Wildland Fire Training Packet: 5x Base Fitness Plans

Description

The MTI Wildland Fire Training Packet is composed of our 5 “Killer Fire” training plans developed for wildland firefighters, the Wildland Fire Fitness Assessment as well as either the Wildland Fire or Hotshot/Smokejumper pre-season training plan. The 5 Killer Fire plans are named after tragic wildfires in American history.

The “Killer Fire” plans deploy the most recent iteration of our Fluid Periodization model and concurrently train the 4 primary fitness attributes of a Wildland Firefighters:

Relative Strength
Work Capacity (sprint-based and multi-modal)
Chassis Integrity (functional core)
Mountain Endurance (run, ruck, loaded uphill)

Blackwater, Mann Gulch, Storm King, Rattlesnake, Yarnell Hill were all designed in September 2019. The Wildland Fire Pre-Season and the Hotshot/Smokejumper Pre-Season Training Plans were designed in 2017. The Wildland Fire Fitness Assessment Training Plan is the latest addition to the packet and was designed in November 2021.

In all, this packet of plans represents 48 weeks of total training. The intention is wildland firefighters begin with the first plan in the packet, Blackwater, 48 weeks before reporting for the next fire season, and work through the plans in the order below, finishing with the appropriate pre-season training plan (Wildland Fire for truck crews, Hotshot/Smokejumper for hotshots and smokejumpers) directly prior to reporting for the fire season in the spring.

All of MTI’s Wildland Fire training plans have a significant endurance emphasis – which reflects the mission-direct fitness demands of wildland firefighting, and the fitness culture of most wildland fire units.

The endurance programming in the Killer Fire plans is progressed as you work through the plans. This means the endurance distances increase from plan to plan.

Click the links below for the specifics of each training plan:

Wildland Fire Fitness Assessment Training Plan
Blackwater
Mann Gulch
Storm King
Rattlesnake
Yarnell Hill
Wildland Fire Pre-Season Training Plan (Truck Crews) or Hotshot/Smokejumper Pre-Season Training Plan (both are included in this packet)

See the Chart Below for details on the Killer Fire Plans:

The price for this packet of plans represents a 25% savings over the combined price of the individual plans.

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

Fully-Equipped Functional Fitness Gym
Ruck or Backpack and up to 60# of load
10# dumbbell, sledgehammer, hoe or other wildland fire hand tool

You can also click on the individual plans above to see the required equipment for each specific training plan.

COMMON QUESTIONS

What order should the plans be completed?

Wildland Fire Fitness Assessment Training Plan
B lackwater
Mann Gulch
Storm King
Rattlesnake
Yarnell Hill
Wildland Fire Pre-Season Training Plan (Truck Crews) or Hotshot/Smokejumper Pre-Season Training Plan (both are included in this packet)

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.

What if I can’t do the whole session?
If you don’t have enough time to complete the whole session, you can split the session into two.

What is the difference between the Greek Hero plans and the Virtue Series Plans?
1. The training plans in both series were both initially completed by our tactical lab rats, including myself, at our facility in Wyoming. The Greek Hero Series deploys our most recent programming. The Virtue Series deploys our previous version.

2. Both Series are designed as day to day programming for tactical athletes. The Virtue Series concurrently trains strength, work capacity, endurance, and chassis integrity. The Greek Hero Series trains these attributes plus TAC SEPA (tactical speed, explosive power, and agility).

3. Each plan in the Virtue Series trains these attributes concurrently, but each also emphasizes certain attributes. Fortitude, for example, emphasizes gym-based strength and moderate-paced mid-distance endurance. Some of the Greek Hero plans likewise have areas of emphasis, but it is more subtle.

The more defined emphasis in the Virtue Series allows me to target these plans to athletes relatively new to our programming, or who need to work on specific areas.

In general, the Virtue programming is simpler, more direct and more “jagged.”

As tools, I can deploy for athletes the Virtue plans are a little more blunt. The Greek Hero plans are more fluid, subtle and sophisticated.

The Virtue Plans make a great foundation for the Greek Hero plans.

What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.

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

What do you mean by 15 Minute “Grind”?
You should work your way through these circuits briskly not frantically.

Can I see sample training?
Yes – click on each individual training plan above, then click the “Sample Training” tab at the plan product page to see sample training.

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.

Why MTI?

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

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.