By Rob Shaul

MTI needs remote meatheaddy lab rats for an upcoming, narrow and focused, 3.5 weeks, 2-day/week  “Mini-Study” comparing the effectiveness of 2-3 Bench Press progressions to increase 1RM Bench Press strength.

This will be a focused study, just on the bench press and can be completed concurrently with your current training.

Specifically, we’re interested to see if we can identify which progression works best to increase bench press 1RM strength.

Details: Lab Rats will be broken into 2-3 groups: Group A, Group B, and Group C. All groups will complete a different bench press progression, 2 times a week, Monday and Thursday.

Required Equipment: Weight Room with rack, barbell and plates and bench for bench pressing.

Cycle Duration and Schedule: This MTI “Mini Study” will take 3.5 weeks. It will begin Monday, November 18, 2019. Lab rats will complete the bench press training on Mondays and Thursdays during the study period.

To Participate

• You’ll need to commit to training bench press 2 days/week for 3.5 weeks, and follow the program as prescribed.
• You’ll need to commit to only do this training for your bench press work. No other bench-press specific training is allowed during the study period as it will skew the results.
• You’ll need the required equipment (see above)
• You’ll need to be an experienced, fit athlete. This isn’t a cycle for unfit athletes, or athletes new to free weight-based strength training in general or bench pressing in particular.
• The cycle will begin Monday, November 18, 2019, and end, Monday, December 9, 2019.

This is a focused mini-study which only involves bench pressing. You’ll be able to do other training as well, just no additional bench press work.

Want to be an MTI Lab Rat?

Please email rob@mtntactical.com, and put “Bench Press Lab Rat” in the subject line.

Please include:

• your age
• sex
• height and weight
• training experience.
• please indicate if you already have an MTI account, and if so, the email for the account. Access to the cycle will be via the website.
• Finally, please verify you can commit to the 3.5 weeks, 2 day/week training cycle.

You’ll be assigned to a Group A, and provided with further instructions. Training will start on November 18, 2019.

APPLY NOW

MTI’s Top Selling Training Plans for October 2019

1. Athlete’s Subscription

2. Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) Training Plan

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4. Bodyweight Foundation Training Plan

5. Fat-Loss Training  Plan

6. Ruck Based Selection Training Plan

7. Backcountry Ski Pre-Season Training Plan

8. Humility

9. Core Strength Bodyweight Only

10. Dryland Ski Training Plan

11. Hypertrophy for Skinny Guys
12. 2-Mile Run Improvement Training Plan
13. Big 3 + Running Training Plan
14. Military On-Ramp Training Plan
15. ACFT Limited Equipment Training Plan
16. Running Improvement Training Plan
17. Chassis Integrity
18. Gladiator
19. FBI Special Agent PFT Training Program
20. RASP 1&2 Training Plan

Learn more about our Plans and Subscription HERE

Military / Foreign Affairs / National Security

Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei rules out talks with US, Al Jazeera
Nine children killed in Afghanistan landmine blast, Al Jazeera
The Pentagon’s AI Ethics Draft Is Actually Pretty Good, Defense One
How can Mexico break the cycle of violence?, Al Jazerra
The Current US Approach to Terror Is a Recipe for Forever War, Defense One
Putin May Want to Be an Emperor, but Russia Isn’t an Imperial Power, Foreign Policy
“Cold War II”: Applied History Seminar On U.S.-China Relations With Niall Ferguson And Graham Allison, Hoover Institution
Andy Purdy: Why the US is so concerned about Huawei, Al Jazeera
Iran Not Letting Iraq Go Without a Fight, Real Clear Defense
First female airman enters training pipeline to be combat controller, Air Force Times
Tired of U.S. Dependence, South Korea Seeks to Build—and Sell—Its Own Weapons, Foreign Policy
Macron’s Veto Leaves Balkans Wide Open for Russia and China, Foreign Policy
Interior Department grounds drones made in China, Defense News
US-Turkey alliance in downward spiral as Congress mulls sanctions, Defense News
Croatia cleared to buy Black Hawks, Janes 360
Through a Gender Lens: The Need for Robust Research into Diversity and Military Effectiveness, Council of Foreign Relations
Parris Island Marines to start training with next gender-integrated boot camp class, Marine Corps Times
Elephants and Mosquitos: Why Leaders’ Character Really Matters, Modern War Institute
How Capable Are Russia’s Armed Forces?, Rand Corp
U.S. Opens National Security Investigation Into TikTok, Real Clear Defense

