MOPs & MOEs

Episódios

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  The Death of Periodization 26.07.2026 1h 29min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at teamworkstactical.comWe are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at trainheroic.comThe Death of Periodization — Drew and Alex Go to WarDrew wrote an article called "The Death of Periodization," posted it on LinkedIn to see what would happen, and then got into fights with people on Instagram for a week. This episode is the full breakdown — what periodization actually is, why it doesn't work for tactical populations, and what to do instead.What we get into:Defining the thing first — because not a single person in the online discourse could do it. The NSCA definition: the logical and systematic process of sequencing training interventions to achieve peak performance at appropriate time points. Every version of periodization, whether block, linear, nonlinear, conjugate, or West Side, shares the same five assumptions. The most important one: that biological adaptations follow a predictable course. They don't.Why periodization is a Soviet export — and what that means. Most of the foundational periodization literature is mapping sports science onto communist economic planning. General adaptation syndrome is not a predictive model. It's a descriptive model. Hans Selye never explained what makes something stressful, never told you how much stress causes adaptation, and never specified when the resistance phase begins or ends. Also, his exhaustion phase was death. Not fatigue. Death. The field of stress physiology left him behind decades ago.The Milo and the bull problem — and why progressive overload is almost universally misunderstood. Milo didn't get stronger because the bull got bigger. He was able to lift the bigger bull because he got stronger. The causal arrow runs the other way. What to do instead — navigating versus forecasting. Shorten the prediction window to what the environment actually allows you to control. A week at a time. The low-hanging fruit problem. You've got people debating intricately periodized strength plans for soldiers who are failing a two-mile run where the passing standard is a ten-minute mile pace. That's what this conversation is really about.Also in this episode:Joey Chestnut vs. Usain Bolt in the Glizzy Gauntlet — one hot dog, then a hundred meters. The Army's new testosterone testing program — rapid fire thoughts, concerns about fertility consequences, and thoughts and prayers for military endocrinologists.Mentioned in this episode:Drew's articles — The Death of Periodization and The Art of Training at mopsandmoes.comJohn Kiely — Periodization Theory: Confronting an Inconvenient Truth; Periodization ParadigmsThomas Kuhn — The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, paradigm shiftsFranco Impellizzeri — operational frameworks and self-fulfilling prophecy in periodizationMatt Clark — Eight Myths Weaken Combat ReadinessLong and Strong — the Mops and Moes training program on TrainHeroic Views expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  The Fittest Middle School in America 19.07.2026 1h 23min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at teamworkstactical.comWe are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at trainheroic.comThe Best PE Program in America Nobody's Heard Of — Prescott Junior HighSomewhere in Modesto, California, middle schoolers are running sub-five-minute miles, doing a thousand push-ups unbroken, and earning colored trunks through a fitness program that's been running since the 1970s. Drew and Alex sit down with Garrett Beal and Jason Avalar, the PE teachers keeping it alive.What we get into:The program traces back to Mark Wilson, who saw a La Sierra documentary on TV in the seventies, pitched his superintendent, flew out to observe, and came back and built something that's now outlasted everyone who started it. Twenty different physical fitness tests. A colored trunk system where gray is where everyone starts and purple is where almost no one finishes. Records on the wall dating back to 1974 that still haven't been broken.How the point system works — every kid tracks their own progress, logs every test, and gets graded on improvement not just raw performance. Stars for progress, colored trunks for excellence. A 300-pound kid with a perfect attitude and an A in PE because he showed up and worked every single day.The PE assistants — eighth graders who apply in writing, get selected on citizenship and leadership not athleticism, and can lose their shirt for bad grades or bad behavior. Some of the shyest kids in school become the ones leading warm-ups for forty classmates.The records. A girl who ran a 12:27 two-mile as an eighth grader. A boy who did a thousand push-ups unbroken, in perfect form, over an hour. An eighth grade girl who did 143 push-ups and 36 bar dips in a single session. A kid who did 6,500 sit-ups starting at 9am.The mud obstacle course on the last dress-out day of the year. Bear crawls, hurdles, a mud pit, lame dogs, and a fire hose at the finish line.Why this would be nearly impossible to start from scratch today — and why admin support, teacher commitment, and parent buy-in are the three pillars that have kept it alive for fifty years.Alex's commitment on air: connecting Prescott with the folks working on the Presidential Fitness Test rollout. These kids will not struggle.Mentioned in this episode:La Sierra High School PE program — the original inspirationPrescott Junior High Instagram — @prescottstandardLong and Strong — the Mops and Moes training program on TrainHeroic All Access Bundle - All of our training, injury prevention, AFT improvement, and moreViews expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  Army Body Composition Policy: Changes Effective Immediately 12.07.2026 1h 16min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at teamworkstactical.comWe are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at trainheroic.comThe Army Just Changed Body Composition Standards. Here's What It Means.Army Directive 2026-13 dropped on the seventh. Drew and Alex break it down — what changed, what was lost, who's affected, and why some very fit people are about to have a very bad time.What we get into:Waist-to-height ratio is now the only authorized