I’m stoked to introduce a new program and workbook that’s debuting today from my good friend and former Air Force PJ (Pararescue Jumper), Nate Morrison. I’ve known Nate since my Navy days in 2004, when I met him through a friend while training in Systema with James Williams.
Nate was one of the first and most prominent individuals to see the direct benefits of both kettlebell training and non-fatiguing high-intensity strength training and their application to the field of tactical strength and conditioning. Easily recognizing the short-falls of typical body-building methods and old-school PT methods, Nate not only was one of the first, but also quite simply the most vocal in the US in applying specific preparation to address the specific needs and demands of the tactical athlete.
Nate has been involved in both Army and Air Force Special Operations for the past 18 years and is currently a Military Freefall and Mountain Warfare Instructor. I’ve been proud to have him as a contributor to ITS Tactical and I’m anxious to tell you all about The Morrison System.
The Morrison System
I’ve had an advanced copy of The Morrison System for a few weeks now and have been busy reading ever since. My experience with fitness, nutrition and living well has been self-taught through weeding through the piles and piles of useless information out there and experimenting on my body to find what works. I feel like everyone is different and has certain ideas of the fitness levels they’d like to attain and maintain.
For me, I spent two plus years training for my shot at BUD/s in the Navy, which was very specialized training for the events found in that pipeline. During that time, I not only learned what my body was capable of, but that the mind truly does control the body. This is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome in any workout routine, whether it’s tackling a new methodology or simply being consistent and dedicated to your fitness goals.
One of the first things that caught my eye in The Morrison System, comes from the preface, where Nate talks about the basics. “Keep it simple, tune everything else out, train right and train hard. That is the way of the true professional.” I couldn’t agree more with this philosophy and that you become what you do consistently. Nate also advocates a core belief I advocate here on ITS, which is not only the how, but the why.
The Morrison System was designed to deliver an effective training protocol to Special Operations, mountaineers and adventure athletes. That being said, it’s also designed to properly align your training, no matter what your sport or occupation may be.
Whether you’re in the general fitness crowd or someone who wants an all around strength and conditioning program, the “whole human being” aspect of TMS seems to work well around this. What’s unique, is the attention that’s paid to the variables of training, individual response to training and actually teaching you how to recover properly; avoiding pain and injury commonly associated with overtraining.
Nate also mentions that you won’t be so wiped out while following TMS that you can’t function. Remember, functional fitness is about being able to function!
The Morrison System and the accompanying Planning Workbook are available here starting today. I’m looking forward to getting started on TMS myself and report back with my results on ITS. I feel that it represents a fresh approach to fitness that’s truly modular and capable of adapting to everyone’s fitness goals.