch #3; felt better and could move better, so I did more. This became my go to stretch until my pain went away in 1 week

Exercise	Sets x Repetitions	What Happened to Baseline (Touching Toes)	Next Action
Press Up (1)	2×20	Felt the same	Next exercise
Press Up with Pressure (2)	2×20	Felt the same	Next exercise
Crooked Left Press Up (3) (left because my pain was on the left)	2×20	Felt better and I went down further towards my toes	Did at least 100, typically 300 per day
Seated Rotation (4)	Did not do
Knees to Chest (5)	Did not do

Once you find the stretch that is improving your baselines, your job is to just be patient and do it consistently.

I tell my patients to do at least 100 reps per day. But, if they feel like they are getting better, feel free to do more! Try 200 per day. I did about 300 per day and I was back to running and deadlifting pain free within a week.

Typically, the improvement is only temporary. Odds are your back will hurt just as much and you’ll be just as stiff if you go and sit on the couch for 5 minutes.

Unfortunately, that’s just the nature of these things. What’s important is finding the right stretch for you, doing a lot, and then checking your baselines at least once per day to track your improvement. The first 100 reps or so often help quite a bit but progress slows down after, so be patients once you find the helpful exercise.

Just ask yourself this once you have found the helpful stretch: Does today feel better than yesterday? If so, good! Keep going. More cowbell.

The first few days after an injury are typically the worse. Inflammation lasts about 3-5 days, and during that time, there’s potential that none of these stretches help.

No worries: in those instances, I just tell my patients to rest it, protect it, and try the stretches again in 3 days.

In conclusion: this isn’t going to help everyone—but I bet you it’s close to an 80% solution. And for those that it does help, I hope it allows you to continue to train, stay in the fight, and get back to your mission sooner.

Got a question or feedback for me? I can be reached at jessehallpt@gmail.com.

Jesse is a US Army Captain and Brigade Physical Therapist and Strength & Conditioning Coach.

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MTI Collective 4.4.24: Strength and Conditioning Lessons Learned

by Charlie Bausman

“What are your biggest lessons learned in Strength and Conditioning training over your lifetime? How have you implemented those lessons? ”

Stretching. Putting more of an emphasis on stretching. It want until my third Ironman did I start stretching and it expedited my recovery considerably. Doesn’t have to be elaborate or complex, but my body operates more efficiently and I’m back at it quicker.

Begin again.  Training is difficult to sustain for non-professional athletes.  Our jobs require physical strength but they also require time as does family and life. Each time I have a gap in training, I remember the need to begin again.  Beginning again means not letting the gap extend but also learning something new as a beginner.  At age 65 as a trail runner, i am planning another marathon.  My training is different than it was even 15 years ago.  That’s okay as long as I begin again.

My image as a Warrior drives my focus on strength, agility and martial capability:  former 1/75 Rangers (old scroll), RS Class 5-78; I am 65 years old right now and am training for the Summer Fan Dance in South Wales, UK this year.

You cannot achieve your goals without consistent hard work. Your feelings don’t matter. Just do the work. Prioritize the time. Get it done first thing in the morning and then get on with your day.

show up, move more, sleep, eat sufficient protein, get some sunlight, pick up something heavy. if you cover that you out perform 80% of people.

to win- make a plan, stick to it for 4 weeks, re-eval. stick to it. too many people bounce around or don't follow through. this will take you to 95% 

that last 5%, that's between you and whatever Deity you worship.

Rest days are as important as hard training days.

For me, there are two major lessons: first, keep moving. Movement is not only necessary for "gains" - but also for recovery and health and energy and attitude. No matter how small or weak or pathetic, movement will bring one back. Second, my understanding of physical training is bigger than what I think I understand. Rob says it best: "Everything works, but nothing works forever." This is so true. There are seasons for every kind of movement - from lifting to running to BJJ to dance to stretching to climbing...etc. There is wisdom in all of it and I should constantly open myself to "bigness" that strength and conditioning really is.

Marathon not a sprint. Be patient with improvement. Be adaptive. Plateaus will happen. Change to improve.

After 35 years of training and achieving Tier 1 fitness levels...