standard. Height-weight screening tables are gone. Secondary methods like DEXA, BodPod, and InBody are gone. The AFT fitness exemption is gone. If your waist divided by your height is 0.55 or above, you are out of compliance. Everyone. No exceptions.Why the research actually supports waist-to-height ratio — as a population-level screening tool, not an individual-level diagnostic. The same literature that backs it up also says it should trigger further assessment, not be the final word.The fitness exemption was one of the most progressive things the Army had ever done on body composition. If you performed above a certain threshold, your body composition didn't matter. That's gone now.Commander's discretion replaces the old progression model. No more monthly measurements, no more defined progression requirements. Whether you're making progress and how long you stay enrolled is entirely up to your chain of command.Who's getting tripped up: postpartum women, shorter stockier men with wide torsos, and apparently some serious competitive athletes in very military-relevant sports.Alex's hot take: this feels like malicious compliance by the Army. They spent years and serious money on the Army Comprehensive Body Composition Study. This directive undoes a lot of that work with a two-page memo.No separations will be completed for 180 days while the Army conducts an assessment. Drew and Alex are collecting stories — if this new standard is catching fit soldiers, they want to hear from you.Mentioned in this episode:Secretary Hegseth memo — Military Fitness Standards, September 30 2025 → https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2025/09/30/9c939542/military-fitness-standards-osd010715-25-fod-final.pdfUnder Secretary memo — Additional Guidance on Military Fitness Standards, December 18 2025 → https://media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/12/2003855613/-1/-1/1/ADDITIONAL-GUIDANCE-ON-MILITARY-FITNESS-STANDARDS.PDFArmy Directive 2026-13 — Army Body Composition Program → https://home.army.mil/carson/8117/8345/8209/ARMY_DIR_2026-13_ABCP.pdfArmy DVIDS video — Army Updates Body Composition Program → https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1013878/army-updates-body-composition-program-abcpLong and Strong / Workhorse — the Mops and Moes training program on TrainHeroic → https://marketplace.trainheroic.com/workout-plan/team/leg-tuck-nation
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  You Probably Don't Need Electrolytes with Dr. Alan McCubbin 05.07.2026 1h 20min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at teamworkstactical.comWe are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at trainheroic.comYou Probably Don't Need Electrolytes — Dr. Alan McCubbinAlex posted something skeptical about electrolyte supplements and people lost their minds. So he went and found one of the leading researchers in the field. The answer was pretty much what he suspected.What we get into:Why the post-COVID boom in daily electrolyte supplementation is largely commercially driven — and how the "water doesn't hydrate you" marketing message gets built from a study done on people who were already fully hydrated and didn't need the water they were drinking in the first place.Why milk scored higher than water on the beverage hydration index, and why that has almost nothing to do with electrolytes and almost everything to do with gastric emptying rate — and why adding solid food to the equation makes the type of drink you consume essentially irrelevant for fluid retention.The actual threshold for when sodium supplementation starts to matter: more than four continuous hours of exercise, replacing at least 70% of fluid losses, with total sweat losses of around five liters or more. If that's not you, it's probably not your problem.Why urine color and urine specific gravity are measures of what your kidneys are doing, not direct measures of hydration — and why they're particularly unreliable during or immediately after exercise.The five-hour treadmill study — nine ultrarunners, either replacing 100% of sodium losses or zero, completely blinded. No difference whatsoever in temperature, heart rate, thirst, RPE, or fluid intake. They lost eight to nine percent of their total body sodium and nothing happened.Why sweat testing technology is outpacing the research on what to actually do with the numbers it produces.Season to taste — for anything under four hours, just pick what tastes good and helps you drink an appropriate amount of fluid.Mentioned in this episode:Waterlogged — Tim NoakesThis Is Your Mind on Plants — Michael PollanBeverage Hydration Index study, 2016Lawrence Armstrong — assessing hydration status, the elusive gold standard, 2009Lewis James, Loughborough University — placebo-controlled hydration researchFueling Endurance — Alan's podcast for runners, cyclists, and triathletesLong and Strong — the Mops and Moes training program on TrainHeroicViews expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  How We'd Fix Military Human Performance 28.06.2026 1h 44min

  If We Built It From Scratch — Drew and Alex Redesign Military Human PerformanceNo guest. No plan. Just Drew and Alex with keys to the kingdom. If you handed us the whole thing tomorrow, what would we actually change?MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at https://teamworks.com/Also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at https://account.trainheroic.com/create-accountWhat we get into:Coach pay comes first. The DOD is on track to become the largest employer of strength and conditioning professionals in the world, which means contracting companies will be too. The contracting model is a race to the bottom on price, with staff salaries absorbing the cuts. That has to change.The five pillars get a rebrand — move, eat, think, recover, connect. Why dropping a dedicated spiritual pillar doesn't mean spirituality doesn't matter — it just means it's woven into everything else.Branding and marketing are undervalued. Embedded human performance has to compete for attention in a way that S1 never does. Drew's pitch: hand the whole thing to an ad agency and see what happens.The personal services contract problem, explained plainly. Coaches meet every FAR criterion for personal services but get treated as non-personal services. Cleaning this up