First Responder / Homeland Security / Wildland Fire

Authorities: Fake cop joins police chase, makes arrest of murder suspect, gets arrested, LE Today
Border Agents Can Now Get Classified Intelligence Information. Experts Call That Dangerous., Defense One
Open Borders Are a Trillion-Dollar Idea, Foreign Policy
ATF agents on a coffee run end up busting Michigan’s “Bonnie and Clyde”, LE Today
The President again takes on fire and forest management in California, Wildfire Today
Idaho Public Television produces film, “Living with wildfire”, Wildfire Today
Should inmates fighting Calif. wildfires deserve a chance at full-time jobs?, FireRescue 1
NEW THREATS PUT WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS HEALTH ON THE LINE, Firefighter Close Calls
North Carolina Police Officer Shot During FBI Operation, Officer.com
Policing large-scale events: Long guns for foot patrol?, Police One
Chicago Fire Department officials face calls for greater diversity in ranks, FireRescue1
Texas officer shot by sniper while protecting Black Lives Matter protestors, LE Today
Video: Handcuffed Suspect Draws Firearm in Back Seat of Squad Car, Police Mag

Mountain

Climber Nims Purja Didn’t Break Anyone’s Record—He Smashed a Barrier, Adventure Journal
Have You Considered Relocating Because of Climate Change?, Adventure Journal
A Multisport High-Country Adventure, Outside
The Alaska Range: A Skier’s Destination, AAI
10 Trails That Will Make You Fall in Love With the Desert, Backpacker
Katherine Choong climbs her second 9a, Jungfrau Marathon at Gimmelwald, Planet Mountain
These Ski Films Will Have You Stoked for Powder Season, Outside
‘Dundee’ is a parody of climbers’ obsession with having the right gear, SNEWS
The Adventure Podcast Episode 81: How to Properly Use Layers to Stay Warm in Winter, Adventure Blog
10 Ways to Incorporate More Nature Time into Your Child’s Life, REI Co-Op
Lean into Your Weaknesses to Become a Better Climber, Climbing Magazine
Moab Fall Pilgrimage. The Outbound Collective
Coeur du Temps, Arcteryx
Jackson Royalty, Freeskier
Michelle Parker’s backcountry prowess is on full display in teaser for season two of “Originate”, Freeskier
Outdoor Athletes on the Mentors Who Changed Their Lives, Outside
Understanding Headlamp Brightness, REI Co-Op
A Freak Accident Changed This Man’s Life, Outside

Fitness / Wellness / Nutrition

Riding an E-Bike Is Not Cheating, Outside
How to Limit Restrictive Eating and Develop a Healthy Food Mindset, Chris Kresser
This Obstacle Race Is Inspired By Actual Medieval Battles, Red Bull
What Is Hypertrophy? The Science Behind Building Muscle, Women’s Health
10 Autumn Breakfasts To Warm Your Morning, Marks Daily Apple
Here’s How Athletes Should Fuel Their Bodies For A Big Game, Men’s Health
The Best Athletic Fit Jeans On The Market, Men’s Health
Top 10 Athletes Living the Vegan Lifestyle, Muscle & Fitness
What’s Healthier: Wheat- or Veggie-based Pasta?, Muscle & Fitness
How Not to Die from Diabetes, Nutritionfacts.org
Three Secrets to Performing at Your Highest Level, Outside

Interesting

How to Cut Down on Carbon Emissions When Traveling, Outside
Take These Sacred Sites off Your Bucket List, Outside

Above: Local Lab Rats work through 25/35 Touch/Jump/Touch Intervals this week

By Rob Shaul

Continuous improvement is one of the driving ethics at MTI, and I find myself constantly tweaking and tinkering with the different facets of program design both in the notebook and on the gym floor.

Through our remote lab rat program, nearly 70 Beta subscribers/lab rats are grinding through week 3 of a 4-week mini-study comparing the effect of reduced volume on strength, work capacity, and endurance performance.

At our Wyoming Facility, 20 local “lab rats” are suffering through this year’s 6-week Backcountry Ski Pre-season Training Plan, where I’m testing some new programming elements and session design changes.

In my personal training, I’m experimenting with the meditative effect, and fitness development of high rep kettlebell snatches.

Here I want to share my thoughts and testing with Touch/Jump/Touch to Box Intervals, and high rep snatches.

