Description
INFANTRY OFFICER COURSE TRAINING PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The USMC Infantry Officer Course (IOC) Training Plan is a 30 session cycle designed specifically to prepare the athlete for the physical requirements of the Combat Endurance Test (CET) and follow on training at IOC.
The plan is designed to be completed during the final 2 months of The Basic School (TBS). We understand that this period has multiple field events in which you won’t be able to train. Use these sessions when you can. Train smart – field events have priority.
The plan includes classic barbell strength as well as body weight strength endurance. Multiple endurance events using the facilities available at Camp Barrett, Quantico where IOC training will take place to include the USMC O-Course and Endurance Course.
Here is the weekly schedule:
- Monday – Strength, Chassis Integrity
- Tuesday – O-Course, Strength Endurance
- Wednesday – Strength, Tactical Athlete Work Capacity Progression
- Thursday – Running Endurance @ Light Load
- Friday – Ruck
Strength Work:
TLU Strength with focus on Power Cleans, Front Squat, Military Press, Hang Squat Clean, Bench Press, and Box Squat . This total body strength frequently assesses 1RM’s and trains at heavy, moderate, and light loads through the cycle.
Strength Endurance:
Percentage based progression for Lunges wearing LBV, Pull Ups wearing LBV, Push Ups, and Sandbag Get Ups
Work Capacity:
Obstacle Course in Load Bearing Vest (LBV) for time, Tactical Athlete Work Capacity Assessment and follow-on progressions
Land Based Endurance:
Quantico E-Course at moderate pace in LBV and rucking at 6-8 mile, 15 min/mile pace at increasing loads
TACTICAL ATHLETE WORK CAPACITY ASSESSMENT
This plan includes the MTI Tactical Athlete Work Capacity Assessment. below are details on how to conduct the assessment. This is a simple and straight forward assessment specific to the work capacity and movement requirements of tactical athletes.
Uniform: PT Gear or Cammies
Load: 25# weight vest, IBA or Ruck
Assessment wearing 25# weight vest, IBA or Ruck
- 3 Minutes 25m shuttle sprints for reps – with a drop to prone at each end
- Rest 1 minute
- 3 Minutes 25m shuttle sprints for reps – with a drop to prone at each end
- Rest 1 minute
- 3 Minutes 25m shuttle sprints for reps – with a drop to prone at each end
1x Rep = 1x 25m length, so a round trip = 2x Reps. Only full lengths count. Athlete starts on the ground prone, and must drop to the ground prone at each turn around.
Tally the total reps for each round. A sum of reps from all 3 rounds is the athlete’s final score.
RUCKING AND RUNNING
The objective of the rucking progression is to ensure you are prepared to carry the heavy loads over the rolling terrain of the Camp Barrett training areas. You will begin at 65#, and work up to 85#. Use trails (not hardball) as much as possible. IOC has no ruck-run events, but does include many miles of walking with a very heavy pack. Maintain a 15 minute per mile rucking pace. This is fast walking, not running.
For lightly loaded running, you’ll work up to completing the Endurance Course (E-Course) twice. This should be completed at a moderate pace. Moderate pace means comfortable, but not easy. We want you to be able to run long distances in preparation for the CET. You’ll work up to carrying a 20# load on top of your LBV.
OBSTACLE COURSE
Complete all obstacle course iterations in your LBV to gain confidence in getting over obstacles with a awkward load around your mid-section. Be in control – don’t go so fast that you can not maintain your balance. Ensure you have medical personnel on stand-by.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What equipment is required?
- Fully equipped functional fitness gym
- Ruck
- Load Bearing Vest (LBV) with 2 full water canteens, med kit, Magazine pouches and magazines
- Access to O-Course and E-Course,
- Sandbag at 60/80# (60# for women, 80# for men)
- Wrist watch or stop watch
How long do the training sessions last?
Training sessions are designed to last 60-75 minutes. Endurance events may take up to 2 hours.
What does “4/8x” mean? How about “15/25#”?
First number is for women, second is for men, both for reps, and loading. Examples:
4/8x Chin Ups = Women do 4x, Men do 8x
15/25# = Women us 15#, Men us 25#.
What does “Grind” Mean?
Work briskly, not frantically. Keep moving and work steady through the circuit.
What if I miss a training day?
These sessions do not have to follow a standard Monday to Friday schedule. You can have multiple days between training sessions if in the field or otherwise occupied with training at The Basic School. Complete the sessions in order – don’t skip around.
My gym doesn’t have sandbags. What should I do?