would mean better pay, better working conditions, and actually being able to choose who you hire.GS billets for lead coaches — at minimum the lead strength coach and athletic trainer should be government employees with real career progression, same pay grade as the PT and dietitian.The coach-NCO relationship. Coaches exist to transport people from A to B — that's literally where the word comes from: a 15th century Hungarian horse-drawn carriage. Some coaches are getting fired for leading PT sessions. That's insane.Extender courses are teaching the wrong things. Periodization and physiology when people actually need interpersonal skills and session flow management.Data — stop making it the mission. Just watch what happens to the numbers that justified these programs in the first place.Wearables — a closet full of devices, service members pick what they like, a small subset of data flows to the HP team for trend monitoring and outlier detection, nobody touches a custom military interface.Policy — the Randolph Sheppard Act of 1936 and military dining, credentialing through MTFs vs operational leadership, and why language in DODI 1308.03 may have killed the original ACFT.Mentioned in this episode:Ben Bergeron — move, eat, think, recover, connect frameworkKat Oswald — recent podcast guest, helped implement the five factors at Alex's day jobRachel Chamberlain — community-based blueprinting, podcast appearance incomingDODI 1308.3 — DOD physical fitness and body composition program instructionRandolph Shepherd Act, 1936 — federal law governing vending and dining on government propertyLong and Strong — the Mops and Moes training program on TrainHeroic Views expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  Navy Human Performance Is Coming with CDR Kevin Bernstein 21.06.2026 1h 30min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at teamworkstactical.comWe are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at trainheroic.comNavy Human Performance Is Coming — Commander Kevin Bernstein ReturnsKevin Bernstein is back for round two, fresh into a brand new role as Director of Human Performance for naval aviation on the East Coast. He's six weeks into building something the Navy has never had: a real program of record for the sailors flying, fixing, and fighting from carriers and squadrons across the fleet.What we get into:Why Navy's body composition data is the worst of any service, and why basic readiness tasks like firefighting and damage control on a ship demand a level of fitness the current PT test doesn't measure.The staffing model Kevin's building, borrowed from what's already worked at Naval Special Warfare — sports medicine physicians, physical therapists, strength coaches, dietitians, and cognitive specialists all under one roof, no turf wars, all reporting to the operator's needs.Why staffing needs differ wildly by platform — fighter jets versus cargo aircraft versus rotary wing all create different injury patterns and demand different specialists, and Kevin's building ratios around that instead of a one-size-fits-all model.The credentialing fight nobody talks about — whether embedded providers get privileged through the local hospital or through service leadership that actually understands the mission, and why that distinction will shape every branch's human performance program going forward.Scope of practice in the field — Kevin's blunt take on doing an ultrasound exam in a squadron space versus a sterile OR, and why "industry standard" sports medicine practice shouldn't get flagged just because it's happening outside a hospital.The Federal Acquisition Regulation deep dive — Drew and Alex make the case for a personal services contract exemption for strength coaches, and Kevin confirms he's quoting the same FAR language in the contracts he's writing right now.The actual rollout plan — POM-29 request for 73 new billets, a phased approach starting with strike fighter wings, and a realistic timeline stretching from 2028 to 2033.A surprisingly deep tangent on Pilates, Joseph Pilates' origin story rehabbing WWI soldiers, and why it might become part of the Navy's spine preservation programming.Mentioned in this episode:WPO — Warfighter Performance Optimization, the Pentagon-level effort referenced throughoutVice Admiral Vi and Rear Admiral Hancock — instrumental in standing up the human performance center at Camp Lejeune's School of Infantry EastLong and Strong — the Mops and Moes training program on TrainHeroic Views expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  Psychopaths, Purpose, and the Price of Vulnerability with Newton Cheng 14.06.2026 1h 38min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at teamworkstactical.comWe are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at trainheroic.comPsychopaths, Purpose, and the Price of Vulnerability — Newton Cheng ReturnsNewton's back for his fourth appearance. Fresh off 17 years at Google, a keynote at the H2F Symposium, and a hospital room that reordered his priorities entirely. This one goes well past fitness.What we get into:What Newton saw at the H2F Symposium that Google never gave him — a room full of people who had dedicated their careers to a mission with no big financial payoff at the end, and actually meant it.Corporations as machines — why purpose-driven language at large companies eventually stops holding water, and what the difference looks like when the mission isn't profit.Strategic vulnerability — it's not open sharing, it's context-dependent and calculated. Vulnerability builds trust unless it reveals incompetence at a core responsibility. That distinction matters a lot in the military.The senior NCO who posted his failed two-mile run on social media — Drew, Alex, and Newton work through whether that was useful vulnerability or a self-own.The psychopathy of organizations — Newton's framework: psychopaths rise because they feel nothing, emotionally repressed leaders accumulate moral injury until they go toxic, and emotionally integrated leaders are the best case but the rarest outcome.Lying to Ourselves — the 2015 paper on dishonesty in the Army profession, and new data showing that reported unit readiness is moderately negatively correlated with actual performance at combat training centers.We're here to love and take care of each other, and that's it — Newton's