This is how I would teach it...

Coaching in tactical fitness for the past 25+ years, I have been able to answer a need with programming that helps people who want to serve achieve their goals. From basic fitness testing and advanced special ops selections to general health, wellness, and longevity throughout your career and after, tactical fitness is more diverse than many people realize. It is not just a single phase of training you do to get ready for boot camp; it is much more and requires explanation across multiple phases. Becoming the master of recovery (nutrition, sleep, hydration, stress mitigation) will enable the young and old to learn what it takes to optimize performance and build longevity.

Here is how I would break down the tactical fitness training genre into a more consumable format/outline. The links further explain the sections to reduce the size of this article:

A tactical fitness coaching curriculum should outline a comprehensive pathway that transitions candidates from civilian recruits to active duty members or elite operators, to long-term career tactical athletes, and eventually to still healthy retirees. The blueprint systematically develops the total physical and mental capacities required for high-stress professions. 

Tactical Fitness Fully Explained (Components of Fitness)

The Body and Mind Links to Tactical Fitness - OODA Loop, etc.

Tactical Athlete and the Operator

The Four Phases of Tactical Fitness

Phase 1 – Getting Accepted into Tactical Professions

Getting Accepted INTO the Military is the First Step - Specific Fitness Required

This introductory module focuses on passing the initial screening tests for the military, police, or fire academy.  We all have our strengths and weaknesses as we enter the tactical professions. It is critical to assess immediately: 

Learn How to Train Specifically and Properly to Join

Special Operations Candidates Might Need Longer Prep Time

Targeted Training: Laser focus on the specific physical screening test events required by the profession (e.g., Physical Screening Test, Physical Agility Test, Candidate Physical Ability Test). Do not be too broad in your training, as you will have specific phases of this process you need to prepare - Tactical Fitness Phases (1,2,3,4)

• Foundational Fitness: Assess and improve strength, power, speed, agility, balance, grip, endurance, muscle stamina, flexibility, and mobility. Many come from an athletic background.  These are typical strength/weaknesses any athlete will have going into the tactical professions: All have strengths and weaknesses.
  
  
• Assessment Tools: Establish a performance starting line rather than an arbitrary timeline. Our assessment for various special ops candidates - Full Assessment.
  
  
• Provide a database of all tested exercises with technique videos so that, no matter which test is being performed, a coach has access to the appropriate resources. Surprisingly, most tests are similar, and the total number of videos would be 20 or fewer and cover all military branches, police, firefighter initial assessments – even special operations.
  
  All Basic Fitness Tests in the Military 
  
  

  Army – AFT: hex bar dead lift, HR pushups, Sprint-Drag-carry, plank pose, 2 mile run

  Navy:  PRT - Pushups, Plank pose, 1.5 mile run

  Air Force: PFA - 2 mile run, waist-to-height ratio, pushups (HR optional), choice – situp, crunches, or plank pose. 

  Marines:  PFT - Pullups or Pushups, Plank pose, 3 mile run

  Coast Guard: Pushups, plank pose, 1.5 mile run, or 12 min swim, or 2000m row

  Space Force: 2 mile run or Beep Test (20m shuttle), pushups, choice – situp, crunches, plank pose.

  10 Total exercises: deadlift, pushups/HR pushups, sprint-drag-carry, situps, crunches, plank pose, 1.5-3 mile run, shuttle run, 12 min swim, 2000m row, and Waist-to-Height ratio measurement (not really an exercise).

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• For many, their dreams of a tactical profession are dashed before they even begin, simply because of this entry-level fitness test. Do not ignore it. Focus on specifics!

Phase 2 – Getting Through Initial Training and Selections (Graduating!)

BUD/S Graduation Class 182

This module prepares candidates to physically survive and graduate from rigorous training, such as boot camp, academy, or special ops selection.

• Specialized Standards: Teach coaches how to identify and program for the specific events of that specialized training (such as longer rucks, swims with fins, and obstacle courses). This two-phase approach is key to success in going from civilian to tactical professional - Learn more about what it takes to get THROUGH the training. 
  
  
• Durability and Endurance/Stamina: Push beyond minimum testing standards to build true work capacity. Combined training of strength and endurance to get good at both – not great at either.
  
