Humility: Balanced Strength, Work Capacity, Endurance

$59.00

  • 7 weeks, 5 days/week, Limited Equipment Training Plan
  • Bodyweight Strength and Strength Endurance Training
  • Intense Sandbag Chassis Integrity and extended Work Capacity efforts
  • Loaded and Unloaded Running for Endurance
  • Place to start for our Virtue Series of training plans (Humility, then Fortitude, Valor, Resilience, Gratitude)
  • Humility is one of MTI’s most well known, successful and popular plans. Click here to read testimonials.
  • This training plan is one of the 200+ Plans included with an Athlete’s Subscription.

 

Description

Humility is an intense, balanced, 7-Week, 5 day/week training plan which concurrently trains strength, work capacity, military endurance (running, loaded running), and chassis integrity (functional core) in relatively equal proportions. Week 7 in the plan is a taper/unload week.

This is Version 4 of Humility, Updated in September 2024.

 

PROGRAM SPECIFICS

Strength
Humility deploys primarily assessment-based, bodyweight strength training. In addition, leg strength is trained via MTI’s Leg Blaster progression.

Work Capacity
Humility deploys two types of work capacity training: (1) A Burpee Assessment and follow-on burpee intervals, and; (2) 20-25 minute, loaded, multi-modal work capacity events.

Chassis Integrity
Humility trains Chassis Integrity two ways: (1) 15-20 minute Sandbag total body Chassis Integrity circuits, and; (1) 12-15 minute, bodyweight, Low Back/extension circuits.

Endurance
Trained three ways: (1) 1-Mile loaded (25#) run assessment with follow-on 400m and 800m intervals; (2) 5 mile unloaded running assessment and follow-on 2-mile threshold intervals, and; (3) 4-9 mile unloaded runs at a moderate pace.

 

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

  • Monday: Loaded Run Assessment or Intervals, Bodyweight Strength
  • Tuesday: Burpee Assessment or Intervals, Leg Blasters/Pull Ups, Chassis Integrity
  • Wednesday: Run Assessment or 2-Mile Intervals
  • Thursday:  Burpee Intervals, Work Capacity, Chassis Integrity
  • Friday: Endurance – Moderate Run

 

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

Humility is a limited equipment training plan. The following equipment is required:

  • Sandbag – Men 60#, Women 40#
  • 25# Weight Vest, Individual Body Armor or 25# Backpack
  • Pull Up Bar
  • 16-28″ Bench, Box or Step for Step Ups
  • Foam Roller

 

COMMON QUESTIONS

What if I miss a day?
Begin where you left off when you return to training. This program is progressed – each session builds upon the prior session – so don’t skip a session or skip around. Follow the training sessions in order, regardless.

Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE. 

What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.

Can I see sample training?
Yes. Click the “Sample Training” tab to see the entire first week of programming. If you are unsure if you are ready for this program, we recommend trying the first week before purchase.

How do I access the plan?
You can access the plan via username and password either through our website or through our app (Mtn Tactical Fitness) available for IOS and Android.

Can I print out sessions to take to the gym?
Yes – you can print a week of programming at a time.

More Questions? Email: coach@mtntactical.com

 

DISCLAIMER
Before beginning any exercise program, consult with your physician to ensure that you are in proper health. Physical training contains inherent risks including, but not limited to, muscle strains, tears, physical and bodily injury up to and including death. This training program is not meant to provide medical advice; you should obtain medical advice from your private health care practitioner. If you are unable to assume these risks then you should not engage in this training program. No liability is assumed by Mountain Tactical Institute, Inc, its owners or employees, and you train at your own risk. Mountain Tactical Institute makes no warranty, express or implied, of any kind in connection with this training program.

Required Equipment


  • Sandbag - Men 60#, Women 40#

  • 25# Weight Vest, Individual Body Armor or 25# Backpack

  • Pull Up Bar

  • 16-28" Bench, Box or Step for Step Ups

  • Foam Roller

Sample Training

Below is the First Week from this Training Plan:

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MONDAY
SESSION 1
OBJ: Loaded Run Assessment, Bodyweight Strength Assessment

Warm-Up

4 Rounds

Training:

(1) Run 1 Mile for Time wearing 25# Weight Vest, Body Armor or Backpack

RECORD FINISH TIME

Rest 5-10 Minutes

(2) Max Hand Release Push Ups in 90 Seconds.