first principle, arrived at in a hospital room after his daughter's leukemia diagnosis. She's doing well.Mentioned in this episode:Incorruptible — Eric Reese's new book on corporate governance and why even purpose-driven companies abandon their idealsLying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession — Leonard Wong, 2015A Clearer Mirror: The Promise of Combat Training Center Data — sent in by Lieutenant Colonel DaweThe Art of Community — Charles Vogel, former podcast guestAntoine de Saint-Exupéry — if you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect woodLong and Strong — the Mops and Moes training program on TrainHeroic → https://marketplace.trainheroic.com/workout-plan/team/leg-tuck-nation?attrib=565490-webViews expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  Why Physical Therapists Believe Weird Things with CDR Mark Riebel 07.06.2026 1h 30min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at teamworkstactical.comWe are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at trainheroic.comWhy Physical Therapists Believe Weird Things — Commander Mark RiebelNuclear submarine officer turned PT for Marine Raiders. This week Drew and Alex sit down with Commander Mark Riebel to talk therapeutic skepticism, why smart people believe dubious things, and what the research actually says about the modalities that dominate clinical practice.What we get into:Confirmation bias in the clinic — why providers remember the wins and discount the losses, and how that quietly keeps bad interventions alive longer than they deserve.The fiduciary vs. the crypto salesman — two models of patient care, and why putting the patient in charge of their own pain is both better medicine and better therapy.Dry needling, cupping, scraping, foam rolling, therapeutic ultrasound, KT tape — what the evidence actually shows, what's placebo, and why that distinction matters more than most providers want to admit.Citation for the discussion of treatment effects vs placebo and other factors: Ezzatvar, Yasmin, et al. "Which portion of physiotherapy treatments’ effect is not attributable to the specific effects in people with musculoskeletal pain? A meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials." journal of orthopaedic & sports physical therapy 54.6 (2024): 391-399.Trigger points, PRI, FMS, pose method — a tour through the tribes of physical therapy and how to think critically about any system that markets itself as the answer.The Future Sailor Preparatory Course — what it looks like, why it matters, and an honest conversation about the physical readiness of the recruiting pool.Weighted pull-ups post bicep repair, rear foot elevated split squats, and John's admirable hamstring appreciation — the after party delivers.Mentioned in this episode:Mark specifically recommended this ESPN video for a discussion of how nocebic language affects healthcare outcomesTherapeutic Skepticism — APTA talk by Mark Riebel and colleaguesCunningham's Law — the best way to get an answer on the internet is not to ask the question, it's to post a wrong answerBarbell Medicine — referenced on pesticide/produce misinformation researchFuture Sailor Preparatory Course — modeled off the Army's Future Soldier Preparatory CourseArmy Baylor — where Mark completed his DPTWest Point Sports Medicine Fellowship — where Mark learned to critically analyze research rather than chase magic tricksCharles Vogel, The Art of Community — former podcast guest, on how social spaces are engineered against genuine connectionLong and Strong — the Mops and Moes training program on TrainHeroic → https://marketplace.trainheroic.com/workout-plan/team/leg-tuck-nation?attrib=565490-web Views expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  The Weird Pillar — Spiritual Fitness, Moral Injury, and the Stuff We Can't Measure with Libby Alders 31.05.2026 1h 28min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at teamworkstactical.comWe are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at trainheroic.comThis week Drew and Alex sit down with Libby Alders — chaplain, researcher, library technician, and self-described tri-vocational nerd — to actually figure out what it is, why it matters, and why the military keeps trying to slap a number on something that might not need one.This one goes deep. Grab a coffee.What we get into:What spiritual fitness actually means — Libby breaks it down to four things: knowing what you believe, understanding that beliefs should evolve, being able to coexist with people who believe differently, and being able to recognize harmful or radicalizing ideologies when they show up.The Spiritual Fitness Survey — an 18-question tool with three subscales: horizontal (community and belonging), mixed (purpose and meaning), and vertical (relationship to the transcendent or divine). Moral injury versus PTSD, and why the difference matters for who you call. Libby's shorthand: shame points toward moral injury and the chaplain. Guilt and fear point toward PTSD and psych. Why the research on religion reducing PTSD risk might be missing a confounding variable — moral injury. If the thing that gives your life meaning is also the thing that got violated, you don't have a protective factor. You have an opening.The 724th Special Tactics case study — how Libby and former podcast guest Chris ran focus groups instead of surveys, built a communication tool instead of a formal metric, and ended up with leadership asking to do their own version because the unit couldn't stop talking about it. Capability-based blueprinting — what it is, why more of the military should use it.The interdisciplinary team problem — why nobody knows when to call the chaplain, why over-specialization and over-generalization are both failure modes, and what "informed consumer" training actually looks like in practice.The table theology tangent — why the ritual of eating together is a human performance intervention that no macro calculator captures.Mentioned in this episode:Dr. Harold Koenig, Duke University — geriatric psychiatrist and pioneer in spirituality, religion, and health researchDr. Warren Kinghorn, Duke — another key name at the intersection of mental health and spiritual healthCapability-Based Blueprinting — developed within CHAMP, Dr. Chamberlain's workMatt Larson — former podcast guest, moral injury