  
• Mental Toughness: Train the mindset through physical consistency needed to handle extreme fatigue and high-stress environments without quitting. Often comes with early training sessions, weakness development, and time. You build mental toughness in your training; the tactical professions will test it.  See the Never Quit Mindset and Start Building Long Before you Join.
  
  
• Train Like Your Buddy’s Lives Depend on It - The call to serve in a tactical profession, whether as a soldier, police officer, firefighter, or rescue worker, comes with an implicit contract: to be ready for the worst-case scenario at a moment's notice. While daily training can feel monotonous and the "danger" a distant abstract concept, the motivation and discipline to push through the grind can be found in a stark, simple truth: your physical conditioning is a life-saving tool, not a lifestyle accessory.

Phase 3 – Active Duty Operator

This Phase shifts focus to sustainable, long-term holistic health, stress mitigation, and career longevity. Both job-critical physical training and longevity need to be addressed during the career phase of your training. Should you decide to advance your training, you may need to go back to phase 1 to get accepted, then phase 2 again to get through the next challenge. These phases are often revisited depending on the tactical athlete's career goals. 

• Stress Mitigation: Balance physical demands with recovery, active mobility, and regulation of the autonomic nervous system.
• Career Longevity: Your prior training should shift toward more job-specific training and occasional testing, as regular fitness tests are required. Also, address the fact that tactical professionals will spend more years as older operators than as younger ones. Don’t skip mobility day! 
  
  
• Job-Critical Physical and Tactical Skill Maintenance: Maintain the foundational elements of fitness (strength, endurance, mobility) without risking overtraining. A logical, progressive training routine built with stress-mitigation and recovery programming is needed.

Phase 4 - Post-Career / Retired and Still Healthy - This ultimate goal will require Mastery of Recovery! Recovery for Both Optimal Performance and Longevity needs to be continued after service, but learned and perfected during service if possible.

Mastering recovery is the key to both optimal performance and longevity. Without active recovery, chronic fatigue and central nervous system (CNS) overload prevent you from training and performing at your highest level. 

Over-training or under-recovery 

Longevity is the Mastery of Recovery

The Core Pillars of Recovery

There are six essential elements of recovery that you must balance daily to maintain durability and extend your active lifestyle:

Learn how to be world-class in recovery    

• Nutrition: Proper food choices fuel your body and reduce inflammation. There should be performance nutrition, recovery nutrition, and an understanding of hydration/electrolytes in hot/humid/arid environments for tactical athlete coaches.
  

Podcast with Nutritionist Nick Barringer, PhD

• Sleep: Getting 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep is the absolute #1 recovery tool. You cannot out-supplement or out-train poor sleep habits and good sleep rituals. Restorative Sleep Matters.
  
  
• Hydration: Water and electrolyte levels directly affect health and physical work capacity. Sip fluids every 10–15 minutes during intense sessions rather than chugging a large amount right before running. Hydrate or Die!
  
  
• Mobility & Flexibility: Dedicate specific days to stretching, yoga, or easy, non-impact cardio (like swimming or cycling) to prevent injuries and restore your range of motion.  Origin story of mobility day - The Origin Story of Mobility Day!
  
  
• How I sold younger athletes on mobility – Helps with swimming/treading etc:
  Hip, knee, and ankle mobility helps with treading/kicking. Shoulder mobility helps with streamlining body position when swimming/gliding.
  
  
• De-Stress/Breathing: Learning how to calm your CNS is vital to avoiding chronic stress. Practices like box breathing, done for just a few minutes a day, help reset your body and mind. Stress Mitigation Naturally!
  
  
• Smart Periodization: You cannot train at maximum intensity every day. Utilizing a holistic program prevents overtraining and burnout. Goal – get good at everything vs. be great at one component of fitness at the expense of others. We have been teaching a Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization Approach for 25+ years.

Achieving Optimal Performance and Longevity

To avoid the cycle of overtraining and under-recovering

• Active Rest Days: Instead of feeling guilty on rest days, treat them as "mobility days" with light, non-impact cardio, dynamic stretches in chest-deep water, or low-intensity yoga.
  
  
• Skill-Based Rest: Use your off-days to work on less physically demanding tactical skills like land navigation, tying knots, or practicing marksmanship. Rest Days

• Fatigue Resistance: By balancing your stressors with rigorous recovery, you build durability and fatigue resistance, which allow you to function at high levels for decades.