Rest 2-3 Minutes ....

(3) Max Rep EOs in 90 Seconds

Rest 2-3 Minutes ....

(4) Max Rep Squats in 90 Seconds

RECORD RESULTS

(5) 2 Rounds

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TUESDAY
SESSION 2
Obj: Burpee Beep Ladder Assessment, Pull Up Assessment, Leg Strength, Chassis Integrity

Warm-up:

3 Rounds

Training:

(1) Burpee Beep Ladder Assessment

                     Burpees      Total

Level   Min    per Min   Burpees

1          0-1       10                10

2          1-2       12                22

3          2-3       14                36

4          3-4       16                52

5          4-5       18                70

6          5-6        20               90

7          6-7        22             112

8          7-8        24             136

RECORD FINAL SCORE

For example, if you made it to level 4 + 15 Reps your final Score would be 52 + 15 = 67x total burps

(2) Max Rep Pull Ups

RECORD FINAL SCORE

(3) 10 Round Grind ...

So if you scored 16x pull ups on Part (2), 16 x .2 = 36. Do 4x pull ups (round up) every round for Part (3)

"Grind" = work steadily, not frantically, through the exercises in the circuit for the prescribed time or rounds.

(4) 15 Minute Grind ...

(5) Foam Roll Legs, Low Back

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WEDNESDAY
SESSION 3
OBJ: Unloaded Run Assessment

Warm-Up

4 Rounds

Training:

(1) Run 5 Miles for Time

RECORD FINISH TIME

(2) 2 Rounds

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THURSDAY
SESSION 4
Obj: Burpee Ladder Intervals,Work Capacity, Chassis Integrity

Warm-up:

3 Rounds

Training:

(1) 8 Rounds, Every 60 Seconds

20% Max Rep Burpees from SESSION 2 assessment.

So, if you scored 67 Burpees on the SESSION 2 assessment, 67 x .2 = 13.4 or 14x (round up). Set a repeating, countdown timer to 60 seconds. On "go" complete 14x burpees as fast as possible. The faster you finish, the more rest you get before the next round begins

(2) 20 Minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds as Possible) wearing 25# Weight Vest, Body Armor or backpack

(3) 12 Minute Grind ...

"Grind" = work steadily, not frantically, through the exercises in the circuit for the prescribed time or rounds.

(4) 2 Rounds

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FRIDAY
SESSION 5
OBJ: Unloaded Moderate Run

Training

(1) Run 7 Miles @ Moderate Pace

"Moderate" = Comfortable but not easy

Show More

1)  Mission Direct

Gym numbers mean nothing. All that matters is mission performance. 

To this end, MTI’s fitness solutions and programming are not boxed in by convention, tradition, orthodoxy, public opinion or any other artificial constraint driven by inside or outside forces.

We begin with the raw fitness demands of the mission and build a fitness solution which directly prepares the athlete for those demands.

 

2) Fitness Solutions Built from the Ground Up

MTI’s programming is not “re-tread” bodybuilding, football, CrossFit, kettlebell, strength or general fitness programming. We’ve built our fitness programming for mountain and tactical athletes from the ground up.

The Fluid Periodization methodology we deploy to concurrently train multiple fitness attributes is completely original and has continued to evolve and improve over the years.

Our mid-section training methodology, Chassis Integrity, is also original, as is our endurance programming, 7 strength training progressions, tactical agility, and work capacity programming.

Our mountain sports pre-season training plans, tactical PFT, selection, school, course, and fitness improvement training plans across military, LE and Fire Rescue are MTI-developed, tested and athlete-proven.

Over the years hundreds of athletes and coaches have taken our advanced programming and unit fitness leader programming courses and MTI is widely recognized within the mountain and tactical professions and fitness media as a thought leader in fitness programming for military and tactical athletes.

 

3) The MTI Method

→ Research: MTI begins program design with extensive research of the fitness demands of the mission, sport or event, identifies the exercises and progressions which sport-specifically meet those demands, chose end-of-cycle goals, and program backward to design the training plan.