You need patience and progressive overload with your body; it will deliver what you want over time. Too far and too fast (i.e., no patience and no sensible progression) with weight, volume, pace, whatever = likely injury and regression.

Everyone will progress at their own rate of change according to their physiology; understand and embrace your unique strengths and weaknesses and optimize them.

Consistency...show up, show up, show up. Even if you have a crap workout, the act of showing up and working through it is a powerful force that propels you mentally and physically forward.

Workouts need to become like eating and sleeping, a mandatory part of the daily schedule. Western lifestyle lays out many traps and distractions, it's too easy to find an excuse not to workout.

Implementation

Patience: studied Buddhism and stoicism and constantly work on mental frame to accept that some things I can change and other I can't. I can't change my physiology or my decline as I age...so embrace and be optimistic about what I can do!

Progression: follow MTI programming...sensible progressive training in my opinion. Even though I'm 50, I follow the programming for 40-45 year olds. Helps push me a bit harder.

Consistency: set my schedule so i have dedicated workout time. Given the work I do, I go to bed at 10 and get up at 4 so I can get my daily workout in. I don't have to find time, I've MADE time.

Probably all boring, no trainer stuff! But I don't think it's really too complicated.

Everyone wants to be strong and fast but not everyone wants to put in the work.  It takes time and consistent effort to achieve results and you have to be dedicated to the task.  Maybe you're too sore, too tired, maybe it's raining or snowing or windy as hell but no one is going to make you a better athlete except you.  So get off your lazy ass, deal with the temporary discomfort, and give it hell.  Everyone is going to tell you what you need to do, even that old guy that walks around naked in the locker room, but only YOU can find what works best for you.  Educate yourself, have a solid plan, and trust it'll work out.

Everyone parent wants to be a great parent but not each of them wants to put in the work.  It takes patience, understanding, forgiveness, and constant managing of expectations on both sides.  Maybe you had a bad day at work, the house is a mess, the kids have been bickering all day but no one is going to give your kids the love and caring and lessons they need to face life except you.  So check your attitude, take a deep breath, and do what's right regardless of  how difficult it is, how scared you might be, or if anyone acknowledges your efforts.  Everyone is going to tell you how to parent but you need to filter out the bullshit.  No one is THE authority on the subject but if you are consistent in your principles and morals, and show your kids you love them and you give a damn about their happiness and success it'll work out.

Free weight form over weight and reps. Implemented by ensuring I have proper form when lifting, over lifting a weight I cannot lift without improper form.

That consistency is better than intensity. In my opinion it is much better to do 20 push ups everyday than to do 100 push ups once a month. I used to focus on progress using very short term metrics, if my workouts didn't go longer/involve more weight than previous ones, I was falling behind. That type of thinking led me to pushing myself too hard for too long, not leaving time for rest and recovery, which ultimately meant that I would inevitable become injured in some way. Since having shifted my focus to working out not for tomorrow or next week, but working out for 10 years from now, I have been able to be more consistent with my workouts, avoid injuries and over-training.

1. Mobility is absolutely crucial. As a young guy, I took my mobility for granted, even though it was already diminished. As I've gotten older, I've realized that the overwhelming majority of my injuries stem from a lack of mobility.

2. Sleep. Similar to #1, it was way easier to bounce back from my workouts when I was 20. Prioritizing sleep helps the body function and recover so much better.

3. Kill your ego. If you're putting in work, nobody worth worrying about is going to give you a hard time because you can't run a mile in a certain time, or lift a certain amount of weight. Don't beat yourself up because you can't meet someone else's arbitrary standard. Yes, always seek to improve, but stick to what is an appropriate level of challenge for you.

Always observing your supervisor - you can learn as much about what you don't want to do when you get the chance to be in charge as you can what you might want to do. 

It isn't about you, it is about the person you are serving (client/athlete/team).

The basics done correctly is the best work.

The little details matter.

Know your athletes on a personal level.

Eccentric work is as important if not possibly more important than concentric work - develop good brakes for your sports car.

Balance is key. It’s easy to get too tunnel visioned about strength versus endurance. In recent years I’ve come to see how they complement one another. Whenever my aerobic fitness improved I notice I need less rest between sets while strength training.