Touch/Jump/Touch to Box Intervals

This is the third year Touch/Jump/Touch intervals have been a key component of our dryland ski pre-season training and I use them as the primary conditioning tool to build what I believe is ski-specific, “leg lactate tolerance.”  This is simply the heavy leg and burning quad feeling and fitness which comes in the middle or at the end of a ski run in deep power, or on the bumps which requires multiple turns and impacts.

I’m completing the current dryland cycle alongside my lab rats, and in addition to developing ski-specific fitness, I’m rapidly coming to see Touch/Jump/Touch to Box Intervals as a very potent, general fitness, work capacity training tool.

I fear few training sessions in the gym, these days, but I’ll have to admit that our Tuesday and Thursday sessions which end with 20 minutes of these intervals do cause me to pause. These are very intense, and push the quads to failure, seemingly every interval, but after 10 minutes, also push heart rates at or above max. As I write this it’s early Wednesday, morning, and the muscles in my chest and diaphragm are actually sore from the near panic breathing brought on by yesterday’s Touch/Jump/Touch to Box Intervals.

We’re using our 17″ high step up benches or box for these intervals. Below is the progression through the cycle.

Last year, after the first progression, we hit each progression level four times, before moving to the next. I’ve cut that back to three sessions this year, and we’re currently on Progression Level 3 (25/35) – and Thursday we do our third session at this progression.

Depending upon how it goes, I may or move not move up to Level 4 (30/30) next week.

One of the interesting, and different, elements of this progression is what I call it’s “double” squeeze.

Each Progression level increases the work time, and decreases the rest time – squeezing the athlete from both directions. This somewhat complicates the progression and is different than most ways we progress interval and/or density style work capacity events.

More direct would be:

(1) Keep the rest interval the same for each progression, and increase the work interval. For example, a work/rest progression of 15/45, to 20/45, to 25/45, to 30/45, etc.

(2) Use density progression, keep the overall interval the same, and progress the work each round. For example ….

20 Rounds, every 60 seconds ….

Level      Work

1             10x Touch/Jump/Touch to Box
2             12x Touch/Jump/Touch to Box
3             14x Touch/Jump/Touch to Box
4             16x Touch/Jump/Touch to Box
5             18x Touch/Jump/Touch to Box
6             20x Touch/Jump/Touch to Box

The faster the athlete his prescribed reps each round, the more rest he gets before the next round starts.

Each of these progression examples has its downsides.

Double Squeeze
The progression level jumps could be too intense for most athletes. Many of the lab rats suffering these now are experienced MTI athletes – which high work capacities and suffer ability. Many not familiar with MTI programming may struggle to make these level jumps, and the result could be the event turns into a slog, rather than a true max effort/quick rest event, thus negating the training effect.

As well, nothing dictates how much work the athlete does each work interval. For example, yesterday I managed 14 reps Round 1, bumped to 15 Rounds 2-4, pushed for 16 round 5, didn’t recover, managed 14 on Round 6, then settled into 15 reps for rounds 7-19, before pushing hard for 16 on round 20 – the last round.

Traditional Interval
Similar to the Double Squeeze issue, nothing dictates how much work the athlete completes each round.

Density
Concern here would be for incoming athlete fitness. 10x reps may be too little to easy for fit athletes coming in, but too much for unfit athletes. By dictating the work, the event doesn’t “scale” to the current fitness of the athlete.

Best?
An initial assessment, and individually scaled density intervals based on the initial assessment results. Anyone who’s done MTI programming has seen this many times as it’s a key part of all our PFT, selection and many base fitness plans and cycles. In this case, I’d likely do a 45 second Touch/Jump/Touch to Box Assessment for reps, then for the progressions, do 6-10 rounds of approximate 15-second intervals at a rep pace that was 20% faster than the athlete’s assessment pace.

For example, if the athlete scored 30 reps in the 45-second interval, his 15-second pace was 10x reps. Thus, for every follow-on 15-second interval would be 12 reps (20% faster).

I wouldn’t set this up interval style, but would rather set it up density style …. so for this athlete ….

10 Rounds, every 60 seconds….

• 12x Touch/Jump/Touch to Box. Faster he finishes, the more rest he gets before the next round.

What I’m not sure about with this progression, and would have to test, is how many rounds I could push this. I’m not sure the athlete could complete 20 rounds at this pace …. but how many is possible, I’m just not sure.