→ Deploy & Assess: We deploy the training plan “Lab Rats” at our Wyoming facility. Training session and cycle issues are identified and fixed as we work through the training plan. Post cycle we assess the programming’s effectiveness and efficiency. We keep the stuff that works, and fix or toss the stuff that doesn’t.

→ Publish & Assess Again: Plan is published for purchase as an individual training plan and made available to our subscribers. Feedback/results are assessed.

→ Iterate: We take what we learn from lab rats and athletes, re-visit, update and improve already published training plans. Several of our individual training plans are on their 4th or 5th version.

 

4) Mission-Direct Research

MTI exists to “Improve Mountain and Tactical Athletes mission performance and keep them safe.” To that end, we have developed a unique research methodology aimed at identifying real world areas of improvement and identifying immediately deployable mission-direct solutions. Click HERE to learn more about MTI’s Mission-Direct Research methodology, and Here to read about just few of our research efforts.

5) Field Proven

Our stuff works. Weekly we receive unsolicited reviews of our programming and testimonials to its effectiveness.

 

6) Programming Breadth

MTI’s library of 200+ sport-specific fitness plans for mountain and tactical athletes is unmatched. Resources range from specific programming for tactical special forces selections, to specific plans for climbing Rainier and Denali, to general fitness solutions such as running improvement, to post-rehab from injury.

Over the past decade, MTI has partnered with hundreds of athletes throughout their individual mountain and tactical careers, and provided fitness solutions as they face new mountain objectives, tactical schools, selections, PFTs and deployments, and came back from injury.

 

7) Worldwide Influence

Our work is not limited to US Athletes.

We’ve developed selection-specific training plans for Canadian, UK, Australian and German Special Forces Selections and worked with individual military personnel from Scandinavia, South, and Central America.

Canadian, Australian, UK and western European law enforcement and fire/rescue athletes have used MTI programming for mission-direct fitness.

On the mountain side, Alpinists from Japan to Slovakia have consulted with MTI and used MTI’s programming to prepare for mountain objectives.

 

8) Mission Performance beyond Fitness

MTI’s exists is to improve Mission Performance for mountain and tactical athletes and keep them safe. 

This focus on “mission direct” solutions, enhancements and improvements drives our work and research and extends beyond fitness solutions to include training, leadership, gear, team culture, and safety. 

Fitness is just one area of our work.

Our non-fitness research has included tactical cultures, combat uniforms, and gore-tex performance, and effect of stress on marksmanship.

Our work on defining what it means to be a Quiet Professional has had penetrating influence and driven healthy conversations with both mountain and tactical professionals.

 

9) Direct, Honest, Clear Answers

Since 2007 we’ve taken and answered dozens of questions weekly from mountain and tactical athletes. We’ve saved these individual Q&A’s and now thousands are archived on our site.

We’re not salesmen, and our answers are noted for their directness, honesty, and clarity. Our stuff isn’t for everyone. If we can help, we’ll let you know. If we can’t, we’ll let you know that, too.

– Rob Shaul, Founder

 

All of the Above is Backed Up By Our Promise: Our Stuff Works. Guaranteed.

Our Stuff Works. Guaranteed.

By Rob Shaul

I received notes frequently from athletes hesitant to purchase a subscription or training plans asking me to sell them on why they should make the purchase.

While I understand the question, I’m not a salesman – so I can’t put a hard sale on anyone for our programming.

I can tell them the process we go through to design our programming.

We begin with extensive research on the fitness demands of the event, identify the exercises and progressions which sport specifically meet those demands, chose end-of-cycle goals, and program backward to design the plan.

Then we test the cycle on ourselves and our lab rats here in Wyoming. We document, note what works and doesn’t work, re-assess, and make changes and modifications.

Then we publish the programming in the form of one of our plans or as part of our subscription daily training sessions for tactical and mountain athletes.
We don’t stop there – our daily programming is the “tip of the spear” for our programming evolution. We use these sessions to learn and make continuous improvement.

As we learn more and improve, we go back, and update the sport-specific training plans on the website. For example, we’re currently on Version 5 of our Ruck Based Selection Training Plan and Version 3 of our Dryland Ski Training Plan and Version 4 of our Big Game Back Country Hunting Training Plan.

