Q&A 3.14.24

by Mintra Mattison

QUESTION

I am reaching out to get some help in making the best choice in buying a plan with you all.
I am an Army Infantry Officer assigned to the 4th Ranger Training Battalion. Currently, my main focuses are on my durability/longevity and decreasing my 5-mile time. Lately I have kept a 3x a week lifting schedule of Push, Pull, Legs (carry movements each day) and am averaging 15-20 miles of running each week, with the plan of increasing it.
I like what I have been doing lately and am seeing improvements, I would just like more of a programmable structure to it and to add in things that are more relevant to my job. I would appreciate any help in finding the right plan, thank you!

ANSWER

Two options:
If you want to remain focused on the 5-mile + Strength focus, the Max Effort Strength + 5-Mile Run Training Plan is a great place to start.
If you want to focus on a more rounded approach for fitness specifically periodized for Military Athletes such as yourself, the Daily Military Operator Sessions is the place to start.
You can sign up/purchase either individually, or get full access to our entire catalog via the Athlete Subscription. Ping us with any questions.

QUESTION

I few months ago I purchased the CPAT program. But realized that the Firefighter Mile PAT is used as an alternative now. The fire fighter mile consist of 10 events. I attached a photo description of each event below. Will CPAT program still work or should I modify the program more specifically to Firefighter Mile, or do you suggest a different program? Better late than never but I’m attempting to get into the Academy at the age of 40. Technically their age limit is 39 years old but they still excepted my application and opportunity to take the test. I appreciate all your emails and YouTube videos. I love your focus on military and first responder training. Any advice or tips is greatly appreciated.

ANSWER

I’m not sure if the CPAT will work for this event – and I don’t have a plan for this specific event. As well, because of some of the specific equipment, it would be a little difficult to replicate.
That being said, the CPAT plan has does include some similar movements and overall has some great, focused training, and it has you doing it under load – so I’d stick with the plan.
If possible – I’d try to see if you could run through the assessment to familiarize yourself with the events prior to the actual test.
– Rob

QUESTION

Hello I’m a deer hunter from Virginia. I see you have a deer program specifically that is to be started around 5 weeks before season so my question is how do I navigate which program to run up to that point? Thanks

ANSWER

We break down our programming into two broad categories:

Base Fitness: Day to day training that develops the foundation of fitness across strength, work capacity, and endurance
Event Specific: Pre-season plans, academy/school/selection for our Military and First Responder athletes, and event specific (such as a a big mountain climb).
The Whitetail Deer Preseason training plan is event-specific, which I assume you’re planning to use for hunting in VA. In the meantime, you need something to develop your fitness. The best option would be our Daily General Fitness Programming. You can purchase those two together and get 25% off the Whitetail Deer plan, automatically applied on the checkout.
Another option is the Athlete Subscription, which gives you access to everything in our catalog.

QUESTION

I hope this email finds you well. I am a 23 year-old male enlisted in the United States Army. I am about 5 8”. I have little to no gym experience, same with cardio. I have access to a full gym, ruck, as well as optimal rucking routes. I just would like to know in regard to Army SF aspirations, which plan would be the best to purchase? Does the plan come with nutrition as well? Just sort-of curious about what plan would be best based on aspirations as well as my personal demographics. Thank you in taking the time to read this brief email, and I look forward to hearing your recommendations.

ANSWER

Start working through the following plans, which is part of our SFAS prep packet. You can purchase them individually or get access to all via our Athlete Subscription.
Military On Ramp Training Plan – Establish base fitness for the follow-on plans
Humility – Bodyweight Strength, loaded work capacity, IBA runs and long, unloaded runs
Big 24 – Barbell based, total strength
Fortitude – Gym based strength, distance running and rucking
Valor – Gym based work capacity, short, intense running and rucking intervals
Resilience – Gym-based Strength, Chassis Integrity, Heavy Rucking and distance running

QUESTION

I am looking to get some advice on proper programming that I could continue with indefinitely. The bottom line up front – what is the proper way to program strength and conditioning days within each week?

I’ve spent nearly a decade training 6 days a week, primarily twice a day with scheduled deload weeks every couple of months. Being that I’ve spent the majority of that decade in the armed forces, my training has primarily emphasized conditioning versus strength. That being said, I have recently transitioned into a career for firefighting and moved to a strength dominant approach. Looking to gain strength/mass while maintaining my conditioning (ruck, running, and work capacity). Because I’ve excelled over the years, it’s difficult for me to make the mental switch of sacrificing some of my cardio for my strength goals and want to do it properly. That being said, I’m strong for being my size (170#) and am no novice to training hard, but completely ignorant on how to properly schedule my weeks without over training – which is a habit I’ve struggled with for years.

Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. If you have any recommendations to any of MTI’s programming, feel free to let me know.

ANSWER

Periodizing training is a balance of appropriate focus, volume, and intensity. The specifics get far more detailed, but it sounds like you’re doing too much.

Check out the TLU Strength training Plan. This would be a good place to start based on what you’ve described.

QUESTION

I’m one month into a 16 week Fire Academy. I am PT lead for the class.  Our commander basically told me that the state only allots us 9 hours out of almost 500 academy hours for PT. Since academy started I realize I can’t depend on academy PT sessions to maintain my fitness level. Academy PT currently  is usually doing 30 minutes of stair climbs (4 stories) with high rise packs, Kaiser sled, dummy drag, uncharged hose drag and sledgehammer on tires all in full bunker gear. We only do this twice a week if we’re lucky. I am subscribed to your athletes subscription and am wondering what training sessions you recommend I do throughout the week on my own time in between academy PT sessions to maintain an acceptable base level of fitness?
Some current rep stats for me:
62 sandbag getups (60#) in 10 minutes
479 step ups (25#) in 20 minutes
1.5 mile time- 9:32

ANSWER

If you’re adding in your own training, focus on strength work. Adding in endurance/work capacity could potentially be detrimental to the skills you’re learning at the academy, which of course have their own physical demand. Two days of TLU Strength would be a good fit.

Your conditioning may fall a bit during the academy… not a big deal. Focus on those fire specific skills.

QUESTION

Could I ask a preliminary question about the training plans?
I’m a little late in my career but I’m at a point where my supervisor and command would support me going for some courses that I’ve been wanting to train up for.
Is there a training plan that overlaps with more of the courses or would it be better to think of them as separate courses?
For example, I’m confident they’d support me going for ranger assessment program, Ranger school, airborne, and possibly more. I’m Air Force so I need to migrate to a training program that would help prepare for Army courses

ANSWER

The best place to start is Daily Operator Sessions. This is base fitness training for military athletes, which builds the foundation of mil specific fitness.

Once you have school dates for those courses, you can jump into the specific prep plans such as Ranger School (or the Ranger Training Packet if you have more than 8 weeks notice of your report date). The same concept of base fitness –> event specific fitness would apply to any of the other Army schools.
All of these plans are accessible via the Athlete Subscription.

QUESTION

I just moved into week 5 of the bodyweight beginner workout plan. The workout was 50% of your max reps in 90 seconds for 5 rounds. I noticed in the hand release push ups and the sit ups that by round 3 I was already at failure. (Hrp: 21 reps is 50%, sit ups: 26 reps is 50%) I did as many with proper form as possible and then went to my knees for the HRP and likewise did as many sit ups properly as I could and then use my arms to Kip myself up slightly to finish teach round. I started each round with proper form and then went to the assisted version once I hit failure again from rounds 3.5 -5. Is this authorized or is there a better way to go about this? Thank you for your time, I just want to make sure I’m not cheating myself out of anything!

ANSWER

That’s completely fine. Those progressions are intended to be tough, but it will quickly improve your numbers on those movements. Just keep grinding.

QUESTION

I am interested in your BORTAC selection plan. I have around 20ish weeks until I need to be ready for selection. Do you guys offer an extended plan or some other variation that would work for me? Thanks a bunch.

ANSWER

20ish weeks… do these plans in order. If possible, take a full week’s rest between resilience and the BORTAC plan.

If possible, take a full week’s rest between resilience and the BORTAC plan.
You access all of these via the Athlete Subscription, or purchase individually.

QUESTION

I am doing a mountaineering climb in the Andes at the end of June and am looking for a training plan to start. I have used your training plans for big climbs in the past but am not really able to run anymore due to a knee injury I got from a trail race a couple years ago. Are there any training plans you recommend that don’t require running or that I can substitute running for biking? Or is there a personalized training program that I can pay more for? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

ANSWER

Sorry to hear about the banged-up knee. We wrote this run/ruck substitution article a few months ago for these kinds of scenarios. The short answer is yes, you can substitute running for biking, step machine, etc. Check out that linked article for how to convert distance and time for the bike.

 

Subscribe to MTI's Newsletter - BETA