talk from the H2F Symposium coming soon to the MOPs & MOEs InstagramCharles Vogel, The Art of Community — former podcast guest, Yale Divinity School; the ritual of meals chapter alone is worth the readAllen Frances, Saving Normal — Drew and Alex's white whale guest. Chaired the DSM-IV committee. By DSM-V, had renounced the whole enterprise. If you know him, please help.Rants and Rituals — Libby's upcoming podcast. No one take that name.Views expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  Navy SEAL Fitness at 50 Years Old with Jamie Monroe 24.05.2026 1h 26min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at teamworkstactical.comWe are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at trainheroic.comFit at 50 and Back in the Teams — Jamie Monroe ReturnsJamie Monroe commissioned as a Navy SEAL ensign at 50 years old. That sentence alone is worth an episode. But what Drew and Alex actually get into is bigger than the headline — it's about the lies we tell ourselves about aging, what it really takes to stay ready across decades, and why identity might be the most underrated performance variable in the building.Drew and Alex also open with results from a poll that surprised everyone — including them.What we get into:How a poll asking which soldier is more operationally effective — perfect fitness score with bad sleep and stress, or minimum passing score with great relationships and recovery — came back 90% in favor of option two. And what that says about what the military actually measures versus what it probably should.Jamie's road back in — the heart murmur that got him medically declined years ago, the DCO process, three interviews, a full MEPS physical, the SEAL Physical Screening Test, and finally commissioning in front of 70 friends and family at 50 years old.Why identity is the most underrated longevity tool — Jamie has never called himself old and broken, and he credits that framing as much as any training protocol for why he's still in the game.The simple running framework that actually works — two easy runs, one tempo, one long run, 15 to 20 miles a week. No pose method required. Just run.What fitness culture looks like inside the SEAL teams now versus two decades ago — less about getting jacked, more about the HYROX athlete profile. Strong runners who can also move weight. And pull-ups that actually count.A full breakdown of every major service fitness test — what Jamie likes, what he'd cut, and why the Marine Corps three-mile run might be the most honest single measure of fitness across any branch.The FAT — Drew and Alex's Fitness Aptitude Test — one rep max deadlift, AMRAP pull-ups, five-mile run. Jamie grades it live, makes some edits, and floats a Cooper Test–style 20-minute max distance format that might actually be the move.Old generation versus new generation — who's actually fitter? Jamie gives a straight answer.Mentioned in this episode:ReadyFit — Jamie's AI-powered military fitness testing app using computer vision to automatically score reps, currently in testing with units at Holloman AFBEasy Day Sports — Jamie's event production company, including a recent 5K for the Dallas Cowboys over Draft WeekendThe Red Bull Catcher Race — the only race where the finish line chases youDSI Human Performance & Biosystems Summit — DC, coming up soon. Alex will be there Thursday.Long and Strong — the Mops and Moes training program on TrainHeroic →Want to help get Bryson DeChambeau on the show? Jamie's working on it.Views expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  Dad Bod vs Father Figure 17.05.2026 1h 19min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at ⁠⁠https://teamworks.com/⁠⁠We are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at ⁠⁠https://account.trainheroic.com/create-account⁠The Father Figure vs. The Dad Bod — How Parenthood Changes Your Relationship With FitnessFor the first time ever, it's just Drew and John. No Alex, no guests — just two dads talking honestly about what happens to training when kids show up and life gets real.This isn't a "here's how to stay jacked after having kids" episode. It's more honest than that. It's about shifting your entire reason for training, giving yourself permission to let go of who you were in the gym before kids, and why the example you set matters more than any number on the bar.Drew is a single dad to a five-year-old girl. John has a three-year-old daughter and an eight-month-old son. Both of them have figured some of this out the hard way.What we get into:How both of their relationships with fitness completely changed after having kids — and why that's actually a good thing.Why Drew stopped caring about PRs and started doing yoga in the garage with his daughter.John's 12-and-a-half-year streak of daily pushups, the Hugh Jackman Wolverine program, and what 11 days of keto on coconut oil actually feels like.The girl dad angle — setting the standard for the type of person your daughter grows up to value, and why that starts now.Why being "there" after a brutal training session isn't the same as being present.Facing your own mortality when you become a parent — and why that's less dark than it sounds.The stroller as a training tool, hiking in dresses, and using your kid as a weight because she thinks it's hilarious.The Open by Andre Agassi, early sports specialization, and why making fitness fun early beats everything else.Mentioned in this episode:Mass Hysteria by Michael Blevins — All In Performance, required reading for girl dadsThe Open by Andre Agassi — John's current read, highly recommendedLong and Strong — the Mops and Moes training program on Train HeroicPhil Collins, Tarzan, Brother Bear, Robin Hood, The Wild Robot — Drew has opinionsWant a program that fits real life — not a perfect schedule that doesn't exist?The Mops and Moes bundle on Train Heroic is built for people with actual constraints. Flexible, auto-regulated, and designed to keep you moving no matter what the week throws at you. → Get access here!Views expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  Cognitive Performance Training with Kathleen Oswald 10.05.2026 1h 46min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at ⁠https://teamworks.com/⁠We are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at ⁠https://account.trainheroic.com/create-account⁠MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.Cognitive