We understand our programing isn’t cheap, but we believe it’s a great value. The $79 for the Ruck Based Selection Training Plan, and $39 for the Dryland Ski Training Plan reflect the, research, work, innovative theory, iteration, testing and feedback we’ve put in and received to make these plans effective.

All that matters for us is outside performance, and we feel strongly that Our Stuff Works in the real world.

Here’s our guarantee:

1) Individual Training Plan Purchase:
If you purchase an individual training plan, follow it as prescribed before your season/event/pft/selection, and if you don’t feel you were physically ready for your season/event/pft/selection, and/or didn’t see dramatic improvements in your early season performance, we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

2) Athlete’s Subscription
If you purchase an Athletes’ Subscription, follow the training sessions as prescribed, and are not satisfied with the quality of the programming, notify us within 30 days of purchase, and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

Questions?
Email: rob@mtntactical.com

COMMON QUESTIONS:

Do you have any reviews or testimonials from athletes who have used your Athlete’s Subscription
Yes. Click HERE.

Is it true you guarantee your stuff works?
Yes. If you purchase an Athletes’ Subscription, follow the training sessions as prescribed, and are not satisfied with the quality of the programming, notify us within 30 days of purchase, and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

How is MTI programming different than CrossFit?
This is a common question. Read our answer HERE.

You have a lot of competitors. Why should I choose MTI?
MTI is driven to improve mountain and tactical athletes’ mission performance and keep them safe. This emphasis and focus on mission performance sets us apart. Read about more that sets us apart HERE.

If I purchase a plan or subscription, how do I access the programming?
All of our plans are online, accessible via username and password.
You can log in through our →Website  or Mobile App →IOS and Android.

Do you have downloadable .pdf’s of the training plans?
No. But you can print the programming, by week, from your browser. You access individual training plans online via a username and password.

Do you have a mobile app?
Yes, we do. Available for IOS and Android.

What is the difference between purchasing an individual training plan, packet of plans or an Athlete’s Subscription?

  • Plan – Like purchasing the DVD of the first Star Wars movie. You own it forever, including any updates we make to the plan.
  • Packet – Like purchasing the DVD’s of all the Star Wars movies. You own them forever, including any updates we make to the plans.
  • Athlete’s Subscription – Like subscribing to Netflix. You get access to all 200+ plan in our library, but lose access if you unsubscribe.

If I purchase an Athletes Subscription Can I cancel on my own, anytime?
Yes.

Do I have to contact MTI to cancel or can I do it myself?
You can do it yourself. Instructions HERE.

If I purchase a subscription and have questions about where to start or what plans(s) to use for my goals, will you help?
Yes. We answer dozens of training questions from athletes weekly. Email coach@mtntactical.com.

If you add new plans or update existing plans after I subscribe will I have access to them?
Yes. We are continuously adding training plans and packets (2-5/month) and updating plans. With your subscription you’ll have access to all new plans, new courses and plan updates.

What Equipment is Required?
Click the “Required Equipment” tab to find out what equipment is required for the specific plan you are interested in.

Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE. The Run and Ruck Calculators are listed as exercises.

What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.

Can I see sample training?
Click the “Sample Training” tab to see the entire first week of programming. You are encouraged to do it before purchasing.

What if I have more questions?
Email rob@mtntactical.com

Testimonials








7/27/23
Last time I emailed you, you recommended that I roll into Humility (V3). I just finished it and wanted to re-iterate what an awesome program it was. For reference, my fitness background going into this was about a year of laziness, followed by Bodyweight Foundations, and then the first  4 weeks of Bodyweight Build. Here were my results:


Weighted 1-mile: 7:58, 7:31, 6:53

HRPU: 37, 39, 41

EOS: 40, 35, 42

Squats: 80, 90, 90

Burpee Beep ladder: Level 3 + 13 (49), Level 5 + 11 (81), Level 5 + 15 (85)

Pull-ups: 17, 18, 19

5-mile: 40:14, 41:06, 38:33


I’m really pleased with Humility and the results I got. Not going to lie, I was intimidated by how intense this looked. Now that I’m on the other side of it, I feel much more confident about what I can accomplish and more in-tune with what it means to push myself physically. Thanks for the awesome program!