High Rep Kettlebell Snatches

Last Summer/Fall I started experimenting with high rep kettlebell snatches on my own, as a 2-a-day session, but really started experimenting with these in March-May of this year.

Last December I had foot surgery and didn’t get out of a boot until around the first of March. My endurance work was limited – running/rucking was out, as were long walks and step ups. I rowed plenty, and did some spinning on a bike, but also turned back to high rep kettlebell snatches as an alternate endurance mode.

“Endurance” is key here – we’ve used kettlebells before for work capacity events, but for these purposes, I wanted to use kettlebell snatches for longer (30-60 minute), less intense (not panic breathing) sessions.

I’m not a kettlebell geek and my kettlebell snatch instruction comes primarily from youtube. And in this case, and in past gym experience, using kettlebells for work capacity (not strength) has two main issues: Grip strength and skin tearing. Kettlebell snatches add another – wrist bang from snatches that aren’t caught softly.

Grip strength improves with more snatching, but the skin tearing and wrist banging seems to take years to figure out. The kettlebell nerds don’t allow wrist and hand protection, but MTI does – and after trying leather gymnastic straps, found these straps on amazon, which have worked really well and protect both hands and wrists.

Proper kettlebell snatching is technique intensive. Watching videos of tiny women snatching 24kg bells fluidly, without banging the heck out of their wrists, and lowering with a corkscrew motion that saves grip strength and skin really makes one appreciate the advantages of great technique.

But my technique is far from polished.

In terms of loading, I initially started with a 20kg kettlebell and worked up to 500 reps (250 each arm) in a single session. But …. it was not a true “endurance” effort – it was more a long interval-based work capacity effort as my heart and breathing rate were close to threshold at the end of every interval.

As well, the 20kg bell beat me up – shoulders, grip, and skin. My form just isn’t there to snatch the 20kg cleanly for this many reps.

Setting aside my ego, I picked up a 16kg kettlebell, and have found it’s just about right for longer, lower-intensity effort I was aiming for.

In May I was able to work up to 1,000x reps (500/arm), 2-3 times/week, at 16kg in sets of 100x. I found switching hands every 10 reps preserved my grip strength. Between rounds, I’d rest 60-90 seconds and the overall effort would remain well below threshold breathing  – what I was hoping for in an endurance effort.

The 1000x rep effort took 55-60 minutes and my shoulders/grip would need a day away from the kettlebell to recover.

Surprisingly, I found these high rep kettlebell snatch efforts have a similar meditative affect to easy/moderate running. My mind/body are able to slip quietly into a calm “zone” during these efforts, and the training is honestly enjoyable.

I stepped away from kettlebell snatches June-October as my focus/training turned to backcountry hunting-focused mountain endurance.

Recently, I’ve added them in again as a 2-a-day session with the dryland ski programming I’m labratting in the mornings. Currently, I’m alternating between 300x rep and 500x rep efforts, 3-4 days/week. The 300x reps take around 20 minutes, and the 500x rep effort takes right at 30 minutes. I’m still using the 16kg kettlebell, and doing sets of 100x reps, switching hands on the way every 10 reps.

Moving forward, eventually, I’d like to work up to 500x reps at 24kg kettlebell without feeling too beat up afterward, and keeping my breathing below threshold along the way – an endurance effort.

I haven’t worked out the progression yet, but instead of pushing more reps with the 16kg kettlebell, will switch to a 20kg kettlebell and work up to 500x reps. My goal is to do sets of 60 reps, switching hands every 10 reps, building grip strength along the way. I’ll start at 300x reps total (5x sets of 60x reps) and do each progression level 3-4 times, with jumps of 100 reps.

Once comfortable with 500x reps at 20kg, I’ll switch up to the 24kg kettlebell and start the progression again. I’m not sure I’ll be able to start at 300x reps or manage 60x reps/set. If not, I’ll drop to sets of 40x reps and start with 200x snatches for the session.

Questionable Transfer … 

One clear benefit I saw from my high rep kettlebell snatch work this Spring was a strong hinge lift when we tested and completed a strength work in June. However, we recently completed a remote lab rat mini-study that compared hinge lift strength improvement from high rep swings to a traditional percentage-based hinge lift progression and found the swings did not perform as well as the traditional progression.

While I haven’t tested it, anecdotally, my sense is the work capacity and endurance transfer from high rep kettlebell snatches is negligible. In other words, the high rep kettlebell snatches I did this Spring did not make me hike uphill faster in June.

