Operator Apollo: Slight Strength Emphasis

$59.00

  • 5 day/week, 7-week cycle with a strength emphasis.
  • In addition to strength, this plan concurrently trains work capacity, chassis integrity, and endurance.
  • This training plan is one of the 450+ Plans included with an Athlete’s Subscription.

Description

OVERVIEW

Apollo is the 2nd Plan in the Greek Hero Series.

Appollo is a 7-week cycle with strength emphasis. In addition to strength, Apollo concurrently trains work capacity, chassis integrity, and endurance. Tactical agility is not trained this cycle.

This is Version 3 of Apollo, updated December 2024.

Strength:
Apollo deploys a MTI’s Density strength progression for a full session, three days/week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Our Density strength methodology deploys an initial strength assessment, then a follow-on progression based on your assessment results.

The first half of Apollo’s strength programming is built around the following strength exercises:

  • Front Squat – Lower Body Push
  • Bench Press – Upper Body Push
  • Hinge Lift – Lower Body Pull
  • Weighted Pull Up – Upper Body Pull

The second half of Apollo’s strength programming is built around the following strength exercises:

  • Back Squat – Lower Body Push
  • Push Press – Upper Body Push
  • Walking Lunget – Lower Body Pull
  • Weighted Chin Up – Upper Body Pull

Work Capacity
10-Minute, mulit-modal efforts.

Chassis Integrity
You’ll complete 15 minute Chassis Integrity circuits once per week following work capacity.

Tactical Agility
Not trained this cycle

Endurance
Moderate-paced, unloaded running, 3-6 miles.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

  • Monday – Strength
  • Tuesday – Work Capacity, Chassis Integrity
  • Wednesday – Strength
  • Thursday – Endurance
  • Friday – Strength

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. The Run/Ruck Calculator is listed as an exercise.

What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.

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

Good Luck!

Rob Shaul
Mountain Tactical Institute
Jackson, WY

Required Equipment


  • Fully-equipped functional fitness gym including barbells, dumbbells, racks, bumpers, plyo boxes and sandbags (40/60/80#)

  • Stop Watch

  • Recommended: GPS watch to help with long run distances

Sample Training

Monday - Session 1: Strength Assessment

Objective: Strength Assessment
Warm-Up:

  • 3 Rounds:
    • 8x Front Squat (Start at 45/65# and add weight as you warm up)
    • 3x Scotty Bob (15/25#)
    • 8x Hinge Lift (Dumbbell/Kettlebell - Start at 25/35# and increase load as you warm up)
    • Instep Stretch
    • Lat + Pec Stretch

Training:

  1. Front Squat 1RM
    • Work up to 1RM Front Squat:
      • Add 10-30# to your finishing warm-up load and do 5 reps.
      • Add 10-30# and do 3 reps.
      • Add 5-30# and do 1 rep. Keep adding weight until you reach your 1RM. Aim to be at your 1RM by your 4th or 5th single.
      • Record 1RM Front Squat 
  2. Bench Press 1RM
    • Work up to 1RM Bench Press (same progression as the front squat).
  3. Hinge Lift 1RM
    • Work up to 1RM Hinge Lift (same progression as above).
  4. Weighted Pull-Up 1RM
    • Work up to 1RM Weighted Pull-Up:
      • Do 1-2 pull-ups to warm up, then use a backpack and add weight, starting with 1 rep (single). Keep adding weight until you reach your 1RM. Aim to be at your 1RM by your 4th or 5th single.
  5. Cooldown:
  • Foam Roll Legs/Low Back

Tuesday - Session 2: Work Capacity, Chassis Integrity

Warm-Up:

  • 3 Rounds:
    • 10x Step-Ups (12” Bench)
    • 8x Goblet Squat (12kg)
    • Instep Stretch
    • Lat + Pec Stretch

Training:

  1. 10-Minute AMRAP:
    • TAC SEPA Tactical Burpee Box Jump Drill (Walk back to start).
  2. 15-Minute Grind:
    • 4x Prone to 40ft Sprint
    • 20x Step-Ups (16”-20” Bench)

Cooldown:

  • 2 Rounds:
    • 3x Toe Touch Complex
    • Lat + Pec Stretch

Wednesday - Session 3: Strength Progression

Warm-Up:

  • 3 Rounds:
    • 8x Front Squat (Start at 45/65# and add weight as you warm up)
    • 3x Scotty Bob (15/25#)
    • 8x Hinge Lift (Dumbbell/Kettlebell - Start at 25/35# and increase load as you warm up)
    • Instep Stretch
    • Lat + Pec Stretch

Training:

