Cart 0

Fitness is NOT a Destination, BUT it Requires a Starting Point

Stew smith

Every Expert Was a Beginner at Some Point

Do You Have a Performance Line or an
Arbitrary Timeline? 

You may have a timeline to get to where you want to go, but do you have a set of performance goals / standards you should be striving for and assess regularly to actually see if you are ready and meeting your timeline standards?  Because if you don't and simply follow a timeline, you may never meet the standards required of you and the time on your timeline runs out. 

I cannot tell you how many people I see and hear about each year who decide to join the military completely unprepared for what "they say they want to do" and never meet the standards before it is time to ship out to basic / bootcamp. YOu will now be doing your second choice ONLY because you were impatient and over-confident in your own abilities to learn how to swim, run, and do high reps calisthenics to a standard they have never achieved before. Reach a level of performance before joining and actually accomplish your goals you set out to do. 

Look - Here is the Deal...

We all start out on this journey with certain weaknesses that make us somewhat of a beginner in that area.  Maybe it is learning how to swim even though you are a D1 athlete in a contact sport or maybe you were a D1 swimmer and need to progress your running and strength training more.  Regardless, WE ARE ALL BEGINNERS and these weaknesses take time to develop.  Join too soon and you will expose these weaknesses in the first week of training OR not ever qualify to get TO the training in the first place. 

Even a somewhat developed weakness into "less of a weakness" may still require you to bring your A game to that event when tested each time throughout training and selection. That is how it was with me for running.  Running was never something I failed but passing at a high standard was always a gut check and something I had to focus on in order to be competitive.  There was no such thing as an "easy run day". 

In the end, you have to be honest with yourself and actually assess yourself so you truly know your abilities and limits. From there, your training (both mentally and physically) will grow.  Being a member of any tactical profession will require you to address these weaknesses as they are a liability to you and your team.  Be an asset and get GOOD at everything vs great at a few things and horrible at others elements of fitness than may help you live to fight another day one day.

Related Articles:

Fitness Failures / Mistakes

Recruiter Advice 

Don't Listen to Yourself - Talk to Yourself

3:1 Ratio Develop Weakness - Maintain Strength

Are You An Optimist, Pessimst, or Realist? Recruiter Advice 

 

Who Is The Tactical Fitness Coach / Author Stew Smith?

 I'm the former Navy SEAL that military recruits and special ops candidates go to for books, ebooks and online coaching to prepare themselves to get to and through intense tactical assessment and selection programs and qualify for service in their chosen tactical profession.  See More at StewSmithFitness.com


Check out the Complete List of Training Programs (Spec Ops, Military, Police, Fire)

We Have Answers For Beginners to Advanced Spec Ops Level Training Programs (see below)

Fitness for Beginners - Get Started for Free!

Most people who enter the recruiters' offices are seeking regular military jobs and on the beginner spectrum of fitness. Please consider the following before joining the military:

- Run - Learn how to run and get in shape to run 2-3 miles without stopping.  See beginner / intermediate running plan.  But, you may need to start off with just walking depending on your fitness level. If you played sports that had a little bit of running in it (football) or no running in it like swimming, you need to practice running regularly to get over the growing pains accompanied with impact cardio like running and rucking. To do well on timed runs, you need to practice that distance at a goal pace. Learn about GOAL PACE Running. 

- Calisthenics - You will be doing calisthenics not only throughout the day in basic training, but as a fitness test as well.  Get used to exercises like pushups, crunches, plank poses, pullups, squats, and lunges to work the entire body.  If you need some ideas, see the programs below that address all the physical fitness challenges you will see in preparation, testing, and basic training and beyond. The Boot camp, PFT, Bible, and Cals and Cardio are all encompassing workouts that will prepare you for the challenges of Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard basic training and fitness tests as well. The Army and Marine Corps will require more challenging workouts and fitness testing.  See links of the books below to see more details of the Combat Fitness Test you must be able to accomplish when you join. 

    

       

DO NOT RELY ON THE MILITARY TO GET YOU INTO SHAPE AT BASIC TRAINING.  You will get into better shape for sure during your training if you arrive in lower fitness form, but you need to arrive with a foundation of physical fitness that is specific to your future job in the military / fitness tests / training. If you show up out of shape, you could end up failing standards or injuring yourself causing longer delays or removal from training altogether. 