Make one and take it to the gym when you train … a sandbag is required for this program. We sell sandbags at mtntactical.com, other venders sell them, and you can make your own. Be resourceful.
Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE.
What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.
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.
Sample Training
Below is the Entire First Week from the Training Plan:
************
MONDAY
SESSION 1
Obj: Strength, Chassis Integrity
Warm Up:
3 Rounds
- 5x Power Clean @ 45/65#
- 5x Walking Lunge
- 8x Dumbbell Military Press @ 15/25#
- Instep Stretch
- 5x Shoulder Dislocate
Training:
(1) Work up to 1RM Power Clean
RECORD 1RM
(2) 5 Rounds
- 2x Power Clean @ 85% 1RM
- Pigeon Stretch
(3) 6 Rounds
- 5x Front Squat - Increase load rapidly each round until 5x is Hard, but Doable, then immediately
- 8x Military Press - Increase load rapidly each round until 8x is hard, but doable
- Lat + Pec Stretch
(4) 15 Minute Grind
- Sandbag Get Up and Run @ 60/80#
- 8x Slasher to Halo @ 16/20kg
- 8x 1-Sided Deadlift @ 15/25#
- 10x Ab Wheel Roll Out
*******************
TUESDAY
SESSION 2
Obj: O-Course, Strength Endurance Assessment
Warm Up:
3 Rounds
- 10x Squat Jumps
- 2/4x Pull Ups
- 6x 25m Shuttle
- Instep Stretch
- Lat/Pec Stretch
Training:
(1) 1 Rounds for Time
- 2x USMC Obstacle Course wearing fully loaded LBV
- Rest 5 min
(2) 10 Min Assessment
RECORD SCORE
(3) Max Pull Ups wearing fully loaded LBV
RECORD SCORE
(4) Max Reps Pushups in 2 min.
RECORD SCORE
(5) Max Reps Lunges in 2 min wearing fully loaded LBV
*****************
WEDNESDAY
SESSION 3
Obj: Strength, Work Capacity Assessment
Warm Up:
3 Rounds
- 5x Power Clean@ 45/65#
- 5x Walking Lunge
- 8x Dumbbell Military Press @ 15/25#
- Instep Stretch
- 5x Shoulder Dislocate
Training:
(1) Work up to 1RM Front Squat
RECORD 1RM
(2) 6 Rounds
- 2x Front Squat @ 85% 1RM
- Hip Flexor Stretch
(3) 6 Rounds
- 5x Military Press - Increase load rapidly each round until 5x is Hard, but Doable, then immediately
- 4x Power Clean - Increase load rapidly each round until 4x his hard, but doable, then immediately …
- Lat + Pec Stretch
(4) Tactical Athlete Work Capacity Test wearing 25# weight vest, IBA, or Ruck
- 3 Minutes 25m Shuttle Sprints for Reps - drop to prone at each end
- Rest 1 minute
- 3 Minutes 25m Shuttle Sprints for Reps - drop to prone at each end
- Rest 1 minute
- 3 Minutes 25m Shuttle Sprints for Reps - drop to prone at each end
RECORD SCORE
**See Notes for details
***************
THURSDAY
SESSION 4
Obj: Endurance
Training:
(1) 1 Round
Run the TBS Endurance Course @ Moderate Pace
Moderate Pace = Comfortable but not easy
**************
FRIDAY
SESSION 5
Obj: Rucking
Training:
(1) 6 Mile Ruck @ 65# Carrying a 10# Sledge/Dumbbell
Maintain a 15min/mile or faster pace…. fast walking, don’t run.
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
10/25/22
- The Programming was definitely working. I was making significant gains, especially on my cleans and squats, like never before. I was also noticing my upper body strength increasing at a rapid rate. I absolutely loved the IOC program, and the applicability of a lot of the exercises in it was AWESOME (i.e. the sand baby and flak workouts that simulated buddy rushing with a kit on or just having to maneuver in a full kit in general, or having to frequently carry heavy stuff while in the field). I was absolutely obsessed with this program and the swim workouts from the Recon program before I got injured. It was the best program I’ve ever had by FAR, and I started recommending it to all my buddies prepping for the same course.
- The flow was not confusing at all! Very easy to follow.
- Access was easy once I figured out I needed wifi to see my plans. My gym doesn’t have wifi so the first time I tried to look at my plan on the app, I couldn’t load it. Similar thing happened when I tried to workout while on a camping trip. I wish there was an “offline” option or a way to download plans to be able to access them when you don’t have wifi.
- The videos were very helpful!
I love this program, and I can’t wait to heal so I can get back to using it. Thanks for what you do, this was a huge game changer.