  • Use Session 1 Strength Assessment results to calculate today’s loading:
  1. Front Squat Warm-Up:
    • 5x Front Squat @ 50% 1RM
    • 4x Front Squat @ 70% 1RM
  2. 5 Rounds Every 90 Seconds:
    • 4x Front Squat @ 80% 1RM
  3. Bench Press Warm-Up:
    • 8x Bench Press @ 50% 1RM
    • 5x Bench Press @ 70% 1RM
  4. 5 Rounds Every 90 Seconds:
    • 4x Bench Press @ 80% 1RM
  5. Hinge Lift Warm-Up:
    • 8x Hinge Lift @ 50% 1RM
    • 5x Hinge Lift @ 70% 1RM
  6. 5 Rounds Every 90 Seconds:
    • 4x Hinge Lift @ 80% 1RM
  7. Weighted Pull-Up Warm-Up:
    • 1x Pull-Up (Unloaded)
    • 1x Weighted Pull-Up @ 50% 1RM
  8. 5 Rounds Every 90 Seconds:
    • 3x Weighted Pull-Up @ 80% 1RM
  9. Cooldown:
  • 2 Rounds:
    • Hip Flexor Stretch
    • 5x Shoulder Dislocates

Thursday - Session 4: Endurance

Objective: Endurance
Warm-Up: None

Training:

  • Moderate Run: 4 Miles (Moderate Pace)
    • Note: “Moderate” = comfortable but not easy.

Friday - Session 5: Strength Progression

Warm-Up:

  • 3 Rounds:
    • 8x Front Squat (Start at 45/65# and add weight as you warm up)
    • 3x Scotty Bob (15/25#)
    • 8x Hinge Lift (Dumbbell/Kettlebell - Start at 25/35# and increase load as you warm up)
    • Instep Stretch
    • Lat + Pec Stretch

Training:

  • Use your Session 1 Strength Assessment results to calculate today’s loading:
  1. Front Squat Warm-Up:
    • 5x Front Squat @ 50% 1RM
    • 4x Front Squat @ 70% 1RM
  2. 5 Rounds Every 90 Seconds:
    • 4x Front Squat @ 80% 1RM
  3. Bench Press Warm-Up:
    • 8x Bench Press @ 50% 1RM
    • 5x Bench Press @ 70% 1RM
  4. 5 Rounds Every 90 Seconds:
    • 4x Bench Press @ 80% 1RM
  5. Hinge Lift Warm-Up:
    • 8x Hinge Lift @ 50% 1RM
    • 5x Hinge Lift @ 70% 1RM
  6. 5 Rounds Every 90 Seconds:
    • 4x Hinge Lift @ 80% 1RM
  7. Weighted Pull-Up Warm-Up:
    • 1x Pull-Up (Unloaded)
    • 1x Weighted Pull-Up @ 50% 1RM
  8. 5 Rounds Every 90 Seconds:
    • 3x Weighted Pull-Up @ 80% 1RM
  9. Cooldown:
  • 2 Rounds:
    • Hug Mobility Drill
    • 3x Floor Slide

Testimonials

"I’m feeling stronger, faster, and healthier than I have in years. Last year I was dealing with a nagging back issue from a jump injury. 9 months in I'm feeling stronger and more balanced than I have in my 10 years in the military. I was a cross country and track runner in college, and have struggled with strength relative to my peers most of my career. The programming has allowed me to maintain my endurance edge and build strength/work capacity/chassis integrity concurrently.




- Is the programming working?

Absolutely.  I started in March with the  The Lower Back Rehab Plan,  Gym Closure 1, Military On Ramp, Hector, Relative Strength (I wasn't able to complete it due to deployment travel and quarantine), and now I'm in the middle of Apollo. My strength has made solid improvements, I surpassed my 24 year old Dead lift PR of 355 last week (365 for Hinge lift in Apollo Week 4). I also went from 175 on the power clean to 195 on the Craig Special. I've also maintained my endurance and most importantly stayed injury free. I appreciate the focused stretching and chassis integrity. I really appreciate the focus on simple exercises that can be performed without fancy equipment. COVID has made me more of a home gym user than ever, so it's great not to be searching for substitutions for more of the random exercises that require special equipment.

- Is the training session flow confusing?

They've all been very clear and easy to follow. I'm averaging about 55-65 minutes for the density sessions on Apollo depending on how much hustle I have that day.

- Are you accessing the programming okay?

Yes. The  app is good and easy to use. If you could add a feature so that the bookmarked workout would still display when you're offline that would be helpful for when I'm deployed or traveling. Certain locations that I've been in over the past 9 months have varied connectivity. Thanks for adding the green check mark to the app view.

- Are you finding the exercise videos for unfamiliar exercises?

The exercise videos are great, I really appreciate that you've filmed them all in house. I've paid for other programming that used random videos from across the internet."

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

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