Performance vs. Mental Skills Training — Are We Getting It Wrong?This week Alex and Drew sit down with Kat, a cognitive performance specialist, to ask a question that sounds simple but isn't: are we actually training cognition — or just calling things cognitive training?The answer, it turns out, is mostly the latter. We're buying expensive tech, running chess drills, and staring at doorknobs. And almost none of it transfers to performance when it actually counts.This one gets into near vs. far transfer, why brain training apps don't work the way we think they do, what orbital warfare has to do with any of this, and why expertise might be the best fatigue management tool we have.If you work in human performance, coach athletes, or just want to understand why the thing you're doing might not be doing what you think it's doing — this episode is for you.Mentioned in this episode:Chase & Simon (1973) — the foundational chess study on expert vs. novice memoryNASA Task Load Index (TLX) — search it, bookmark it, the website is genuinely excellentThe Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Mueller — referenced again, still relevant, still not on the podcastThink and Fight Drills / Maneuver Chess — US Naval Institute Press, Marine Corps Times, War on the RocksCognitive Performance Training Level One — listed as a resource on the H2F mental domain page, worth reading criticallyNeuroTracker — they're welcome to come on and make their caseReady to train with a program that actually makes sense?The Mops and Moes bundle on Train Heroic — built around real principles, not gimmicks. Get access here!Views expressed are those of the speakers and do not represent any official organization.
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  Combat Field Test Breakdown 03.05.2026 1h 8min

  MOPs & MOEs is proudly sponsored by Teamworks — the performance operations platform trusted by elite military units and professional sports organizations worldwide. Teamworks brings your scheduling, communications, athlete monitoring, and readiness data into one unified system — so your leaders stay informed, your people stay connected, and your unit stays ready. No more scattered spreadsheets or missed messages. Just one platform built for organizations where performance is the mission. Learn more at https://teamworks.com/We are also supported by TrainHeroic — the coaching and programming platform built for strength and conditioning coaches who train serious athletes. Whether you're programming for a military unit, a tactical team, or individual athletes, TrainHeroic gives you the tools to build and deliver professional training programs, track athlete progress, and communicate directly with your people — all through one app. Your athletes get world-class programming on their phone; you get the visibility to actually coach them. Start your free trial at https://account.trainheroic.com/create-accountMOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.The New Army Combat Field Test — What It Is, What It Isn't, and What We Actually Think About ItThis week Drew and Alex break down the new Combat Field Test — the Army's second mandatory fitness assessment for combat arms soldiers that nobody asked for and everybody has opinions about.Spoiler: the bar might be set so low that it barely changes anything. But the conversation around why that keeps happening is worth having.What we get into:What the CFT actually is — seven events, one running clock, pass or fail. And why if you can run a 10-minute mile you're probably fine.Why the EIB standard is the same test, with body armor and a helmet, three minutes faster — and what that says about how easy the CFT bar actually is.The Pygmalion effect — every time the Army lowered the standard, it told the force exactly what it thought they were capable of.Why one soldier who enlisted in 2019 and served until 2023 only took one PT test in four years of infantry service. Because we kept changing things.The medic problem — combat is literally in their MOS name, and they're not on the list.Why 13 Bravo cannon crew members aren't considered combat arms but Army divers are, and what that says about how this list gets built.The case for publishing MOS-level fitness score averages so soldiers can see where they actually stand relative to their peers.Whether having the Pentagon direct fitness culture is a good thing — and why for some services it might be the only thing that's actually moved the needle.Mentioned in this episode:Secretary Hegseth's September 2025 memo — Military Fitness Standards for the Department of WarACRT — the earlier Army competitor to the ACFT that never made itDA Pam 611-21 — Military Occupational Classification and Structure, Alex knew the number off the top of his headAFT Insight — aftinsight.com, free AFT score interpreter and training programsBUSAR — their proposed fitness test that requires a picnic table and holds up surprisingly wellTyler Vargas Andrews — Whistling Death on Instagram, lost an arm and a leg at Abbey Gate and still goes harder than most people with all four limbsMelissa Stockwell — Paralympic triathlete, showed up to a climbing gym without a prosthetic and just climbed anywayThe Tyranny of Metrics by Jerry Mueller — referenced again, Jerry please come on the podcast
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  Change Our Minds or Double Down? Four Years of MOPs & MOEs 26.04.2026 1h 15min

  MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.Drew was recently to challenged to share how the process of creating this podcast has changed his coaching. We've learned a lot along the way, some which has reinforced what we already believed, but we've also changed our minds on plenty of things. On this week's episode we dive into what we've learned from all our guests and conversations. Just like our classic closing question, we frame it in terms of what we've changed our mind on and what we've doubled down on. Whether it's our own training, our approach to coaching others, or even how we view "experts," we take a look at how putting these conversations together have helped us understand this space a little better.Thanks to everyone who has joined us on this journey, especially those of you who have shared your thoughts, insights, recommendations, and more!