What this means practically is high rep kettlebell snatches may burn calories and improve general fitness, but mostly, they just make you better at kettlebell snatches.

Regardless, I’ve found these surprisingly enjoyable. I’m able to put on my headphones, listen to an audiobook, and grind away at a lower, manageable intensity. And for those who are time-strapped, or inclement weather days, or those who simply want to try something different, high rep snatches could work.

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

You Might Also Like Theory, Thoughts, and Design Behind New MTI Kettlebell/Dumbbell Strength Programming

National Security / Foreign Affairs / Military

Chile protests: President to lift state of emergency at midnight, Al Jazeera
Pakistan denies use of its airspace to Indian PM Modi, Al Jazeera
Turkey, Russia in negotiations for potential Su-35 jet deal, Defense News
US Air Force officially buying light-attack planes, Defense News
Far-right AfD surges to second place in German state election, The Guardian
Our Untenable Alliance With Turkey, Hoover Institution
AfD: What you need to know about Germany’s far-right party, DW.com
Turkey rejects German defense minister’s Syria ‘security zone’ proposal, DW.com
Inside the Raid That Killed Baghdadi, Foreign Policy
Chinese Universities’ First Course Is Nationalism 101, Foreign Policy
Don’t Let Venezuela’s Crisis Take Down Colombia Too, Foreign Policy
What Is an “Endless War”? Hudson Institute
Iran abducts France-based dissident in ‘complex intelligence operation’, Intelnews.org
Investigation opened into Marine Corps, Army training deaths, Marine Corps Times
What Next After the Latest US Cyberattack against Iran?, Modern War Institute
Exploring the Role Nuclear Weapons Could Play in Deterring Russian Threats to the Baltic States, Rand Corp
Reimagining World Politics: The Longer View of an American “Victory”, Small Wars Journal
Syria: WTF Do We Do Now? The Cipher Brief
Chinese-born US Navy officer with TS clearance arrested smuggling US weapons to China, War is Boring
Just Say No: The Pentagon Needs to Drop the Distractions and Move Great Power Competition Beyond Lip Service, War on the Rocks
Turkey and Russia: A Remarkable Rapprochement, War on the Rocks

First Responder / Homeland Security / Wildland Fire

California declares state of emergency as fires rage, Al Jazeera
Ferocious winds continue to fuel blazes throughout Calif., Firerescue1
Gender-neutral facilities included in Mich. city fire station renovation, FireRescue1
Bernie Sanders: Respect police “so that you don’t get shot in the back of the head”, Law Enforcement Today
Intoxicated truck driver formally indicted for killing seven US Marines, LE Today
After Botched Raid, Houston Creates New Narcotics Squad for High-Risk Warrants, Officer.com
Chicago Police Union Votes “No Confidence” in Chief, Police Magazine
New fires in northern California, Wildfire Today
Trailer for the documentary “Fire in Paradise” released, Wildfire Today

Mountain

Rob Lea Swam the English Channel, Climbed Everest, Biked the US—In Six Months, Adventure Journal
Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad – 10/17/19, AAI
The New Wilderness Classics: 9 Books That Will Change How You Look at the Outdoors, Backpacker
The Canyon With Two Mouths, Climbing Magazine
Hunting Gear Then and Now: 30 Years of Innovation, Bowhunting Blog
Arc’teryx explores the history of British Columbia’s Spearhead Traverse in this cinematic gem, Freeskier
A 9-Year-Old Climbed El Capitan, Outside
How to Boil Snow for Drinking Water, Outside
Tengi Ragi Tau virgin West Face climbed alpine style by Alan Rousseau, Tino Villanueva, Planet Mountain
How to Build a Life Based On Intentional, Mindful Consumption , REI
Spanish Climber Receives 5 Year Ban for Illegal Expedition in Nepal, Adventure Blog
How Mark Healey Connects to His Food, Outside
Which Airlines Have the Best Gear Policies?, Outside

Fitness / Nutrition / Wellness

How Often Should I Work Out? The Ultimate Guide for Building an Exercise Routine, Nerd Fitness
Should I Cut Out Alcohol to Get Rid of Fat? Born Fitness
How to Get Lasting Sciatica Relief, Breaking Muscle
Potato as effective as carbohydrate gels for boosting athletic performance, study finds, Science Daily
Efficacy of a Goal Setting and Implementation Planning Intervention on Firefighters’ Cardiorespiratory Fitness, JSCR
Influence of Reactive and Maximum Strength Indicators on Sprint Performance, JSCR
Construct Validity of Two Different Methods of Scoring and Performing Push-ups, JSCR
Why Isn’t There a Diet That Works for Everyone? NY Times
How Drinking Less Solved a Lot of Problems, NY Times
The Curious Rise of Adult Recess Leagues, Outside

