MTNTOUGH Fitness Lab was born out of a desire to prepare backcountry hunters for the demands of high elevation, and weeks-long trips under heavy load in the world’s most remote locations. In their Bozeman R&D facility they know superior physical fitness is crucial for success, but more important is teaching their athletes how to be “comfortable being uncomfortable”. This focus on the mind and mental toughness quickly crossed over with application to the elite military, and first responder athletes they train. MTNTOUGH is a constant state of evolution, as they believe there is much more to learn about human potential, and they develop this mental toughness in many ways.
“ONE THING THAT WE DO IS TEACH MTNTOUGH’ERS HOW TO TURN THE EXTRAORDINARY INTO THE ORDINARY. EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS WITH ACTION CAN BECOME QUITE DOABLE, THEN WITH CONTINUED DEDICATION THEY BECOME ORDINARY, ONCE THEY FEEL ORDINARY YOU HAVE TURNED A CEILING INTO A FLOOR AND GAINED MENTAL TOUGHNESS.” EXPLAINS MTNTOUGH’S DUSTIN DIEFENDERFER.
This week’s workout marking the final set in our series with MTNTOUGH is called “The Devil’s 55.” If you could only do one workout with limited equipment this would be at the top of the list. It is 55 minutes of total-body work, making it an extraordinary challenge to finish, but with continued dedication this can become an ordinary workout you can do anytime, anywhere with only a weighted pack.
THE DEVIL’S 55
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
THE WORKOUT
Perform the exercises in the order shown. The workouts are listed in numerical order and each number represents how many minutes you will perform each exercise for a count of total reps. Once you complete number 10 you are done. You are allowed no more than 90 seconds of rest between each exercise. Your total score is your grand total rep count for #1-9 plus your mileage count for #10.
PACK SQUATS (1 MINUTE OF MAX REP PACK BACK SQUATS)
PACK WEIGHT: BEGINNER: 40lbs INTERMEDIATE: 50lbs ELITE: 60lbs
PACK DEADLIFTS (2 MINUTES OF MAX REP PACK DEADLIFTS)
PACK WEIGHT: BEGINNER: 50lbs INTERMEDIATE: 70lbs ELITE: 90lbs
LUNGE JUMPS (3 MINUTES OF MAX REP LUNGE JUMPS)
RIGHT SIDE THEN LEFT SIDE = 2 REPS
MONKEY PLANKS (4 MINUTES OF MAX REP MONKEY PLANKS)
RIGHT SIDE THEN LEFT SIDE = 2 REPS
RENEGADE ROWS (5 MINUTES OF MAX REP BODYWEIGHT RENEGADE ROWS)
RIGHT SIDE THEN LEFT SIDE = 2 REPS
PACK BURPEE CLEAN + PRESS (6 MINUTES OF MAX REP BURPEE TO CLEAN + PRESS)
PACK WEIGHT: BEGINNER: 40lbs INTERMEDIATE: 50lbs ELITE: 60lbs
SIDE SHUFFLE SQUAT JUMP (7 MINUTES OF SIDE SHUFFLE SQUAT JUMP MAX REP)
ONLY COUNT YOUR SQUAT JUMP REPS, THIS IS DONE BY PERFORMING 5 SQUAT JUMPS, THEN SIDE SHUFFLING 10 YARDS RIGHT, THEN PERFORMING 5 SQUAT JUMPS AND SIDE SHUFFLING BACK TO THE LEFT TO STARTING POSITION, REPEAT FOR 7 MINUTES AND COUNT YOUR TOTAL SQUAT JUMP REPS
BODYWEIGHT STEP-UPS (8 MINUTES OF BODYWEIGHT MAX REP STEP-UPS)
RIGHT SIDE THEN LEFT SIDE = 2 REPS
SIT-UPS (9 MINUTES OF MAX REP SIT UPS)
RUN (10 MINUTE MAX MILEAGE RUN)
PACK SQUATS
PACK DEADLIFTS
LUNGE JUMPS
MONKEY PLANKS
RENEGADE ROWS
PACK BURPEE CLEAN + PRESS
SIDE SHUFFLE SQUAT JUMPS
BODYWEIGHT STEP-UPS
SIT-UPS
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. 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 brand new 9 week program, the MTNTOUGH 45-70, that only requires you and a heavy pack.