1) Consistency; ensure 2-5 times a week. Don’t switch programming after staying up at 2am! If you keep turning up with the right attitude you’ll get where you want to be. 

2) Evolution not Revolution; marginal gains theory rings true. Don’t keep looking for the next big thing. Fitness trends tend to be things already existing that have been rebranded. Adaptations to training should be done marginally to assess whether they work or not rather that wholesale change. 

3) Have a Goal; this allows you to measure progress whether from being healthier, rep maxes or events. Divide these into cycles and this helps you keep practice and relates to the previous two.

Don’t underestimate sleep. Get more sleep.

The main lesson which comes to mind is; You get what you put into it. If you skip days or leave certain exercises out, you will not achieve the best results. I can’t think of a better use of an hour a day. I will be 58 in a couple of weeks and have followed and completed numerous training plans, and have learned from all of them. The most challenging times are when life throws obstacles in your way. Such as injuries, work travels, time with the family. In my younger days, I would turn obstacles into excuses why I couldn’t train. I now embrace the challenge of finding ways to stay on a plan regardless of time or lack of equipment. Like in life, if you want something bad enough you find the solution.

Be patient but diligent.

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New MTI App Launching This Week!

by Charlie Bausman

We’re excited to announce that MTI’s new App will be launching this week. Built on the foundation of MTI programming and MTI Athlete feedback from previous surveys, we’re confident this will be a major improvement to the MTI training experience for athletes worldwide.

We will send out an email when the app is launched this week for Apple and Android users, including a quick video tutorial on how to get the most out of the new features. In the meantime, below is a peek at the new app and its functionalities.

*Important Note*: We will be manually updating all of our training plans to this new format in order to be capable of all the new features. We’ll work our tails off to get this done, but please give us some time… 450+ plans is a lot. All of our Daily Programming starting in April will have all of the features, and we will be working down the list of individual plans.

Improved Format & Navigation

The app unveils a new look. This includes an easy toolbar for navigation to all of your plans, chat, notes, and more.

On the home screen, The plan you’re currently working on will be accessible under “Next”, and will bring you right to your next scheduled session.

Under “Active Plans”, you can list out your next plans for easy access. Great for Athlete Subscribers who don’t want to navigate through our 450+ plans every time.

“Notifications” will allow MTI Coaches to announce the launch of new or updated plans, improved app functionalities, call outs for Lab Rats, or anything else that needs a notification to MTI Athletes.

“Assessments” will allow you to record new assessment results or maxes. This will also be featured within a session. With this feature, the app will record your results and provide graphing to monitor your assessment improvements over time.

In-Session Assessment Capture and Pre-Populated Loading

The most significant feedback we received was that it’s simply a pain in the ass to pull out a calculator every session to figure out your loading on strength training. With our in-plan assessment capture, your loading will appear throughout the plan. No more calculators, just get to work.

Embedded Timers

No more navigating away to set up a timer. Instead, use the pre-populated timer specific to the assigned programming, which will run within the session. You can also create your own timers as needed.

Embedded Exercise Demo’s

Another major pain point was being forced to navigate away from the app to view MTI Exercise Demonstrations. With the updated app, simply click on an exercise, and an in-app exercise demo will appear. Additionally, we’re in the process of re-recording all exercise demos to improve video and audio quality.

Improved MTI Chat

We’ve improved the chat functionality for athletes to post results and talk a little friendly trash. You can post from within a plan, or from the home screen. We intend to add a function to notify MTI Coaches with a “@coach”, to ask questions and be notified when the coach responds.

Traditional Text Format Still Available

We know not everyone wants all the bells and whistles, and prefers the tried and true text format. Fortunately, we’ve made sure that it’s still available for you.

Questions, comments, concerns? Email coach@mtntactical.com

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Advice To New & Young Strength & Conditioning Coaches

by SSD

By Rob Shaul, Founder

1) “Athletes” not “Clients”
This is more than a semantics difference, and will change the way you think about the people you work with, how they think about you, and how you direct your career in the years to follow. “Clients” tell you what they want, and you do it for them. You tell “Athletes” what they need and they work for you. Early on you’ll need to decide whether you want to be a “trainer” or a “coach.” I chose “coach” and recommend you do the same.