Military / Foreign Affairs / National Security

Backlash over Mexico’s botched attempt to arrest ‘El Chapo’s’ son, Al Jazerra
Trump’s use of military money for border wall survives Senate test, Defense News
German defense minister harshly criticizes US and Turkey, DW.com
NATO’s Turkey Ties Must Change, Council of Foreign Relations
How the Soldier Lethality team is equipping soldiers, Defense News
The Army has new standards, quals for small arms marksmanship. No more alibis, Defense News
US Special Forces secrets could fall into hands of Russians as Kurds side with Syria, intelnews.org
‘This is my squad’: SMA Grinston talks about his push to build cohesive units, Defense News
Tea and royalty: What do Germans really think of Brits?, DW.com
Marine Iraq War veteran to be deported Tuesday to El Salvador, Marine Corps Times
Why Trade Wars Are Inevitable, Foreign Policy
US unfazed by Beijing’s capabilities in South China Sea, reiterates commitment to regional partners, Janes 360
Medal of Honor comic series highlights actions of Audie Murphy and Sal Giunta, Marine Corps Times
The U.S. Is ‘Getting Out of the Mideast’ By Sending 3,000 Troops To Saudi Arabia, Foxtrot Alpha
All About Iran’s Military Power, Foxtrot Alpha
Military members you should be following on Twitter, Military Times
Rumor and Ice: Assessing Russian Intentions in the Arctic, Modern War Institute
Norway drops missile defense program, Newsinenglish.com
Proposal for a Revised Regional Order in Post-Soviet Europe and Eurasia, Rand Corp
No Safe Harbors’: China Plots to Block U.S. Military From Key Ports, Real Clear Defense
Army Special Operators’ New Strategy, Real Clear Defense
A Hyper-Mobile Defense: Iran’s Novel Strategy to Sustain Proxy Conflicts in the Middle East, Small Wars Journal
A new documentary series about Clint Lorance pits the infantry officer convicted of murder against his former soldiers, Task & Purpose
Possible M4 replacement is causing gun enthusiasts to call bullpup, War is Boring
We Just Don’t Make Policy Like We Used To, War on the Rocks

First Responder / Homeland Security / Wildland Fire

CHICAGO AMBULANCE ROLLS, STRUCK BY POLICE CAR RESPONDING TO SHOOTING, Firefighter Close Calls
Justice Department prosecuting tens of thousands for sneaking into America: “We’re just getting started”, LE Today
RENO TILLER LADDER INVOLVED IN FATAL PEDESTRIAN CRASH, Firefighter Close Calls
7 reasons I’m still a police officer, Police One
“He may never fully recover”: EMT brutally attacked by handcuffed suspect in the back of NY ambulance, LE Today
3 FIREFIGHTERS KILLED IN RIO DE JANEIRO BY SMOKE INHALATION, Firefighter Close Calls
10 things cops hate, Police One
Officials: Aging, thin pipe likely cause of Philly refinery fire, FireRescue1

Mountain

Big Agnes Fly Creek HV 1 Carbon Review (Tent), Backcountry Light
Arc’teryx Celebrates Famous BC Traverse In New Film “Spearhead”, Unofficial Networks
Former Olympian Endorses Robotic Exoskeleton For Skiing, Unofficial Networks
Video: The Science and Design That Goes Into Your Outdoor Gear, Arcteryx
The Beauty of Finding Your Own Food, Outside
The Unclimbed, Alpinist
Chris Sharma climbing Alasha, his difficult Deep Water Solo at Mallorca, Planet Mountain
Stio Announces Partnership with GORE-TEX for Fall-Winter 2020 Collection, SNEWS
Now Accepting Submissions for 20th Annual Powder Awards, Powder
For the Love of Climbing: Does Leave No Trace Exist in Climbing?, Climbing Magazine
Weston Japow Claims Editors’ Choice Awards, SNEWS
Industry Buzz: The Stable, Arches, Yvon Chouinard, Oboz, Feetures, and a video about Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison, SNEWS