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  The Human Demands of Modern Combat with MG (R) John Kline 19.04.2026 1h 30min

  MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.On this episode we're diving into the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Inevitably that conversation involves a little bit of drone technology talk, but we focus mostly on the human demands of this kind of warfare. When every single piece of equipment, food, etc. has to travel the last several miles on foot, what does that require of the individual soldier? When there is near constant visual and thermal surveillance, how do operations have to adapt? We break down all that and more, with some time saved at the end to talk about the ACFT implementation, since our guest played a key role in that as well. Major General Kline graduated from Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania in 1992 and was commissioned as a Field Artillery officer where he served three years as a Fire Support Officer and later a MLRS platoon leader before transferring to the Aviation branch until his promotion to Major General.Major General Kline commanded tactical aviation units at the company, battalion, and brigade levels. His aviation command assignments include A Company, 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment in Germany; 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment (Task Force Eagle Assault) in Fort Campbell, Kentucky and the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade located at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. In combat, Major General Kline served as the Executive Officer for 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment in Tikrit, Iraq from 2005-2006; Deputy Brigade Commander for 101st Combat Aviation Brigade in Bagram, Afghanistan in 2008; Battalion Commander of 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment at FOB Wolverine near Qalat, Afghanistan from 2010-2011; and Commander of Task Force Forge in Helmand, Afghanistan from 2015-2016. Uniquely, he also represented the United States in direct communication with the Taliban Political Commission (TPC) in Doha, Qatar in 2021. Specific to this podcast, he was Alex's commander at CIMT as his final command, overseeing the implementation of the ACFT and H2F. After leaving command but before retiring, he was the Army lead for the Ukraine/Russia Lessons study focused on capturing the lessons from that conflict, which is what we'll be focusing most of today's conversation on.
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  Is Walking Exercise? 12.04.2026 1h 10min

  MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.This week's episode is a little in house debate. We got the MOPs & MOEs team together to hash out a sticky topic: Is walking exercise?We certainly get into more nuance on than that. Is walking EFFICIENT exercise? WHO is walking appropriate exercise for? What does research say about various walking PROTOCOLS? There are layers to this conversation, and we peel several of those layers back.If you want to dive into some of the research we mention that assessed Interval Walk Training, here are a few of the papers you can look up:Nemoto et al, 2007Nose et al, 2009Morikawa et al, 2011Karstoft et al, 2013Jakobsen et al, 2016Kitajima et al, 2023
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  The Coolest Fitness Test You’ve Never Heard Of with BUSAR 05.04.2026 1h 38min

  MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.In this week's episode we deep dive the fitness test used by Backcountry Search and Rescue (BUSAR). They are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization comprised of members with extensive backcountry and outdoor experience, as well as specialized professional expertise from the NPS, Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. Members also have experience in aviation, tracking, survival, firefighting, law enforcement, and medical professions.Their unique fitness test consists of the following: Burpee pack pullups - as many reps as you can do in 10 minutes with your SAR pack (~ 20 lbs.) - minimum 50225 pound trap bar deadlift - as many reps as you can do with good form in 1 minute - minimum 153 mile pack test with 45 pounds in under 45 minutes (USFS pack test), followed by additional 30 minutes up and over a picnic table with your SAR Pack (~ 20 lbs.) and a 45# kettlebell or dumbbellAndrew Herrington grew up a free range kid, shaped by Boy Scouts, wilderness, and hard less. A near-fatal rescue at 17 locked his purpose in for good. With nearly two decades in Smokies Search & Resuce, he became a master of survival. His specialties include land navigation, tracking, swiftwater, hunting, trapping, and wildland fire operations. A former backcountry ranger, hog hunter, and wildland firefighter, he blends instinct with experience. As founder and leader of the team, he trains others to think, adapt, and move. Known as an empathetic problem solver, he builds teams under pressure. He doesn't just solve rescues, he forges heroes.Greg Grieco learned early that standing still gets people hurt. As a former wildlife ranger in the Smokies, he tracked and trapped conflict bears relying on his photographic memory and encyclopedic mind to outsmart the beasts before they could cause more problems. A university of Tennessee football alum, Greg brings power, speed, and fearless momentum to every mission. He specializes in land navigation, rapid decision making, and reading terrain like an open book. When hesitation creeps in, he pushes that team forward.
