MTNTOUGH Fitness Lab believes eliminating psychological barriers is the key to reaching our goals. Their team knows the most important muscle you can train sits between your ears… the brain. Your mind, just like your body, can be trained. Mental toughness and perseverance can be cultivated through proper training, specifically training above the neck. Dustin Diefenderfer, lifelong backcountry hunter & founder of MTNTOUGH Fitness Lab, shares a straightforward workout to boost your grit that you can do anytime, anywhere with only a pack, backpack or rucksack.
“Last year our wildland firefighter athletes needed a workout that packed on a significant amount of conditioning in a short amount of time with no gym. They were often stationed remotely on standby and had no access to any weight rooms, gear or cardio machines,” explains Diefenderfer.
In addition to an endurance and strength cycle, one of the workouts MTNTOUGH prescribed this crew, was a full-body, high intensity, EMOM variation, that leveraged their packs, and challenged their mental toughness at the same time. The workout is called “Gone in 12 Minutes,” and will boost your muscle endurance and overall cardiovascular fitness all while testing your will power. Good luck!
GONE IN 12 MINUTES
THE WARMUP
High Knees – 30 sec
Butt Kicks – 30 sec
World’s Greatest Stretch – 30 sec
Overhead Lunge – 30 sec
Walk Out Push-ups – 30 sec
Lateral Lunge – 30 sec
Floor Wipers – 30 sec
THE WORKOUT
All you need is a backpack, pack, rucksack or sandbag loaded with weight. Beginners use a total of 40lbs, Intermediates 50lbs, and Advanced 60lbs.
Before you begin, set a one minute revolving timer on your phone or watch, also known as an EMOM timer, for every minute on the minute.
12 MINUTE EMOM
– PACK PUSH PRESS
– 5 BURPEES AT THE TOP OF EACH MINUTE
To begin, start with the pack push press, get as many reps as possible until the one minute beep, at the one minute beep complete 5 burpees with perfect form, then immediately resume your pack push press, repeating the 5 burpees at the top of each minute for a total of 12 minutes.
Keep count of your total push press reps for a total score.
PACK PUSH PRESSES
BURPEES
MTNTOUGH Fitness Lab has established itself as the elite source for improving mental toughness, physical preparation, and performance research for the backcountry and tactical athlete…And they have assembled an impressive team for this task, including backcountry hunter Dustin Diefenderfer, Alex Fichtler (Former US Navy SEAL), Ara Megerdichian (US Army Ranger and former West Point Instructor), and mountain training legend Jimmy Alsobrook. You can access all MTNTOUGH online training programs via your phone, tablet, or desktop including their six week no gear, no gym, bodyweight only program the MTNTOUGH 30-30.