Fitness / Nutrition / Wellness

These Are the Only Coffee Makers You Should Buy, Say the World’s Most Rigorous Testers, Gear Patrol
Do You Really Need to Squat Below Parallel?, Breaking Muscle
The Significance of Brigid Kosgei’s Marathon Record, REI Co-Op Journal
Limiting mealtimes may increase your motivation for exercise, Science Daily
What Are the Benefits of CBD?, NY Times
Increase health benefits of exercise by working out before breakfast, Science Daily
Do You Need to Take Vitamin D Supplements in Wintertime? Here’s What the Experts Say, Men’s Journal
The 6-Move Workout That Will Fix Weightlifting’s No. 1 Mistake, Men’s Journal
13 Products to Help You Get Better Sleep, Muscle & Fitness
How Not to Die from Cancer, Nutrition Facts
Parents Should Limit Sports Participation for Children, Trainers Say, NY Times
You Don’t Need a Mega Pass to Ski This Winter, REI Co-Op Journal

Interesting

In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace, Pew Research Center
The world’s top-earning YouTube star is an 8-year-old boy who made $22 million in a single year reviewing toys, Business Insider

By Rob Shaul

MTI’s Fall Backcountry Ski Training Cycle is one of the few coached training cycles we open up to the public for training. It’s still a “Lab Rat” cycle where we test programming, however, the extra number of athletes provides more data points for our testing and overall evaluation.

Our process is direct and I do it every year. We take a look at the previous year’s programming, its results, make changes to the current year based on these results and other insights, design the programming and deploy it and then study the results.

The “results” we evaluate are not gym-based. Rather, we give the “lab rats” 4-6 weeks to actually ski, then ask for feedback on how well the were prepared.

If the results are good, in the January/February time frame, we’ll update the website with programming improvements based on our fall cycle.

Background

Our Fall Dryland Cycle is designed to prepare athletes for lift-assisted downhill, side country, and backcountry, skiing. These activities have 3 specific fitness demands:

(1) Eccentric Leg Strength and Strength Endurance – During downhill or alpine skiing, gravity “bounces” the skier down the hill, and eccentric leg strength is demanded to absorb every drop and prevent gravity from driving the skier into the ground.

(2) Leg Lactate Tolerance – This is an MTI-specific idea and term I developed to describe the quad burn skiers feel in the middle to the end of a long ski run, especially through bumps, variable terrain, or powder. The concept does not include the obvious muscle fatigue, but also the anaerobic cardio hit.

(3) Uphill hiking/skinning endurance and stamina – both side country and backcountry skiing have significant uphill components – boot packing mostly for side country and skinning mostly for backcountry. Preparing athlete’s legs and lungs for this uphill movement is a key focus of our dryland ski training cycles.

These are four days/week, 7-week cycles with the individual training sessions traditionally designed to last 60 minutes. This year, however, we’ve cut the session time to 40-45 minutes as one of the elements we’re testing.

Below is the basic weekly schedule for this year’s cycle:

• Monday: Eccentric Leg Strength (leg blasters), Uphill Endurance (step ups)
• Tuesday: Chassis Integrity + Upper Body Strength Circuit, Leg Lactate Tolerance (touch/jump/touch to a box)
• Wednesday: Leg Lactate Tolerance (sled push intervals), Uphill Endurance (step ups)
• Thursday: Chassis Integrity + Upper Body Strength Circuit, Leg Lactate Tolerance (touch/jump/touch to a box)
• Friday – Sunday: Rest or light activity

Changes to the 2019 Cycle

1) Halved training devoted to eccentric leg strength – and limited it to an aggressive unloaded Leg Blaster progression.

In 2018 we trained eccentric leg strength via unloaded and loaded leg blaster progression, two times per week. This year, we’ve halved that, to one time per week, and dropped the loading. We feel the touch/jump/touch to box intervals train eccentric leg strength as well and are interested to see if we can continue with an aggressive leg blaster progression by training these just once per week. Also – last year a few of my veteran lab rats completed the leg blaster progression loaded – wearing a weight vest – but not so this year. Everyone is completing the progression unloaded. We’re not sure the loading last year added enough to the strength gains to outweigh the impact on the joints.

2) Cut the session length to 45 minutes. 

