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Ruck-Based Selection (SFAS) Training Packet

Original price was: $443.00.Current price is: $329.00.

Includes 7 training plans and 52 weeks of training to lead you into selection
Begins with our Military On Ramp Plan, then proceeds to intense bodyweight training and transitions to gym-based strength, running and rucking
Packet finishes with selection-specific Ruck Based Selection Training Plan -intense focus on rucking, running, work capacity “smokers”, core strength and durability
This training plans in the packet are included with the other 250+ MTI Plans that come with an Athlete’s Subscription.

Description

The 7 training plans contained within this packet details 52 weeks (approx 13 months) of training in preparation for attending a Ruck-Based Selection such as the U.S, Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) and “The Activity.” Start the plan exactly 52 weeks before your first week at selection.

(This packet is not quite appropriate for athletes attending SFOD-D selection (US) or SAS selection (UK). If you are attending one of those selections, pls purchase the SFOD-D Selection Training Packet)

This packet is organized so that each plan will build your fitness for the next. The purpose is to build sufficient fitness to excel in selection regardless of your initial fitness level.

The 7 plans, in the order you’ll complete them are listed below. Note the rest weeks between plans:

Weeks Plan
1-7 (1) Military On Ramp Training Plan – Establish base fitness for the follow-on plans
8 Total Rest
9-15   (2) Humility – Bodyweight Strength, loaded work capacity, IBA runs and long, unloaded runs
16-22     (3) Big 24 – Barbell based, total strength
23-29   (4) Fortitude – Gym based strength, distance running and rucking
30-36   (5) Valor – Gym based work capacity, short, intense running and rucking intervals
37-43   (6) Resilience – Gym-based Strength, Chassis Integrity, Heavy Rucking and distance running
44 Total Rest
45-52   (7) Ruck-Based Selection Training Plan

It’s very important you complete the final, Ruck-Based Selection Training Plan the 8 weeks directly before you report for selection. The Ruck-Based Selection Training Plan includes a taper, so there’s no need to take rest week after it’s completion.

The price for this packet of plans represents about 30% savings over the combined price of the individual plans.

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

Fully equipped functional fitness weightroom
40/60/80# Sandbags
Ruck for rucking and ruck running. 10# sledge/dumbbell.
Stopwatch with interval timer (Timex is best)
GPS Watch (recommended – will make measuring rucking distances and pacing much easier)

COMMON QUESTIONS

Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE. The Run Calculator is listed as an exercise.

What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.

Can I see sample training?
Click the “Sample Training” tab at each individual training plan product page to see the entire first week of programming for that plan.

What if I don’t have 52 weeks before selection?
Most athletes will want to begin training with the Military On Ramp Training Plan, and all will want to finish with the Ruck Based Selection Training Plan directly prior to selection. The order and selection of the plans in the middle depending on the time you have to train. Please email coach@mtntactical.com for specific guidance.

How do I access the plan?
Access is online, via username and password. You can log in 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

Fully equipped functional fitness weightroom

40/60/80# Sandbags

Ruck for rucking and ruck running. 10# sledge/dumbbell.

Stopwatch with interval timer (Timex is best)

GPS Watch (recommended - will make measuring rucking distances and pacing much easier)

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

11/17/23

Huge shoutout to your RBSTP packet... I've followed the whole thing and it really got me into good shape for SFAS. I wasn't actually able to finish the final plan because I had to support a deployment in September, but the previous plans got me into excellent shape, so I was still able to succeed at everything from gate to team week.

4/1/23

Just got back from SFAS selection, followed your Ruck Based assessment program and felt great physically. I appreciate the time and effort you put in to updating the programs to reflect the current standards of selection as they update. My only change that I would recommend would be the addition of heavy squats or yoke carries. The same bag works great for combat chassis, but the weight in the last week of SFAS is upwards of #135+ for long.
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2/5/23
Just selected at SFAS after using your RBSTPv5 (changed to 6 my last week or 2 before reporting). I felt physically prepared for all that was thrown at me, especially in team week.Been a subscriber for nearly 2 years with no plans of stopping. Looking forward to continuing to work with you as I work through the pipeline/down the line.
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11/24/22

Recently I successfully completed SFAS, and I just wanted to take a moment to thank you in helping make that dream a reality. Your programming has been a critical piece of every step of the journey. Because of it, I not only survived, but thrived all the way through. Thank you again!

