Terminal Lance: MTI's USMC PFT Replacement Training Plan

Description

This intense, 5 week, 5 day/week training plan is specifically designed to prepare athletes for the “Terminal Lance” Fitness Assessment – MTI’s proposed replacement to the current USMC PFT.

This is Version 1 of the plan, built August, 2022

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This plan is purpose-built to prepare you for the specific fitness demands of the “Terminal Lance” Fitness Assessment:

Bodyweight Pushing and Pulling Strength (Arms Extended Hand Release Push Ups & Pull Ups)
Chassis Integrity Strength and Strength Endurance – Sandbag Cross Clean
Tactical Athlete Work Capacity – linear, lateral, and change of direction movement (Prone to Sprint repeats)
Ruck Run Assessment and Progressions
Overall Military Endurance (Run, Ruck)

Weeks 1, 3 and 5 in the plan are Assessment weeks. Below is the Training Schedule for the non-assessment weeks 2 and 4:

Monday: Bodyweight Strength, Chassis Integrity, Tactical Athlete Work Capacity
Tuesday: Ruck Run Intervals
Wednesday: Moderate Paced Run
Thursday: Bodyweight Strength, Chassis Integrity, Tactical Athlete Work Capacity
Friday: Ruck Run Intervals

EVENT DESCRIPTIONS

1) Max Rep Bodyweight Pull Ups in 90 Seconds
Strict Pull Ups – no kipping – full elbow lockout to chin above pull up bar. Athlete can “rest” in the down position – hanging from the pull up bar. Both hands must remain on the bar at all times.

2) Max Rep Sandbag Cross Clean using a 45# Ruck in 90 seconds
Functional Core Strength

3) Max Rep Arms Extended Hand Release Push Ups in 90 Seconds
Hands up to elbows locked out. Body must come up stiff (no midsection sag) – Athlete can “rest” in the down position (laying on the ground) ** Note: The head, chest, butt and calves must raise together for each rep. The body must remain as stiff as a board – no sagging or bending at all allowed at the waste. Some athletes will raise only or mostly their upper bodies. This is not allowed and the rep won’t count. Be strict!

4) Max Reps 20-Yard Prone to Sprint in 3 Minutes

5) 3-Mile Ruck for Time @ 45#

Required Equipment:
This is a limited equipment training plan. Below is the required equipment.

45# Ruck
Pull Up Bar

Common Questions

What if I miss a day?
Don’t skip ahead. Start where you left off. The plan is progressive, and its training sessions designed to be completed in order.

What if I can’t handle the training volume at first?
Building stamina and resilience is a key training goal of this plan, and physical and mental stamina is also key to completing the Academy. If you can’t handle the training volume at first, it’s better to cut training sessions short, rather than take unscheduled rest days.

What if I can’t make the prescribed reps for the bodyweight exercises, or the prescribed interval times for rucks or Tactical Athlete Work Capacity?
Do your best, and be sure to do the total number of rounds, even if you can’t make the reps or the time. Don’t quit.

How do you count reps for lunges?
5x Lunges = 5x Lunges each leg, or 10x lunges total

What about nutrition?
Here are our nutritional recommendations:

More Questions?
Email rob@m tntactical.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

Required Equipment:
This is a limited equipment training plan. Below is the required equipment.

45# Ruck
Pull Up Bar

Sample Training

Below is Week 1 of the programming:

MONDAY
SESSION 1
Obj: Fitness Assessment #1

Warm-up:

3 Rounds

Training:

(1) Max reps Pull-ups in 90 Seconds

Athlete may "rest" in the arms extended, hanging position, but may his feet may not touch the ground or a bench. Both hands must remain on the pull up bar.

** Rest 5 Minutes

(2) Max reps Sandbag Cross Clean using a 45# Ruck in 90 seconds.

Ruck begins on the ground on the right side. On "Go" athlete moves the ruck from the ground on this right side across his body to his left shoulder, then back to the ground. At 45 seconds, the Cadre yells "Switch" and the athlete transfers the ruck to the ground on his left side. He then continues the exercise from left ground to his right shoulder. Athlete may "rest" at any time, but the "rest' position is with the ruck on a shoulder. Each time the ruck gets to the shoulder it counts as one rep. So ... if the athlete completes 23 reps right to left in 45 seconds, and 10 reps left to right in 45 seconds his total score is 33 reps.

** Rest 5 Minutes

(2) Extended Arms Hand Release Push-ups in 90 seconds.

** Rest 5 Minutes

(3) Max Reps 20-Yard Prone to Sprint in 3 Minutes.

Set two cones up 20 yards or 60 feet apart. Athlete starts on the ground in behind the first cone in the prone position. On "go" athlete pops up to his feet and sprints to the far cone, crosses the 20-yard line, turns around, drops to prone position on the ground, and repeats. Each full 20-yard length counts as one rep. Partial lengths don't count.