Feedback: I strayed from the prescribed plan on a few things. On a couple of the results above, you’ll see that the second assessment was lower than the first. I honestly think this was just from being fatigued. Because of this, I took the last two non-assessment days of week 4 off, effectively making it structured like week 7. The other thing I strayed from was the prescribed burpees following the second assessment. I had such a large increase between week 1 and 4 that I could no longer keep up during the workout. For example, my 25% went from 12 (week 2) to 20 (week 5) every 90 seconds. For week 5, I did 8 rounds of 15 (~18%). For week 6, I did 4 rounds of 18(~22%) then 4 rounds of 15 (~18%). Just to be clear, I don’t think the programming is flawed here; I just think that I may have been right on the cusp of being fit enough going into Humility. Definitely had some “beginner gains."


Maybe you have already considered this, but thought I’d ask: have you considered adding more than one day of pull-ups per week? HRPUs are benefiting from burpees and squats are benefiting from leg blasters, but pull-ups aren’t really getting hit other than Tuesdays. Along with this, I think it would be helpful to do some more EOs aside from just the assessments. I only say this because they require some practice to get fast at them.


Anyways, I got a lot out of Humility and really appreciate the awesome programming. Thanks again.


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9/13/22

I just completed your Humility v2 plan and thought I would provide feedback.  Quickly about me:  30 y/o active duty Navy intel nerd stationed in Bahrain who intends to join the army and attend SFAS beginning in January.  I'm doing Humility v2 as part 1 of your 10 month SFAS ramp-up plan.

Assessments:

Before:

1 min Hand-release pushups: 41

1 min EOs: 39

1 min squats: 60

2 mile run: 14:14

Burpees: 4 rounds (52+16)

Pullups: 20

After:

 

1 min Hand-release pushups: 52

1 min EOs: 57

1 min squats: 64

2 mile run: 12:39

Burpees: 5 rounds (70+18)

Pullups: 23

Reflections:

I'm super impressed with this program.  I've been following the site's tactical athlete workouts with some running program stuff mixed in for a few years now, but this program has really hit the spot for what I'm specifically training for.  The drop in run times that I saw absolutely floored me, as getting faster has always been a real struggle for me even with the site's running-specific plans.  My only criticism: 60s 8 round burpee prescriptions for me weren't achievable.  I had to drastically lower the number to maintain the intended training effect, otherwise it wold have turned into an 8 minute grind.  the 90s prescriptions were generally spot on.  If you're interested in any specifics in how I had to adjust the numbers, just let me know and I can send more details from my log.

Anyway, wasn't sure how much feedback you receive regarding these programs, but I just wanted to offer mine and thank you for the solid plan.  Looking forward to resting up and rolling into the next phase (Big 24).




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I just wanted to drop an email for more data about your programs.

Im a regular civilian that just likes to train for life. Was pretty conditioned when I started my first program with you (humility). "Worked out" for years. Here are my humility results:


Vested 1 Mile  -    decreased 1:38

Max HR pushup -   increased 10 reps

Max squats   -     increased 30 reps

Max pullups   -      increased 1 rep

Burpee Assess  - increased 16 reps

5 mile time   -     decreased 9 minutes


To say I am blown away is an understatement. This is crazy to me in a 7 week program. I train in my garage and have selected the sandbag/weightvest/dumbbell training plan as my next program starting next monday (last 3 weeks of humility beat me up pretty good so I need some recovery)


Thank you for the work you put in and if I can help your company in any way let me know. Figure I would start with a testimonial.





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I am a huge fan of your programs. I was off pt for years due to injuries and surgeries. When it was time to get back after it I started with your Bodyweight Foundations. I did that for over a year until my fitness increased.


I tried Bodyweight Build but couldn’t complete it due to facility issues. Plus I wanted to try Humility V2.


As soon as I started it I was hooked. Humility is an appropriately named program. V2 was well programmed and very challenging, but V3 is better and more challenging. I really like how the program is designed and appreciate that it is ever evolving in order to make a better program and as such a better human being. I appreciate how V3 has taken the results of the Quadzilla Complex vs Leg Blaster study into account and adjusted the program accordingly. I also like the adjustments to the program that align with today’s pandemic societal restrictions.


All in all this is a very good program that is appropriately named. It will challenge you and grow you.