****************

6/1/22

I wanted to reach out and thank you all for the exceptional training plans. I recently completed SFAS and am thankful to say I was selected. I followed a handful of training plans with the lead up time I had, including Humility, Fortitude, Valor and the Ruck-based plan. I think they all prepared me well with a base of strength and thought the Ruck-based plan did a tremendous job. I finished in the top 10 in all of our rucks and felt very comfortable under the weight for land nav week as well. Also, I found the sandbag work to be very beneficial and had direct correlation to success within a couple events throughout SFAS.

*****************

"Just wanted to thank you for your ruck based selection packet. I followed it from humility to the actual selection training plan (Was only able to complete 5 weeks of the selection plan due to timing issues). I recently returned from SFAS and was selected and a large part of that was due to your programming. I was prepared physically and mentally for all events. I'll spend a week or so recovering then I'll start your airborne school training plan followed by your q course plan. It's comforting to know that I won't have to go digging for fitness plans for the rest of my career as long as you guys keep pumping out solid results. Thanks again!"

*****************

"To say I thoroughly enjoyed the Ruck-Based Selection Training Packet doesn't even begin to do justice. I only thought I've been in shape in the past. After finishing the entire thing I feel incredible. I even had my girlfriend do the program with me. She's a sponsored bikini competitor and other than dieting changes, she followed this program and still was able to compete and do well. So Thank You, for doing such an excellent job. - B

I wanted to thank you for all the great programming and advice. I recently attended my unit's SFRE (a mini-SFAS based event that screens and selects candidates to go onto SFAS) and was one of several selected. I owe a large portion of the success to your insights and training programs, specifically the ruck based selection packet and daily operator sessions. We did multiple events virtually back to back over the four day period such as timed 2 mile and 4 mile runs, timed 6 mile and 12 mile rucks and also many team events. Everything we did involved rucking over long distances as well. Being able to perform to the standard was difficult given the short breaks between timed events and overall sheer volume placed on our bodies from the rucking. Thanks Rob, couldn't have done it without the great programming!"

*****************

"I want to start off by saying thank you. Your Ruck Based Selection Program is an excellent training regimen. I attended SFAS last month and was selected! Your Ruck Based Selection Program helped immensely. I felt more than adequately prepared for the rigors of SFAS. I know the MTI team is always modifying their training programs and looking for ways to improve. I am by no means an expert in physical fitness but I do have a few layman's comments that may help out in future versions of the Ruck Based Selection Program.

1. After the first two weeks of the program I cut out the IBA runs altogether. I personally felt that I needed more recovery time during the program and to my knowledge there are no IBA runs during selection itself. I am sure you have good reasons for including loaded runs during the program, but I felt better prepared to conduct the rucks and unloaded runs after cutting out the IBA runs. After going through selection I feel like this was the right call in my case.

2. Prior to SFAS I felt like I was not getting enough APFT and distance running work. This fear turned out to be unfounded as I ended up scoring 300 on the SFAS APFT and ran the fastest 2-mile of my career!

3. The sandbag-based work capacity events were absolutely perfect training for Team Week at SFAS. In hindsight I would even consider progressively ramping up the weight of the sandbag from 60 to 100ish pounds. Candidates carry enormous amounts of weight on their backs during team week and I feel that the sandbag-based strength workouts correspond very well to those events.

4. The long rucks on Saturdays can seem extreme during the program but they are the most critical events to prepare for SFAS. I would encourage anyone preparing for SFAS to not cut these rucks short, because they will be rucking even further during selection.

Thanks again for developing this program. I hope the comments help out!"

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"Completed your Ruck Based Selection Program in the weeks leading up to my SFAS date earlier this month. I definitely felt prepared for everything that was thrown at me during the course and was luckily 'Selected' to top it off. Just wanted to say thanks for the knowledge and work that is poured into your programs. Without them I don't know how well I would have done."

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"I just recently returned from SFAS this weekend and wanted to reach back out to MTI to say thanks for the quality training program and for making the coaches so accessible throughout the process. I'm happy to report that I was selected and felt great throughout the course. I was able to continue performing long into the course when so many of my peers began to deteriorate. I'm taking a week off and then getting right back after it in preparation for the Q Course. The grip training, heavy rucks, and run/ruck intervals were the key pieces that I believe made me overall successful. Again, thanks to you and the MTI crew for pointing us in the right direction and making our goals obtainable."

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