This post first appeared on the Pulseline Adventure blog.
We recently caught up with Mountain Tactical Institute (MTI) founder Rob Shaul to ask him about his background and MTI’s programming. Many of our guides have worked with MTI for years. We have found that Rob’s ski fitness programming does exactly what it’s intended to do: get us ready to ski hard on day one of the season and reduce injuries. The programming is designed for all skiers and snowboarders from the recreational to the professional level, and we especially love it for preparing our guests for their Alaska heli-skiing trips.
“Expect to be sore as f**k for the first two weeks.”
– MTI founder Rob Shaul
Tell us briefly about yourself (including education, training, and qualifications) and your programming concepts.
I’m a self-taught strength coach with a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification from the National Strength & Conditioning Association.
What are your programming concepts:
All that matters is outside performance. Gym numbers mean nothing if they don’t transfer to training on the mountain or battlefield. This liberates MTI from strength and conditioning dogma and tradition and puts our focus solely on the specific fitness demands of the sport or event, and fitness training which directly transfers.
What determines program design is not the individual athlete, but rather the event or sport. In this case, the specific fitness demands of alpine and backcountry skiing are universal – they don’t change for older, weaker, heavier or lazier athletes.
Continuous Improvement: MTI constantly strives to make our fitness programming simpler, more effective, and more efficient. Internal research on our programming effectiveness and feedback from athletes drive improvement.
Who do you work with?
Professional and high-level mountain athletes, professionals (guides, instructors, SAR, etc.), and all Tactical Athletes – Military, LE, Fire Rescue, SWAT/SRT, Wildland Fire, etc.
How far before ski season and/or a ski trip should a fitness program start?
For lift-assisted alpine skiing, fitness programming should start 7 weeks directly before the resort opening or ski trip start date, for five days per week. Week 7 is an unload/taper week into the trip start date.
What top-level fitness attributes are needed by skiers – and how does your programming address this?
1) Eccentric Leg Strength and Eccentric Leg Strength Endurance.
Gravity “bounces” the skier down the slope, and with each bounce, the skier must absorb the impact. This demands eccentric strength—or shortening of the quads—vs. “concentric” strength—or lengthening of the quads, like in a typical back squat. The most simple and effective way to train eccentric strength and eccentric strength endurance is a steady progression of our Leg Blaster complex, a featured element of our dryland pre-season ski training.
2) Leg Lactate Tolerance is simply the ability to tolerate more and longer-burning quads while skiing.
I developed the Touch/Jump/Touch to Box exercise and used extended and progressive interval training in our dryland programming to build this fitness attribute.
For skiers who’ve never completed a pre-season dryland ski program, what should they keep in mind before trying what MTI offers?
MTI’s Dryland Ski programming is simple, hard, and focused. Expect to be sore as f**k for the first two weeks, and come close to puking during the Touch/Jump/Touch to Box intervals. There’s not a lot of exercise variety – expect to do the same thing every week, only harder. This is called progressive overload. I’m not interested in keeping you entertained – I’m only interested in preparing you for the mission-direct fitness demands of alpine skiing. You won’t complete the plan if you’re not serious about your skiing. So don’t start it if you’re not serious.
Is it not enough to just ski as much as possible?
Two attributes limit a skier’s improvement: (1) Fitness and (2) Technical skill.
It’s very inefficient to train fitness on the mountain. Likewise, it’s very inefficient and not very effective to train technical skills at the gym.
Certainly, skiers can skip dryland training and use the early weeks of the resort opening to build fitness, but this will cost them valuable time, as they can work on technical skill improvement. Instead of being able to ski hard a full day at the beginning of the season, they’ll need to tap out at half a day. So … assume it takes 3-4 weeks of daily skiing to finally build the fitness they need to start working on technical skill improvement …. this is valuable training time they’ve lost if they had just arrived at the beginning of the season sport-specifically fit. This may not matter much if you’re the typical recreational skier, but it does if you’re serious about skiing or competing.
I’ve worked with professional freeskiers and professional ski racers (US Ski Team, Germany, etc.). The fitness culture for freeskiers is uneven at best, and those who embraced pre-season fitness often came from ski-racing backgrounds in college. The selection process to make the US Ski Team and compete in World Cup ski racing is much more selective than freeskiing – especially with the advent of YouTube athletes. Professional ski racers want and need every edge, and they understand that “just skiing” for fitness is inadequate. Freeskiers and others who are professional about their sport must also be professional about their fitness.