On a side note my three year old son loves working out with me. Today we did burpees while he wore his old Batman Pj’s. We run together until he gets tired then I carry him until it’s time to run again. Because of this I’ve had to modify or adjust the program to fit meet the family’s needs. But I enjoy working out with him immensely. Who knows maybe one day he’ll be doing this program too.




Thanks for making a very good program.




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The Humility V2 program is awesome! The training sucks in the best possible way! The 800m intervals and the burpees suck the life out of me, but I wanna do more of em!

For the run only days, I'm using aerobic capacity because of the improvements that I've seen from them!


I would for sure classify this as Simple, but not Easy, and it makes you really work for the reps you get and makes you earn em 😄

I would say the 5 on 2 is a really good work rest cycle, and I have been adding in some swims or walks on the 6th day for some blood flow work

Also I've found some great success pairing this with GO WOD and Barbell Physio prehab/rehab work


Out of the many many programs I've ran over the past 11 years, these ones (gym closure and Humility V2) are for sure my favorite and what I've seen the move improvement from!!



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I'm an engineering student here at the University of Arkansas. I was just wanting to tell you that I just finished the Humility program last week and saw great success in it. I lost about 12 pounds in the process and I'm able to run more now than I ever have in my life. I've always been a big advocate for more body building style workouts but I decided to switch it up and try out your program. I have been nothing but thrilled. Everyday I get to wake up early and go get after it I am grateful for. This week I started sample training for the Fortitude program as it was listed as a good successor to the Humility program. I am really excited about starting this plan because I love the tactical/functional aspect to it, especially since I do a lot of hiking and backpacking around in this area. Really looking forward to the ruck run tomorrow morning! But being a college student, the price of the program is of some concern for me as I am on a pretty tight budget. I was just wondering If you could allow me to use some sort of discount code for this program, so that I can continue to partake in the program. I would really appreciate it. I am extremely grateful that I found you all, as I find myself enjoying every day I get to do these awesome workouts. Keep up the great work!




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I found this program to be fantastic! I thought I had a decent work capacity but this program definitely showed me some humility. I dropped about 4 pounds over the course of the 7 weeks. I felt great after each of the training sessions and had many looks of awe in the gym. I have recommended MTI to several people that asked what I was doing. The only thing that I didn't like was 30% Burpees but I think that had more to do with me than the program. I was diagnosed with a lung disorder while deployed and it can make it hard to breath and recover during HIIT training. This is one that I will come back to multiple times. Keep up the good work!



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I finished up Humility recently and I have to say it was a pretty spectacular program. Other than wearing the vest for the hand-release push ups and the pull ups as you recommended, the only change I made was that I started doing the long runs at the end of the week at a moderate pace instead of an easy one. It felt better.


I went from a 14:05 2-mile to a (hilly) 12:39. The final 10-mile run I averaged 7:29min/mi. The fall weather helped. I saw improvement across the board on my bodyweight exercises, to include increasing the 25lb pull ups from 13 to 15 reps by the end of the program. I now understand the hardening effect described in the overview, too. Reading through many of the MTI programs could be intimidating at first, now virtually everything seems very doable or like something I could adapt to.


While I still think Military On-Ramp was a good build up into it, I think Humility is the program to really get people rolling. I'd recommend it to anyone fit enough to make it through the first week.

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Wicked kudos on the Humility program. I just finished it (okay, I finished it over a month ago and I'm mostly through Big 24 now, but still), and I gotta say you couldn't have picked a better name for it.

Some background - I'm a 27 year old male, 6'0" 195 lbs, never been more than an average athlete, but with a decent amount of hands-on experience with fitness in and out of the gym. Prior to Humility I'd been doing a lot of traditional heavy lifting exercises in the gym, and I hadn't done any serious cardio since finishing a GORUCK Heavy in May 2015. I looked at the Humility plan and figured, "Hey, what's the worst it could be. Just body weight stuff and light dumbbells and maybe some running."

I'm an idiot. The program didn't make me any less of an idiot, but it did harden me up and grant me a little, er, humility. The running was a little rough at the start, but Tuesdays were my worst days b far. Usually I'd be totally burned up before I finished the quadzilla-Scotty Bob-pullups sets, thanks to the burpee sets that preceded them. The other days weren't much better - seven miles was the most I'd run all at once in a long, long time, for instance, and it only went up from there. But I'll be damned if I'm a quitter.