Training Programming Methods

Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization - The goal of this method is to create a system that allows the tactical athlete to cycle through different training blocks each year, which focuses on not ignoring weaknesses and maintaining strengths to improve overall performance over time. Becoming a more holistic, well-rounded athlete with no liabilities.  In the end, the ultimate test of the tactical athlete is to be an asset, not a liability, in any situation.

This final section outlines the yearly planning system used to prevent burnout, maintain strengths, and correct weaknesses.

• The 3:1 Block Periodization Model: Rotate focus areas—for example, doing three weeks of a focused weakness block (e.g., strength/lifting) followed by one week of a strength/cardio maintenance block.
• Spring/Summer Cycles: Heavy emphasis on calisthenics, running progression, and muscle stamina.
• Fall/Winter Cycles: Transition to lifting, strength maintenance, and joint recovery.
• Reminder: this is just A way to train – not the only way. I have over 25 yrs of doing these types of cycles.  Here is why we do it:

In the tactical fitness world, balance is everything. The Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization model,  has reshaped how military candidates, first responders, and everyday fitness enthusiasts approach yearly training cycles. The concept is simple but powerful: no single fitness element should dominate year-round, because real-world readiness demands strength, endurance, speed, and stamina in equal measure. Being good at everything, rather than great at a few, will help you be an asset in any situation.

How It Works...

After a winter lift cycle focused on building strength, power, speed, and agility, the model transitions in spring to more endurance- and muscle-stamina-based training. The change replaces heavy weights with higher-rep calisthenics, progressing into longer runs, rucks, and swims, blending the indoor grind of winter with the outdoor freedom of warmer weather. This seasonal shift doesn’t just prevent boredom; it builds a more capable and durable athlete.

Balancing All Elements of Fitness

One of the biggest advantages of this model is its balanced approach. Where many training programs specialize in a single goal, the Seasonal Tactical Fitness model ensures that all domains of performance, from strength/power and speed/agility to endurance/muscle stamina and flexibility/mobility, get their turn. For tactical athletes, this is critical. A soldier or firefighter can’t afford to be powerful but gas out after a few minutes of sustained effort, or an endurance athlete gets crushed under load-bearing activities. Likewise, general fitness enthusiasts benefit from a well-rounded base that supports energy, mobility, and long-term health.

Reducing Burnout and Overtraining

Intense training in one area year-round can lead to stagnation and overuse injuries without proper deload cycles. Periodization gives the body a chance to recover and adapt while maintaining progress. As winter’s heavy lifts fade into spring’s high-volume cardio and calisthenics, joints recover from load stress, connective tissue strengthens, and mental fatigue decreases. This deliberate shift keeps motivation fresh and progress sustainable, a key factor in maintaining consistency in lifelong fitness.

Improving Mission-Ready Work Capacity

Work capacity, the ability to sustain output over time, defines performance in both special operations and demanding real-world jobs. The endurance and stamina phase directly trains this attribute through running, rucking, and swimming. These activities develop not only cardiovascular efficiency but also mental toughness and pacing - skills essential for long selection events, deployments, or endurance races. This kind of conditioning separates those whose identity is based on consistency and a Never Quit Mindset.

Promoting Year-Round Adaptation for the Tactical Athlete vs. Athlete in Sports

The beauty of the seasonal model lies in its adaptability. There are no off-seasons in the tactical professions like there are in sports. Tactical athletes must arrange training to help create these "off seasons". For instance, in colder months, athletes naturally gravitate toward heavier indoor training. As the weather improves, outdoor endurance sessions expand to align with environmental opportunities and human rhythms. This ebb and flow mirrors the natural cycles of stress and recovery found in life, allowing the body to thrive rather than break down.

Preparing for Real-World Challenges

At its core, the Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization model ensures that no weakness goes unchecked. Special operations preparation, firefighting, law enforcement, and even recreational training all demand multidimensional ability, not just looking strong but performing strong across any test thrown your way. Once the training “gets real,” whether that’s a selection course, deployment, or backcountry adventure, the athlete who trained across all elements will be the one who endures.