** Rest 10 Minutes

(4) 3-Mile Ruck Run for Time @ 45#

RECORD RESULTS

**********
TUESDAY
SESSION 2
Obj: Bodyweight, Cross Clean, Prone-to-Sprint

Warm-up:

3 Rounds

Training:

(1) 6 Round "Grind" ...

30% Max Rep Pull-ups from SESSION 1's Assessment
30% Max Rep Extended Arms Hand Release Push-ups from SESSION 1’s Assessment
30% Max Rep Sandbag Cross Clean using a 45# Ruck from SESSION 1's Assessment

"Grind" = work steadily not frantically through the exercises in this circuit for 6 rounds.

How to find your assigned reps for Pull Ups and Extended Arms Hand Release Push Ups and Sandbag Cross Cleans

Total Reps from SESSION 1's Assessment x .30

Example: Say the athlete scored 12x Pull Ups, 42 Hand Release Push Ups and 51x Sandbag Cross Cleans ..

12x x .3 = 3.6 or 4x (Round Up) Pull Ups
42x .3 = 12.6 or 13x (Round Up) Hand Release Push Ups
51 x .3 = 15.3 or 16 (Round Up) Sandbag Cross Clean with 45# Ruck

So, for Part (1) the athlete would "Grind" through ...

6 Rounds of ...

4x Pull Ups
13x Hand Release Push Ups
16x Sandbag Cross Clean (8x each side)

(2) 3 Rounds every 5 minutes

20-Yard Prone to Sprint at the Athlete's "Interval Pace"

How to get the Athlete's Interval Pace

Total Reps from SESSION 1's 20-Yard Prone to Sprint in 3 minutes.

Example: The athlete scored 33x total 20-Yard Prone-to-Sprint reps in SESSION 1, use the following equation…

33 divided by 3 times 1.2 or ...

(33/ 3) x 1.2 = 13.2 or 14x (Round Up)

On "Go" the athlete would do 14x 20-Yard Prone to Sprint as fast as possible. The faster he finishes, the more rest he'll get before the next round starts at the 5 minute interval. 3 Rounds and 15 minutes total.

(3) 2 Rounds

************
WEDNESDAY
SESSION 3
Obj: Moderate Paced Run

Warm Up:

3 Rounds

Training:

(1) Run 3 Miles, Moderate Pace

"Moderate" = Comfortable but not easy

(2) 2 Rounds

**********
THURSDAY
SESSION 4
Obj: Bodyweight, Cross Clean, Prone-to-Sprint

Warm-up:

3 Rounds

Training:

(1) 6 Round "Grind" ...

30% Max Rep Pull-ups from SESSION 1's Assessment
30% Max Rep Extended Arms Hand Release Push-ups from SESSION 1’s Assessment
30% Max Rep Sandbag Cross Clean using a 45# Ruck from SESSION 1's Assessment

"Grind" = work steadily not frantically through the exercises in this circuit for 6 rounds.

How to find your assigned reps for Pull Ups and Extended Arms Hand Release Push Ups and Sandbag Cross Cleans

Total Reps from SESSION 1's Assessment x .30

Example: Say the athlete scored 12x Pull Ups, 42 Hand Release Push Ups and 51x Sandbag Cross Cleans ..

12x x .3 = 3.6 or 4x (Round Up) Pull Ups
42x .3 = 12.6 or 13x (Round Up) Hand Release Push Ups
51 x .3 = 15.3 or 16 (Round Up) Sandbag Cross Clean with 45# Ruck

So, for Part (1) the athlete would "Grind" through ...

6 Rounds of ...

4x Pull Ups
13x Hand Release Push Ups
16x Sandbag Cross Clean (8x each side)

(2) 3 Rounds every 5 minutes

20-Yard Prone to Sprint at the Athlete's "Interval Pace"

How to get the Athlete's Interval Pace

Total Reps from SESSION 1's 20-Yard Prone to Sprint in 3 minutes.

Example: The athlete scored 33x total 20-Yard Prone-to-Sprint reps in SESSION 1, use the following equation…

33 divided by 3 times 1.2 or ...

(33/ 3) x 1.2 = 13.2 or 14x (Round Up)

(3) 2 Rounds

**********
FRIDAY
SESSION 5
Obj: Ruck Intervals

Warm-up:

3 Rounds

Training:

(1) 2 Rounds

1 Mile Ruck Run @ 45# Ruck, Threshold Pace
Rest 8 minutes between efforts

"Threshold" = Fastest Possible

(2) 2 Rounds

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.

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

1) Mission Direct

2) Fitness Solutions Built from the Ground Up

3) The MTI Method

4) Mission-Direct Research

5) Field Proven

6) Programming Breadth

7) Worldwide Influence

8) Mission Performance beyond Fitness

9) Direct, Honest, Clear Answers

COMMON QUESTIONS:

Ask The Founder

Account & Tech Support