How can a dryland ski fitness program benefit someone already in great shape?
The direct fitness demands of lift-assisted skiing – eccentric leg strength and leg lactate tolerance – are very specific to this sport, so unless the skier is coming to the US or northern hemisphere after spending the summer skiing in South America or New Zealand, it’s doubtful they will be strong in these specific fitness attributes. Cyclists, mountain bikers, and mountain runners will have some leg lactate tolerance but weak eccentric leg strength endurance.
Generally, being “in great shape” differs from being in “alpine ski shape.”
The other issue is durability. Many skiing knee injuries happen when the athlete is tired. I once read somewhere that many skiing-related ACL tears occur on the afternoon of the 3rd or 4th day of a week-long ski trip when the skier is smoked and should have taken the day off. I’m sure this also happens to many mountain-town skiers who feel the stoke in the early season and haven’t completed a dryland plan.
The best way to avoid injury in any activity is to be sport-specifically fit for that activity.
How do your training programs differ from those offered at gyms (e.g., CrossFit)
Sport specificity and sport-specific effectiveness.
What kind of equipment is involved in your Dryland Ski pre-season programming (do people need to spend money on equipment)?
MTI’s dryland ski plan is a limited equipment plan. Here’s what’s required:
- 12-15″ box or step for touch/jump/touch intervals
- 60-pound sandbag for men; 40-pound sandbag for women
- 25-pound pair of dumbbells for men; 15-pound pair of dumbbells for women
- Pull up bar
- Foam roller
How much time do people need to commit?
1 hour per day, 5 days per week, for 7 weeks.
Do you have any particular success stories?
Before freeskier athlete sponsorships via YouTube and Instagram, the path to sponsorships was primarily through success on the Freeski World Tour. MTI had multiple freeskiers competing and was known as “The Monster Factory” for developing young/new competitors. One of our athletes, Crystal Wright, won the world championship. We commissioned a YouTube series on the 2013 season with our athletes, addressing not only skiing but also the realities of living in a mountain town (e.g., Jackson), training, getting sponsorships, etc.
What lessons have you learned over your years of programming fitness programs for ski athletes?
The first year I coached a dryland ski fitness program was a disaster. I had my athletes do bunches of heavy back quads, deadlifts, multi-modal work capacity efforts, general core strength, etc. The programming was intense, and the athletes busted their asses.
Then, the Monday following the opening weekends at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, I had a bunch of angry athletes on my hands. My program made them strong and fit, but not for skiing! Halfway down the slope on their first run they had to stop and rest, and many couldn’t ski the full day.
This is how I learned the hard lesson of sport-specific programming and tossed aside the artificial constraints of traditional strength and conditioning program design, and began the path to develop MTI’s programming approach.
Are there any differences between the fitness needs of skiers and snowboarders?
Only on the margins, but the primary fitness demands of snowboarding are the same as those for skiing – eccentric leg strength endurance and leg lactate tolerance.
Are there any age limits or other limitations?
MTI’s Dryland Ski programming is designed for professional or recreational athletes serious about skiing. It’s difficult and intense and not appropriate for anyone who is deconditioned, has serious knee limitations, etc. Age? It primarily depends on how the athlete’s knees are doing. The programming is knee-intensive – like skiing – and if you have arthritic knees, it will be difficult to complete.
What are your nutritional recommendations for those seeking to increase their fitness?
Our nutritional recommendations are universal. Eat clean: Six days per week, avoid all refined sugar, and eat mostly fruit and refined carbs, including wheat (bread), rice, corn, etc. Avoid most dairy, including milk. Start each meal with protein and add veggies. Don’t drink calories (soda, beer/alcohol, milk). There are no caloric restrictions. You can eat to satiety; just eat clean. One day a week – cheat like a mother.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Here’s the link to our full, 7-week Dryland Ski Pre-Season Training Plan.
Pulseline Adventure, LLC, is a world-class guide service that offers boutique adventure experiences in the great wild places of the earth to support deeper connections with ourselves, our fellow adventurers, and the natural world. Pulseline Adventure offers heli-skiing and human-powered guided ski and snowboard trips worldwide, including in Alaska, Chile, and Canada. Learn more here: Our Manifesto and Mission Statement | Pulseline Adventure.