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  How Offset PT Improves Performance at 1st Brigade 11th Airborne 29.03.2026 1h 35min

  MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.On this episode we're sitting down with three leaders from the Arctic Wolves: 1st Brigade, 11th Airborne Division. They have allowed units across their brigade to conduct "offset PT" which - importantly - is not just "reverse cycle PT" but rather a flexible approach to when physical training is conducted. Their initial pilot showed huge improvements not just in fitness, but across sleep, nutrition, and even social connections. COL Christopher Brawley, the Brigade Commander, had already implemented this model successfully at 1st Ranger Battalion, so he knew the potential it presented to building trust and organizational performance. CSM Jeremiah Waggoner, a multiple time Best Ranger competitor, was focused on the physical fitness expectations for the formation, as well as keeping NCOs in charge of leading training of all types.Dr. Ellie Van Luit, the brigade's H2F Program Director, saw H2F's role as enabling and supporting this effort, but she emphasized that it was a brigade initiative, not an H2F initiative.You can find the full results of the initial pilot on our free downloads page.
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  A High Tolerance for Dissent with COL Adisa King 22.03.2026 1h 28min

  MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.We decided to schedule this episode based on a video of COL King giving an outstanding hype speech to Bronco Brigade before they competed in Tropic Lightning Week. Unfortunately that video is currently unavailable due to the Army's restriction of unit social media pages, but if we can get our hands on the file we'll get it posted on our own page soon! Notably, unlike most content focusing on specific military leaders that gets significant engagement, the comments were almost universally positive, coming from people who had served with COL King throughout his career. That immediately told us he'd be someone worth hearing from.Colonel Adisa King is a Jackson, Mississippi native and graduated in December 2000 from United States Military Academy at West Point. He commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army Infantry. After completing Airborne and Ranger School, he set off on a career in the infantry that has spanned 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Hovey, Korea, the Old Guard in Fort Myer, VA, Marine Corps Expeditionary School, 82nd Airborne Division, deployment to New Orleans, LA, for Hurricane Katrina recovery,  and deployment to Samarra, Iraq in support of Operation Iraq Freedom 05-06 and 08-09.He served as an Admission Liaison Officer for the Army Football Team, attended Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, KS, and received his Masters in Business Administration from Webster University.From there he went off to 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) where he deployed to Khost Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom 12-13 and deployed to Afghanistan again in 2014 in support of Operation Resolute Support. He served in the Senate Liaison Division (SLD) within the Office of Chief of Legislative Liaison (OCLL). He later served as the Aide to Acting Secretary of the Army Honorable Patrick Murphy followed by the confirmed 22nd Secretary of the Army, Honorable Eric K. Fanning.He did squadron command back in 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and in 2019 deployed to Iraq again. He was Regimental Tactical Officer for 1st Regiment in the United States Corps of Cadets and attended War College before assuming his current command of 3rd Brigade 25th ID.You can read the article about "prevention" vs "risk mitigation" mentioned in the opening here.
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  Fitness Philosophy with Michael Blevins (Part 2) 15.03.2026 1h 47min

  MOPs & MOEs is powered by TrainHeroic, the best coaching app on the planet. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to get 14 days FREE and a consult with the coaches at TrainHeroic to help you get your coaching business rolling on TrainHeroic. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MOPs & MOEs delivers our training through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrainHeroic and you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠get your first 7 days of training with us FREE by clicking here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠To continue the conversation, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We have experts standing by to answer your questions.This week's episode is a continuation of our conversation with Michael Blevins. In particular we focus on the themes of his article "Bandaids for Bullet Wounds: State Changing to Survive your own Life?" This article has significantly influenced some of our recent discussions around whether we're measuring (and therefore focusing on) the right things in military human performance. We also touch on his experiences training Henry Cavill for several of his movie appearances.Michael's journey began with trying to test his own limits in sports like sailing, rock climbing, and skateboarding. He then transitioned into exploring a range of martial arts disciplines, followed by an evolution into endurance sports, and then the fragility he felt from pushing those limits led him to incorporate weighlifting, crossfit, and strongman style training. He has competed in cycling, triathlon, crossfit, weighlifting, jiujitsu and more.Professionally, he has been a hairdresser, make up artist, photographer, worked in the fashion industry and on the stage... all ultimately developing a skill for building relationships that led him into coaching. He has coached actors preparing for film roles, military service members preparing for selections, and athletes competing at elite levels. Perhaps most notably he coached Henry Cavill leading up to Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman, and Justice League. He also coach both actors and stunt crew for 300: Rise of an Empire, and led a team development camp for the Atlanta Braves. We mentioned the strength manual he published in this conversation, which he's currently rewriting, he's host of the UNFVCKED podcast, and creator of We Are Ollin.In this episode we discussed Ollin's annual event "The Space Race" and you can find the most recent version here.