For You Special Candidates (Get in Shape LONG Before You Join) 

High Intermediate Military / Advanced Spec Ops
Building Programming:

Which Program is Right For Me?
It Depends...Special Ops Candidates
  

  
The Pipeline of Training Options: 
 
    

It depends:  The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness is a classic and focuses on high rep calisthenics and running and swimming base.  You will build up your running over 12-18 weeks to 20 miles but very fast paced focus on both the 1.5 mile run for the PST and the 4 mile timed run for weekly run test at BUDS. If you are an athlete with a strong power / strength background in lifting and not running or swimming, Navy SEAL Fitness is ideal for you. IF you need some place to start Navy SEAL Fitness is ideal for you as well because a calisthenics base / running / swimming progression is a good place to build a foundation.  Though you will likely need to spend some time in the Navy SEAL Weight Training Book OR if Navy SEAL FItness is too challenging, go with Navy SEAL SWCC, EOD, Diver, PST Phase 1 Workout.  Phase 1 is a good starting point if Navy SEAL Fitness program is too tough. 

Navy SEAL Weight Training - This is part two (winter lifting phase) of my SEAL Prep program. If you have done the Navy SEAL Fitness (12 weeks to BUDS) program a few times and need a break, this is the next program that integrates lifting with the Navy SEAL Prep training. 

Other EBOOKS (Special Ops– Most of my programs tend to focus on getting TO and THROUGH a specific tactical training program.  So you may see a mix of all the seasons in some of these books, but if you are training long term, you can take advantage of Seasonal Periodization and save yourself some of the over-use, long term pains that tend to follow many of the tactical preparations - especially on the spec ops level of training. 

Start training today with workouts that focus on the specifics of getting to and through tactical profession training from firefighter, police, swat, military to special ops. We have programs to help you get TO and THROUGH training. We also have training programs to help you with training as you age in these professions (Tactical Fitness 40+ series).

     

Lifting Cycle Programs For Those Who Need a Strength Focus

You may have seen my Winter Lift Cycle that I discuss in the Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization article as well as have our actual lift programs we have done over the years in the following books.

      

It is not all just calisthenics and cardio at Stew Smith Fitness

Tactical Fitness, Tactical Strength, Navy SEAL Weight Training Workout, Weight Vest Workout,  Stew Smith's Fall Winter Cycle, Warrior Workout #2Maximum Fitness

These programs as well as my online coaching programs have Winter Lift Cycles in them as part of our Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization System. But, do not get these lift cycles confused with ACTUAL strength / power lifting programs, these are strength / power programs that also have a focus on cardio fitness maintenance BECAUSE you need to be good at all the elements of fitness and develop into an all-round Tactical Athlete.  

Most Recent Spring / Summer & Fall Winter Programs:
   
(click to read more)
Or Do You Want my REAL TIME Seasonal Periodization Training - Delivered Weekly?

 

Get Weekly Unpublished Workouts Tested and Evaluated by local Stew Smith Training programs. 

Stew Smith Fitness Membership – You have access to years of workouts for both beginner / intermediate and advanced / special ops levels of fitness. Each week you will receive new and unpublished workouts being tested by Navy SEAL veteran / Stew Smith CSCS and his local group of future tactical professionals in both basic training and advanced spec ops training programming. The latest videos, articles, and other programming will be part of the weekly data feed to members as well. We go through the Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization program one week at a time.

Join the Online PT CLUB:
One On One Coaching with Stew Smith

If You Need a More Personalized Approach to Fit Your Needs, Goals, Time per Day, Days per week, Facilities, Abilities, etc...Try Online Coaching

Questions?  Just email me at Stew@StewSmith.com

At StewSmith.com - List of Products and Services

  1. FREE Articles
  2. Podcasts and Swimming Videos at Youtube.com page  
  3. eBooks
  4. Books and eBooks in PRINT
  5. Stew Smith Fitness Club membership site
  6. Online Coaching   


Older Post Newer Post


Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published