Before Phase 1: You May Need to Build a Baseline for the Navy PST Program

Jumping straight into the Navy PST Workout Phase 1 program without a solid fitness baseline may lead to frustration, early burnout, and perhaps overuse injury. While Phase 1 is designed to build tactical fitness to ace a specific fitness test (the Navy PST), it assumes you already have a working foundation in calisthenics and cardiovascular endurance. Many strength athletes need to build up if they are new to running, swimming, and higher-repetition calisthenics exercises.  While they may have strength, power, speed, and agility down from their previous athletic history, they may need a build-up plan to do well on the PST. Many endurance athletes can often see quick improvements on the calisthenics portion of the test, but may need a follow-up lift cycle depending on their body mass. But do not worry, many who start with the Calisthenics and Cardio Program do quite well on the PST. Check out a recent student:

The Calisthenics and Cardio Program Works - Sometimes TOO Well...


I advised him to skip Phase 1 and move on to the Navy SEAL Workout (Phase 2/3)

If you are a beginner aiming for a military or special operations contract, taking a step back to complete a dedicated Calisthenics and Cardio prep program isn't a setback; it's the smartest move you can make. Here are the determining factors that I use to recommend Cals/Cardio before Phase 1:

The Golden Rule: The PST SELF-Assessment Test

Before opening the Phase 1 manual, you must test yourself against the standard Navy Physical Screening Test (PST). Your performance determines your starting point.

Rule #1: If you cannot finish the Navy PST assessment, or if you fail to meet the official minimum passing standards across any of the events, you are not ready for Phase 1. 

Rule #2: If you have time to commit to the process, then add a few months to your timeline and prepare properly. I do not recommend talking to a recruiter until you can crush this PST, so if you are already in DEP and cannot pass the PST, you may be screwed and your spec ops journey will be over before it even starts. 

Rule #3: If you can pass the events individually, it does not matter until you put them all together in one PST event. Test yourself both individually and together with the PST format. If you see significant drop in scores (fail or DNF) when put all together, you need more time and strategies for fueling / rest, pacing, etc. You will learn these if you follow the program. 

The more you practice this test, the better you will become at pacing, fueling strategies, and scoring in the competitive range. A few times a month is fine - there is not need to weekly tests. 

Here are the Official Navy PST Minimum Standards

• 500-Yard Swim: Under 12:30 (Breaststroke or CSS / Side Stroke)
• Push-ups: 50 in 2 minutes
• Sit-ups: 50 in 2 minutes
• Pull-ups: 6 continuous repetitions
• 1.5-Mile Run: Under 10:30

If you can pass these standards individually, great. You are on the right track, but the workouts in both the Cals/Cardio and Navy PST Phase 1 blend all of the elements into a workout program to help you ace ALL of the events together. Many think they are good to go if they can meet all the standards individually, then find on their first PST that they cannot pass the minimum standards when done together - back- to back - to back. 

Why Skipping the Prep Phase Backfires

Phase 1 requires relatively high-volume bodyweight rep counts and frequent running/swimming intervals. Starting without a foundation leads to three major obstacles:

1. Tendinitis and Joint Pain: High-volume push-ups and pull-ups without joint conditioning can lead to elbow and shoulder issues.
2. Poor Technique Under Fatigue: Pushing past exhaustion in large rep sets compromises form, reinforcing bad muscle memory that will fail you on test day.
3. Pacing Breakdown: Without base cardiovascular fitness, you cannot maintain the consistent pacing needed for the 500-yard swim and 1.5-mile run.

You also need to practice pool skills - it is not just swimming but water confidence!

The goal of the Calisthenics and Cardio prep phase is work capacity, durability, and techniques/strategies. Instead of chasing max reps, you build core strength, upper body endurance, and a solid aerobic base in running and swimming (and biking if needed to reduce miles).

Knowing When You’re Ready for Phase 1

Train on the foundational Calisthenics and Cardio plan for 4 to 8 weeks, re-testing the PST every two weeks.

Once you can complete every event of the PST while meeting or exceeding all minimum standards, you have built the structural durability needed to handle the high volume of Stew Smith’s Navy PST Phase 1 workout book effectively. You cannot skip PHASE 1 of Tactical Fitness - focus on getting accepted TO the training.  You need to ace this test to get accepted into SEAL, SWCC, EOD/Diver, SOIDC, or SAR Swimmer. Then you need time to move on to Phase 2/3 to focus on getting THROUGH selection - if you want to graduate. 

Build Your Physical Training to get both TO/THROUGH and Excel throughout all phases. 

BUT Are You Mentally Ready? 

I think I have created something that will help you understand the mind-body connection and unlock the hidden mental and physical toughness inside us all - the Never Quit Mindset:

There is a chapter titled:  Chapter 7: How Do You Know You Are Ready? Focus on Weaknesses, Maintain Strengths, Build Confidence.