2) “Training Sessions” not “Work Outs”
The difference? Training sessions are planned, progressed, goal-oriented, part of bigger program to increase outside performance. “Work Outs” are random, isolated, and often aimed at making the “client” feel good or look good. You want to coach “Training Sessions.”

3) You’re not a Friend
The best thing you can do for your athletes is not be their friend. Nothing is personal. Performance and effort are everything. It does not matter what they think of your personally, or if they “like” you. Improve the performance for your athletes, and you’ll always have a job. If being liked is important to you change careers and become a personal trainer – where being liked matters and athlete performance doesn’t.

4) Chose your Athletes
You will be happiest working with athletes use their fitness for outside performance – and that performance has consequence. I.e. – if they don’t perform, they don’t play, or lose their job. “Consequence” is your professional friend. It makes you program and coach better – because if your athletes don’t perform, you’ll lose your job too. It also culls the non-committed athletes from your gym – and you’ll coach committed people who simply work hard. These jobs are rare – and the only place they consistently exist are in high school and college weightrooms. Pro athletes are not required to use the team strength and conditioning coaches and the top pros – the stars – usually have their own trainers. Many pro team strength and conditioning coaches are miserable because of this. Same is true for many of the tactical coaches attached to special forces units. Most SOF units have “big boy rules” for fitness and many operators don’t use the staff coaches. I’ve personally taught a programming course at a Tier 1 unit where the on-staff coaches worked with support people, not the operators. The coaches were miserable. I have been able to chose my athletes at MTI, but many private gyms can’t. In my experience, the happiest, most fulfilled strength and conditioning coaches are at the collegiate level.

5) Programming is Everything
Coaching motivated athletes on the weightroom floor is fun – but the real “meat” of what you do will be the academic and other programming work long before the training session gets to the floor. Starting out you’ll likely be implementing another coach’s programming – but you should still at a minimum, be doing your own personally programming. I can’t tell you how many master-degreed interns I’ve had at MTI who did not understand the basics of progression, or programming. It is everything.

6. Read. Then Read some More.
Voracious professional reading the single “secret” to MTI’s success. Start with the textbooks and quickly move to programming-focused books from real coaches. I cannot stress enough the value of reading to your success as a coach.

7) Get Time on the Floor
Professional strength and conditioning is an art – and a big component of this art is learning how to efficiently, effectively and safely coach athletes on the weightroom floor, or really any situation. Early in my career I personally trained soccer moms, coached groups of 100+ through ski fitness classes, and volunteered at multiple high schools. There’s nothing like working with a group of 100+ in an open gymnasium or 45 high school freshmen in a crowded high school weightroom that will teach how to use a command voice, quickly group athletes, position yourself to monitor safety and learn training session flow and efficiency. You can’t read how to do this. You have to do it yourself. Rarely was I paid for this work – but no place did I learn more.

7) Train Your Own Programming
I’ve yet to meet a good strength and conditioning coach who wasn’t a gym rat. If you don’t personally like to train, don’t become a strength and conditioning coach. If you like to train, train your own programming first. In your job you’ll likely have to coach someone else’s programming. But in your personal fitness, do your own stuff. You quickly learn to spot the mistakes in your programming when you are the lab rat. Later, when you are doing the program design for actual athletes, still do your own stuff – do it before the athletes – to find mistakes and make adjustments ahead of time.

8) Beware the Circle Jerk
The fitness industry is full of “Circle Jerks” made up of celebrity coaches and other experts hocking each others’ stuff. It goes something like this: Coach A writes a book. Coach B writes a glowing forward for the book. Coach C does a glowing review of the book. Coach A has Coach B on his/her podcast where Coach B promotes his/her product or program. Coach C has Coach A on his/her podcast to discuss Coach A’s book. Coach A writes a glowing social media post of of Coach C’s program/product. You get the idea. Worse, when you end up buying Coach A, B and C’s program/product, you’ll see lots of fluff and little substance. Beware.

9) There Are No Short Cuts

One of the many frustrating things about program design is “everything works, but nothing works forever.” I’m constantly trying new techniques, unique pieces of equipment, etc. and 99 out of 100x the “new” either doesn’t work, or after a quick initial bump, stops showing improvement. The storage area in my gym is full of this stuff and what remains are the barbells, plates, dumbbells/kettlebells, plyo boxes, ropes and sandbags. There is no quick shortcut to mission-direct fitness. It takes solid design and lots of simple, hard, work.

