Stew Smith Fitness News — online coaching

Over the past several years of writing about high level Special Ops Fitness, there is always a question concerning Mental Toughness.  I get asked if I have any tips on getting more mentally tough.  And I hate to sound like a grumpy, old coach, but to answer that – THERE ARE NO TIPS!  There is no secret sauce that makes mental toughness magically appear in your life.  Mental Toughness is built slowly – sometimes years – over several stages.  Here is how I see mental toughness and resilience develop over time in the following stages: Motivation – There is a...

I have received many emails this week concerning past injuries of Military.com and StewSmith.com readers. According to Navy Bureau of Medicine, the top three sport injury surgeries done on its members are:- Shoulders - Knees - Lower Back For the next three weeks I will focus on exercises to help strengthen these areas in case you are suffering from previous injuries. For those healthy StewSmith.com readers, the exercises discussed in the next three weeks will also help you PREVENT hurting yourself with these most common of injuries.This week my focus is on the number one most injured joint in our...

An email from a physical therapist in the Navy asked me about training people to have better balance.           He states: “One of the biggest culprits to injury as we age is falling or losing your balance. Do you have any plans for folks to gain balance or better stability?” Great question! When training athletes, one of the most important elements of training used is balance which will assist greatly with agility and prevention of injury in sports. But yes, we all can stand some balance in our life. As we age, our body can lose...

Stew - I have only about 15 minutes in the Am to workout and I want to start mixing in more things into my workout - weights, PT, cardio.  Any tips? Here are some ideas for those of you who only have a few minutes a day to exercise.  Often I tell people if they do not have time to workout - they are doing too much - and that applies to a good majority of people.  However, for those who are burning the candle at both ends it may not be that beneficial to wake up 15-20 minutes earlier...

Stew Smith is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, a former Navy SEAL Lieutenant, and author of several fitness and self defense books such asThe Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness, Maximum Fitness, The Special Ops Workouts, and SWAT Fitness. Certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and as military fitness trainer, Stew has trained thousands of students for Navy SEAL, Special Forces, SWAT, FBI, ERT and many other law enforcement professions. Stew has written more than 400 articles and 40 eBooks sold at both Military.com and StewSmith.com.  He is a consultant and...