Wasach Ultimate Ridge Link Up (WURL) Training Plan

$89.00

10 Week, 6 Day/Week Training Plan specifically designed to prepare athletes for the fitness demands of the Wasach Ultimate Ridge Link Up (32 Miles, 16,000 feet of vertical gain)
Includes bodyweight strength work, vertical hiking fitness, rock climbing fitness and long trail runs
This training plan is one of the 450+ Plans included with an Athlete’s Subscription.

Description

This 10-Week, 6 day/week training program is sport-specifically designed to prepare athletes for the high volume and intensity of a single push, Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Link Up (WURL). The WURL is a point-to-point traverse near Cottonwood Heights, Utah. In total, the traverse covers approximately 32 miles with 16,000 feet of elevation gains. The traverse includes extensive rock scrambling.

This plan is designed to be completed the 10 weeks direly before your WURL push. Weeks 9 & 10 in the plan are unload/taper weeks.

This training program has 3 general objectives:

(1) Increase vertical and decline-specific leg strength and strength endurance.
(2) Increase running fitness and volume build to be able to run and complete the WURL
(3) Develop your rock climbing fitness and stamina for the extensive scrambling and climbing on the traverse.

This is Version 1 of this plan, designed in June, 2023.

Running Fitness/Longer Runs
Below is the weekly mileage and Saturday long trail run in the plan:

Week Mileage Long Run
1 14 6
2 17 8
3 20 9
4 22 10
5 25 12
6 27 15
7 28 16
8 32 18
9 21 10
10 10 6

Vertical Fitness
The vertical fitness and uphill movement endurance programming in this plan is intense and high volume. It begins with 1,600 vertical feet of focused climbing or step ups in Week 1, and concludes with 8,000 vertical week for Week 8.

This training plan includes two options for building vertical fitness:

Gym-Based Option – this is for athletes without easy access to a long, steep hill they can hike and do laps on. The gym-based work focuses on MTI’s leg blaster complex to build the eccentric leg strength for the downhills and high volume step ups wearing a 20-pound back pack to build the concentric leg strength and strength endurance for the uphills.

Steep Hill Option – this option is for athletes with access to a long, steep hill, and includes specific daily vertical gain and loss totals which can be completed by doing laps on a steep hill wearing a 20-pound backpack.

Rock Climbing Fitness & Stamina
This training plan includes 1 day/week in a bouldering gym to build rock climb grip strength fitness and stamina.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

Mon: Rest
Tue: Vertical Leg Strength and Uphill Movement Endurance
Wed: Moderate Pace Run
Thu: Vertical Leg Strength and Strength Enduranceertical Leg Strength and Uphill Movement Endurance
Fri: Rock Climbing Fitness/Stamina, Low Back Fitness
Sat: Long Moderate Pace Trail Run
Sun: Short Easy Pace Trail Run

COMMON QUESTIONS

What is the Required Equipment?

Foam Roller
16-20″ Box or Bench for Step Ups
20# Backpack
GPS Watch/Phone App or courses/trails of known distance
Bouldering Gym

How Long do the Sessions Last?
1-6 hours depending upon your running/climbing pace. Longest day will be the Saturday’s long run which peaks at 18 miles on week 7. Tuesday and Thursday vertical climbing via step up or a steep hill will also take significant time. Overall, this training plan will take significant training time and commitment.

What if I miss a day?
If you miss a day, make up the session you missed the next day and follow the programming as prescribed. The programming is progressive – it builds upon itself. Don’t skip ahead.

This plan is designed for someone completing the WURL in a single push. How should I modify the plan if I want to complete the WURL over several days?
Please email rob@mtntactical.com and provide him the details of your trip, including total days and estimated pack weight.

What does 25/35# Dumbbell Crawl mean? What about 3/5x Chin Ups.
25/35# Dumbbell Crawl = women use 25#, men use 35#
3/6x Chin Ups = Women do 3x, Men do 6x.

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.

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: rob@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

Foam Roller

16-20" Box or Bench for Step Ups

20# Backpack

GPS Watch/Phone App or courses/trails of known distance

Bouldering Gym

Sample Training

Below is the entire first week of programming from the plan:

***********
MONDAY
SESSION 1

Total Rest

TUESDAY
SESSION 2
Obj: Vertical Fitness

***GYM OPTION:

Warm Up:

Training:
(1) 8 Rounds

(2) 2 Rounds at a Moderate Pace

250x Step Ups @ 16-20" Box or Bench wearing a 20# backpack
Run 400m with pack

"Moderate" = Comfortable but Not Easy

(3) Foam Roll Legs, Low Back

***STEEP HILL OPTION:

Training:
(1) Hike up and down, 800 vertical feet wearing a 20# backpack, moderate pace

Comments:
This can be on one long, steep hill, or laps on a shorter hill. Use Google Earth to determine elevation and make sure you meet the requirement.

***************
WEDNESDAY
SESSION 3
Obj: Recovery Run

Training:
(1) Run 4 miles at an Easy Pace

"Easy" = you can speak in full sentences while running

(2) 2 Rounds

Comments:
Run on a flat road or track.

***************
THURSDAY
SESSION 4
Obj: Vertical Fitness

***GYM OPTION:

Warm Up:

Training:

(1) 8 Rounds

(2) 2 Rounds at a Moderate Pace

250x Step Ups @ 16-20" Box or Bench
Run 400m

"Moderate" = Comfortable but Not Easy

(3) Foam Roll Legs, Low Back

***STEEP HILL OPTION:

Training:
(1) Hike up and down, 800 vertical feet, moderate pace

Comments:
This can be on one long, steep hill, or laps on a shorter hill. Use Google Earth to determine elevation and make sure you meet the requirement.

***************
FRIDAY
SESSION 5
Obj: Rock Climbing Fitness/Stamina, Low Back Fitness

Warm Up:
10 Minutes on Easy Traverse Wall

Training:
(1) Bouldering V-Sum

Record Results

(2) 2 Rounds

(3) Foam Roll Low Back

***************
SATURDAY
SESSION 6
Obj: Moderate Pace Trail Run
Training:

(1) Run 6 miles at a Moderate Pace

"Moderate" = Comfortable but not easy

(2) Foam Roll Legs, Low Back

Comments:
Trail Run with substantial vertical gain and loss.

***************
SUNDAY
SESSION 7
Obj: Easy Pace Trail Run
Training:

(1) Run 4 miles at an Easy Pace

"Easy" = you can speak in full sentences while running

(2) 2 Rounds

Comments:

Trail Run with substantial vertical gain and loss.

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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