10) Careful of Righteousness

First in others. Find a coach who swears by kettlebells and nothing else? Another who swears by CrossFit, or PX90, or bodyweight or TRX or whatever, and nothing else? Beware these guys. There are many ways to skin a cat. Second – in yourself. If you finding yourself swearing by kettlebells, or power cleans or box jumps, or whatever, and nothing else …. you’ve fallen into a common coaching trap. Constantly challenge and test your own exercise choices and program design. Probe hard for weak links, too-complicated exercises, hard to explain theory, and cut, cut, cut. Every time I’ve been righteous about an exercise, piece of equipment or programming theory, I’ve been proven wrong.

Questions/Feedback?
Email rob@mtntactical.com

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What Wilderness EMT school in Montana Taught Me

by SSD

Words and photos by Meghann Gunther, MTI Contributor

I graduated from a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician class through Aerie Backcountry Medicine in Montana. This intensive, 3-month course was challenging and rewarding.

Instructors Matter

Our class had two incredible instructors who invested in us. The lead instructor spent a significant amount of time in the military and as a Paramedic and instructor. As a brand new student in EMS, his experience and knowledge were invaluable to me. Additionally, his assistant instructor brought in a solid foundation as an EMS provider, Ski Patrol, overseas student, and instructor. While the basics of EMT school are almost the same wherever you go, in my experience it’s the instructors who have the power to influence what kind of provider you can be when you graduate.

At first I struggled with the teaching style that our lead instructor brought into class. It seemed overly stern and it was intimidating! It felt like I got barked at when I made mistakes. During hands on skills, I was put on the spot to explain why I was doing something. It was a rough start for me. A week or so into school, I realized it was me who had the wrong attitude about it. As I got to know the instructors a little better, I saw how much they cared about us and our training.

It turned out that the teaching style was exactly what I needed. I was being challenged to be the very best student and EMT in training possible. Our instructors cared about keeping the high standard of training held by Aerie Backcountry Medicine and for that, I am very grateful. Our whole class graduated and passed our National Registry test on the first go around. A lot of that is owed to the dedication and teaching of our incredible instructors.

Most important, the instructors ensured we got our BLS (Basic Life Support) skills dialed in. We trained and studied to become very proficient in those skills. We built a solid foundation. This was very important to them because basics save lives, and it became very important to me as well. There are many incredible tools in the EMS world to help support providers’ care for people, but in rural settings, like the wilderness, I learned that those basic life saving skills may be the only thing you can do and to do them well is my duty as a provider.

Training Environments Matter

Although we had a lot of classroom time, we also ran through hands-on training scenarios around the college building we were in and outside on the surrounding grounds. Our scenarios were urban-based and sometimes outside “actors”, (usually former students) would come in and be our patients. It was helpful to me to have patients who were complete strangers, as it was realistic to what I would face in the real world. I had started to have a sense of comfort when I was doing my hands-on skills on a fellow student and that was a detriment to me in training.

On the weekends, we trained in wilderness areas in the Bitterroot corridor of Montana. Sun, rain or snow we trained. Our instructors set up a variety of scenarios from animal attack victims to lost and wounded hikers to group casualties and long term patient care. We dealt with bear and moose and hunter scenarios gone wrong. Warming fires were built and we macgyvered things we needed, learning how much the environment can mess up your plans. I “ordered” resources for patients and they got “canceled” due to weather. The training was dynamic and challenging and forced our class to work as a team and think for ourselves. I found great value in training outside the classroom because it forced me to take into account the environment for myself, our team and our patients, which cannot be underestimated in Montana during the winter. When all I had was my medical bag, my partner, and a patient in the woods who was more than an hour from advanced life support, it challenged me to put skills and knowledge together more efficiently.

At the end of our schooling, our class was handed our biggest training challenge. We had just spent all day Saturday training and we were told to expect to stay out all night. No other information was provided. Our scenario unfolded a couple hours later. Here I learned how little information you may have when responding to an incident, but I also learned how to take action with what I had and to continue to seek out information moving forward.