We’re currently running an unrelated remote-lab rat mini-study to test the effectiveness of reduced volume on fitness gains. We wanted to test that idea with this dryland ski cycle, also. In the past, these sessions have extended to 60 minutes. This year, we are finishing in 35-45 minutes. How? We’ve simplified the exercise menu significantly and essentially dropped the warm ups. On Mondays, athletes roll right into their leg blasters. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the session begins with chassis integrity (core) and upper body strength circuit (Scotty Bobs for the first 3 weeks), and on Wednesdays, we go right to the sled pushes. Many of our warm ups included squats, push ups, lunges, sandbag work, and short sprints anyway, so we were interested in skipping them altogether to simplify/shorten the session, and decrease the overall volume.

In terms of program design, we’ve learned over the years that improvements generally come from cutting stuff, rather than adding stuff. Most programs begin “bloated” with elements which after deployment prove to have limited value. The hard part of programming is not cutting these elements, but avoiding the natural temptation to replace them with some other element. I’ve learned it takes experience and confidence to cut the unnecessary stuff, and instead of replacing it with more extras, find ways to increase the time spent on the programming that we know works and transfers to directly to the mission, event or sport.

3) Dropped the multi-modal endurance work, and went back to loaded straight step ups.

With the decrease in session length comes a need to be more efficient. Last year our endurance work focused on extending lengths of a step up/shuttle/lunge circuit. But, with each exercise change, comes a break in training By simplifying, and going straight to step ups, we can still hammer uphill endurance, and be as efficient as possible.

4) Added 20 minutes of sled push intervals.

Two goals with these: (1) See if the leg lactate tolerance work from sled push intervals transfers to skiing, and; (2) Develop a sled push programming progression and theory.  Concerning (1), it could very well be there is no transfer, and the suffering myself and the other lab rats are doing every Wednesday is just making us better at pushing the sled…. we won’t know until we start skiing. Part (2), however, is a very interesting programming problem. Often I’ll get asked about using sled pushes as a conditioning tool, and how to do so. This is difficult to answer, because sled pushing difficulty depends on the sled’s friction with the sliding surface. This in part depends upon the sled material, sliding surface material, and weight of the sled – all of which, unlike a barbell and plates, are not standardized gym to gym.

So I’m working on developing a timed, work to rest, interval protocol. To be efficient, we’ll set up a “track” on our small turf area about 30-feet in length, and run multiple sleds concurrently, following each other around the track (see video). To change the work to rest interval, I’ll simply add another sled, or pull one from the rotation. Finally, I’m actually using our big plyo boxes for sleds – top maintain consistency. We only have two metal sleds, but I have 4 plyo boxes. We’re finding that with 3 athletes per sled, the work to rest ratio is about 20:40 (in seconds). Dropping to two athletes per sled pushed the work to rest ratio to 20:30ish – which is surprisingly difficult.

20 minutes of this isn’t fun …. as we’re finding out. So far, with my most fit lab rat group, we’ve only attempted 10 minutes of the 2 people per sled progression level, which will make your heart want to explode out of your chest …

What’s Stayed the Same

1) Touch/Jump/Touch To Box – Inside Hand Touch -Straight 20 minutes of Intervals

This worked very well last year, to great effect – almost to the point where we’re starting to wonder if we couldn’t design a very effective dryland ski cycle with just Touch/Jump/Touch to Box Intervals!

The first video below shows the 2018 (last year) lab rats completing 20-second intervals to a 17″ bench, with a 40-second rest between intervals. We’re doing 20 rounds of this in a row (20 minutes total), with an aggressive progression which both increases the work time and decreases the rest time.

3) Upper Body Hypertrophy & Chassis Integrity

The cycle’s non-leg programming is focused on building upper body strength/mass, and functional core strength. We’re doing this with 15- to 20-minute circuits at the beginning of the Tues/Thurs sessions which group two chassis integrity exercises with 1-2 upper body exercises. The upper bodywork is given a set/rep scheme of 8+ reps/set to build mass and the chassis integrity exercises always include the sandbag get up. Goal here is to not only train these other fitness attributes but also double as a fairly intense warm up to prepare the lab rats for the touch/jump/intervals which follow.

Lessons Learned So Far

We conclude the 2nd week of this 7-week cycle last week and the cycle is flowing along well. My progression for the leg blasters and the touch/jump/touch intervals is more aggressive than last year, but, the overall volume is less with the shorter training sessions … so perhaps this decrease in volume is allowing the lab rats to accommodate to the stress more quickly. See the chart below for the Leg Blaster and Touch/Jump/Touch to Box Progressions:

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

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