Overall, I ended up seeing substantial improvement on just about everything, with the exception of the pullups (max: 20 to max: 21 after 7 weeks, a whopping 5% increase), which I admittedly kind of slacked off on. Won't do that again, I promise. The biggest benefit was the hardening that came from punishing my body, and I mean really challenging it, outside the sterile air-conditioned increasingly soccer-mom-populated environment of the gym. Humility did to me what I haven't been able to do to myself for some time now, and for that I thank you fine people at MTI.

Big 24 is no joke, either, but I'm missing the daily ass-kicking that Humility gave me so I'm moving on to Fortitude after I'm done here in a week or so. Thanks again and Kudos on the good work.

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Just wanted to give you and your team kudos on Humility. After completing it the first time last summer, it sucked so bad I swore I would never do it again. Well after being at NTC for a month not doing any PT I decided I needed to get back in shape once I got back. After completing it a second time I can still say it really sucks. Yea it did bring my 2 mile time down to a 13:15 from a 14:17 in 4 weeks, but the real magic was how much my endurance improved. I can now keep a 7:00 to 7:30/min pace for 4+ miles with ease. My Commander even noticed how much I improved on our weekly Monday 5 mi runs. I won't say I enjoyed it, but damn did it work wonders. Just completed week 2 of Big 24 and can't wait to see where that takes me. Thanks again.

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I've been following  the Humility V2 program to T.

Currently, I'm working through week 4 of the program (the week in which you reassess your fitness), and I've never had such large improvements to my fitness in such a short period of time.

Thank you for the excellent, specific, and well designed program.

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I'm finishing up Humility and it's been a complete smoker. I loved it! My overall fitness is the best it has ever been and I can definitely feel that "hardening" effect that you've mentioned a couple of times. This is my first real taste of your more difficult (but kick-ass) programming and I'm definitely hooked. Thanks for the work that you and the other coaches do!

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Last time I emailed you I was preparing to ship for Army BCT. I just got back from training a week ago. I just wanted to let you know I was by far one of the most  physically prepared individuals throughout basic and AIT because of your programs.

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Hey Rob, just thought I'd share an update. About 5 weeks into humility. Needless to say, this is the best training plan I have ever done this far. It's challenging, but I am seeing results. Can't wait to continue with the other ones. Thanks for all the R&D to help guys like me prepare for the future.


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I just finished Humility. I had previously been doing a mix of different workouts from your Ruck Based Selection Packet that I bought a couple yeas back. I'm finally starting to prep for SFAS and your new philosophy on prepping for it caught my eye, especially with all the research you put in to back up your change of programming. I decided to get Humility and see how the new programming method was. I loved it.


The Quadzilla and Gorilla complexes thrashed me, as did the Devil Dog Circuits. Now that I've finished the program my "combat chassis" feels better than ever. The 7 mile IBA run and 12 mile unloaded run were once far off goals and are now a reality. Here are all my assessment numbers for Weeks 1 and 7. The program took me about 9 weeks to complete due to field ops etc.


Burpees 66  81

EOs 60  72

Box Jumps 38  40 (Week 1 done with 16" box, Week 7 done with 20" box. My bad.)

Hand Release Pushups 31  36

Jump Lunges 24  30.5

Pullups 23  24

3 Mi Run 22:14  21:29  20:49


Thanks for the great program. I really enjoyed it and made some great progress, especially on my lower body. Up next is Big 24 and I can't wait.


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I just assessed my 3 mile today in Humility, 4 minute improvement, very happy with the results.
Your programming is awesome, and really been enjoying it. Thanks for the quality work!

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Rob,
I need to take a moment to say thank you. I recently completed Humility. It took 11 weeks to finish your 7 week plan. At the time I finished I had dropped three minutes from my three mile time, I chalked that up to the possibility of it being significantly warmer than my last four time trials (from the plan and PT tests). Today I was given a short notice APFT and dropped 1 full minute off my 2 miler (I'm now 45s from maxing) and took my sit-ups from 66 to 76 (maxed out). I found this progress incredible considering the program was just building general fitness and not sport specific training for the APFT. I'll be finishing big 24 soon and rolling into Fortitude; even with the change in run volume I hope I can continue to see progress on my run.

Thanks for great training plans!
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