As a team, our class was tasked to respond to a mass casualty incident, a plane crash in the woods. Our instructors gave very little information and almost zero feedback and for the most part didn’t answer our questions. They observed. Before our class got a structure established, it was chaotic. Not knowing how many patients we had, we first submitted a request for a flight roster. Then we started gridding the woods in pairs looking for patients. Soon, teams were finding walking wounded. We set up an IC post and figured out a command structure. Our instructors had prepared us well; we just had to put it all together without their guidance. All night we found patients, provided care, and brought them to IC.

We made mistakes, like talking about missing patients in front of our other patients who promptly went into hysterics about their missing friends. We didn’t communicate over the radios clearly. I let a TBI patient start to wander away down the road in the dark. After that, I had another EMT babysit the patient at the IC because they showed a pattern of wanting to wander off on their own.

One team had to perform CPR on an infant patient with the “mother” present. The infant wasn’t revived. Even though it was a fake baby in a training scenario, it was very sobering to be a part of. I learned how long mass casualty events can take. Finding patients, providing care, and then moving them takes a lot of manpower and a lot of time.

Several hours in, I realized I hadn’t eaten or had any water. After hiking several miles in the dark with a pack, it was a lesson to make sure that I was fueled to perform my duty instead of becoming a liability for my team. A frustrating lesson for me that night was situational awareness. I walked right by a “patient” several times in the dark – a training dummy who had been carried off the plane wreck by a bear and was under some brush. This patient had injuries not compatible with life due to the animal attack. It taught me that sometimes what you’re searching so hard for might be right under your nose.

I was so focused on all the other things going on that I didn’t look at my feet, literally just yards away from IC post, to finally find and account for my last patient.

On the other hand, there were things we did well, including setting up our own Incident Command Post. Our two person teams worked well with each other and we also assisted each other as teams as needed for patients. Everyone stayed strong through a long night and kept tabs on how the others were doing mentally and physically. Gridding was communicated to make sure we were covering all the ground we could looking for patients during the night. We finished our mission at 4am the next day and debriefed. I walked away with many other lessons learned from that night.

Continuing Education Matters

Our instructors gave us many great resources to continue our education in EMS and encouraged us to continue to be students of our trade. These included podcasts, medical societies, conferences, books and online training. They both have made themselves available for my questions even after finishing class and relocating to another state. It is clear to me that they both valued staying current with the ever-changing world of emergency medicine.

Learning from other providers has been a big lesson for me. Asking questions, listening, and working with other EMT’s has grown my knowledge and experience. Ride-alongs with fire departments, law enforcement, and ambulances is another way I have learned to stay engaged as I continue to learn. I prioritize being a part of as many hands-on training scenarios as possible every year in both urban and wilderness settings.

Recently, one such training opportunity took place for me in Idaho at the Ski and Mountain Trauma conference, where I participated with a group in a mass shooting simulation with the Idaho National Guard. First, we went over Tactical Combat Casualty Care in a classroom. Then they blindfolded us, and we were led outside and forced to listen to an audio recording of shooting and screaming. After they cleared the “threat,” we went in. There was no predetermined structure. Each provider went in independently to simulate a real-world response of off-duty individuals responding in an urban setting. Bleeding, screaming patients were scattered among vehicles and bystanders were yelling at us to do something. We had to find medical supplies. My adrenaline skyrocketed.

After we finished the mission, we did an AAR on what we could have done better, which was the most valuable part for me. One lesson was not to wear white shoes around simulated blood anymore. My mistake. Another issue was the lack of communication and uniformity among providers. We all ran around doing our own thing, trying to take care of our own patients. Several of us, myself included, went running in search of medical supplies, and it was not clear to all providers when medical supplies were available on the scene.

We should have created an IC post, identified an IC, brought our patients to one central location, and worked together to be efficient. The training showed me that my trauma skills were good but that I need to work on my leadership, command, and communication skills.

My journey in EMS has just begun and I look forward to building knowledge and experience. W-EMT school with Aerie Backcountry Medicine gave me a solid foundation, a good provider mindset, and a clear path, and I can’t wait to continue moving forward.

Meghann is a full time Wildland Firefighter in California.