Injury Prevention: Gradually transitioning training styles reduces overuse and strain associated with repetitive heavy lifting, while increasing joint mobility and muscular endurance, helping participants stay healthy and resilient. The added Mobility Days in all training programs not only help with overuse pain/injury but also improve the swimming streamline glide (shoulders), treading, and kick (hips, knees, ankles).

Holistic Health Benefits: Incorporating cardiovascular and stamina-based workouts supports heart health, metabolic function, and mental resilience, benefiting both everyday fitness enthusiasts and those aiming for elite tactical selection programs. Getting good at everything is the very definition of tactical fitness, so you can be an asset in any situation.

My 10 Rules of Tactical Fitness 

How to create a Tactical Fitness program? 

Here is a list of what we do at StewSmithFitness.com

Core Mission

• Tactical Fitness Training For the Candidate / Recruit: Specializing in preparing individuals for military, special ops, law enforcement, and firefighter selection programs (getting you "TO and THROUGH" training).
  
  
• Functional Training for Both Active Duty / Recruits: Utilizing a seasonal tactical fitness periodization system that balances longer workouts of running/rucking, swimming, and calisthenics during the Spring/Summer when days are longer. Then, the focus shifts in the Fall/Winter to lifting (Cals/cardio maintenance) when the days are shorter/colder. This process has 25 years of proven success building tactical athletes who improve in all areas of fitness: strength, power, speed, agility, endurance, muscle stamina, mobility, flexibility, and grip.
  
  
  
• Becoming an Asset for All Types: Even non-tactical athletes want to be of use in situations that require some level of fitness to get through the day. Be an asset, not a liability, in potentially dangerous situations, whether natural or man-made. Fitness can be a common denominator in successfully enduring life-or-death scenarios. 

Specific Programs & Courses

• The Ageless Athlete (Fitness Over 50): A 22-week program designed for beginners to advanced trainees looking to regain fitness, flexibility, and energy.
  
  
• Tactical Fitness Over 40: After training people for over 25 years now, many who started with me in the early 2000s are now in their 40s and beyond. Learning how to shift training to remain an asset while also offering longevity, flexibility, and mobility is central to this 52-week program. (4-part series)
  
  
• Tactical Fitness Course: An 80-minute course on preparing for Spec Ops selection, getting TO and THROUGH the toughest military special ops’ programs using this two-phase system.
  
  
  Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization - A 25 Year proven system to become a tactical athlete. 
  
  
• The Never Quit Mindset Book and Course: The "Never Quit Mindset" book and course is a deep dive into building constructive habits that incrementally improve discipline, build mental toughness, and foster a Never Quit Mindset in anything you want to do.
  
  
• Specialized Workout Plans: Specific, tailored programs for Navy SEAL (Phases 1-4), SWCC, Army (SF/Ranger/Airborne), USMC MarSOC / (RECON), Air Force (PJ/CCT), Coast Guard, Law Enforcement (FBI/DEA/FLETC), Fire Fighter, and general fitness too for beginners and advanced athletes alike.
  
  
  

Resources and Content

• • Extensive Content Library: Over 1,000 free articles, 200+ podcasts, and social media content (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram) featuring Spec Ops swim critiques and LIVE QA sessions.
    
    
  • FREE Local Training for those preparing to serve! Check out HeroesofTomorrow.org for our location and schedule.
    
    
    
  • NEW SKOOL.com Tactical Fitness Community
    
    
  • Educational Materials: Over 40 options for eBooks, videos, printed books, podcasts (200+), and online video courses.
    
    
  • Apps: Pushup Push, Pullup Push, FBI workout, and Navy SEAL exercise apps (iPhone/Android).
    
    
  • LIVE QA Sessions Each Week: Monday and Tuesday, 9 am EST on social media platforms (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook) and Skool.com Tactical Fitness community.
    
    
  • Online Coaching: Personalized programming based on specific goals, equipment, and your time availability.
    
    
  • Membership Site: Access to hundreds of weeks of training, unpublished workouts, and exclusive content, weekly newsletter sent to subscribers with the week's latest articles, videos, and workouts (beginner/intermediate, and advanced special ops prep workouts).

Training is What We Do: 

Need Programming for Fitness Tests and Beyond?  We are all about getting you TO and THROUGH your future training program.  See how that works.