About HTL Training Systems

At ‘HTL,’ our mission is clear: empower military members, first responders, and private citizens to excel in their roles by fostering a culture of physical training and mental fortitude that sets them apart from the rest. Together, we hold the line against chaos.

Interdependence of civilian and first responders/military:

This necessity of the implementation of this principle is derived from the Scriptures, which means it is an eternal standard that ought to be adhered to. Even when looking at the Spartans, the political articulations of ancient thinkers like Plato, to the founding documents of America, there has always been a presupposed tangible interdependence between the military/civil officers and a private citizenry in order for a nation to function justly. The civil officers and the military are there to serve the people and to protect them against foreign and domestic enemies, while the citizens are required to support and embolden those in the civil sphere. The civil sphere protects and restores order when chaos ensues, and are there to stand in the gap when injustice encroaches on the people. The people are there to support and help if needed, but also to keep those in the civil sphere in check. It is a system of checks and balances that has long been ignored in our era. The military and civil magistrate spheres need to keep to their standards, just as the civilian sphere must keep theirs. There comes a contention point in a nations’ history when the gap between private citizens and the local civil sphere must be bridged if our nation wants to thrive any longer. There is a dependence that goes both ways, which we believe requires creating a community around something that prepares us all for the long haul. Fitness.

“Hold the Line” – This phrase is indicative of those who by nature of their profession and their disposition “Hold the Line” or “Stand in the Gap” between a free citizenry endowed with rights by God and chaos. They are those who defend the innocent, uphold justice, and restore chaos from those who seek to do otherwise, whether foreign or domestic malefactors.

The meaning in our brand name

This reality points to the necessity of preparedness in factors one can control. HTL is the name of our brand and names are not superficial, but a name is where the attributes, characteristics, and one’s reputation is stored. HTL holds a deep, resounding presence that seeks to foster professionals from every sect of first responders and the military, which we firmly believe begins and ends with physical fitness and mental fortitude. This is because physical fitness sets the standard in every community, for it establishes a presence and an unwritten level of credibility in the perspective of those around you. It is the face-value representation of how serious you take your job. Whether or not we can articulate it socially, there is a universal understanding that this is a reality. First responders and military members are the ones whose job descriptions revolve around holding the line, the question is do they really believe and put that monumental responsibility into practice. Do they consist of communities of individuals who are physically and mentally prepared to endure any and all situations on and off the job? As for the major portion of our target audience, those outside the first responder and military profession, the requirement to be functionally fit does not exclude you. Actually, the necessity for you speaks for itself. If we are to live long and fruitful lives, longevity has to be the desired outcome. Longevity cannot be viewed positively as just surviving, but it must be about thriving. In order to set the standard for your children and the people around you, you ought to prove that you can take care of yourself first.

As modern society experiences the denigration of our institutions, our image as a free people, and seeks to dismantle the nuclear family, a response must be counter-cultural. Yes, training and disciplining yourself is countering the current culture and preventing the further decrease of performance standards across the board. The only way to uphold standards in the first responder fields and in the military, especially in the special forces, is for the majority of those people to be able to uphold the original standard to begin with. The goal should be to take standards seriously and look to raise standards, not lower them. The implications for lowering standards are starting to show in every profession. It is as if we are going backwards. So, there must be those who hold the line of standards and foster a culture where they are taken seriously. In the civilian realm, masculinity and anything related to such is being propagated as an existential threat to society. Well, when the majority of men have been conditioned into sedentary lifestyles resulting in rampant obesity, the culture and its desire to eradicate traditional, Biblical masculinity is winning just by the mere presence men have in society today. Don’t even get us started on the image of men in the church today. It is a direct contradiction of the King we profess to serve. It ought to be embarrassing, but somehow our culture has normalized the people who train and discipline themselves as the outcasts and the ones who are belittled. When insecurity is normalized, the church and the culture are not in a good place. Our goal is not for everyone to have veins popping out of their body, nor do we expect everyone to have immaculate six-packs. Those two characteristics are not indicative of fitness, however much our image-based culture has conditioned people to believe this. We will take a heavy-set guy who can move weight efficiently over someone who looks good in the mirror. It’s evidently clear that if you threw a ruck on the back of your standard modern-day fitness enthusiast who does machines, light cardio, and eats impeccably to ‘look good,’ he would utterly crumble under the weight of the ruck. Could looking good in the mirror be a logical byproduct of putting in the work we program? Absolutely! But the point is that aesthetics is a result, not indicative of the fitness we are after. We are in the business of forging rugged men (and women) who are capable and competent.