Stew Smith Fitness News

“Recovery and Maintenance,” We hear these terms often in just about every area of our lives: from improving your fitness and athletic performance and handling stressful professions to maintaining your health with a strong immune system. Typically, most people in the military / law enforcement fitness and health genre ask about how to get stronger for Fitness Tests while working long and stressful hours. While recently, many military members and police officers ask about recovery and maintenance plans to better perform at their job in combat situations. Here is a sample email from a Marine who asks a familiar question,...

Here is a great question of how to mix in weights with the Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness. By the way, a new CGTNSF workout PLUS weights will be coming out this year!I am a 2ndLt in the Marine Corps and I'm about to start the third week of the The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness. I have been lifting less with the workout -- only 2 days a week, and I'm wondering what you would recommend in regard to lifting while doing the CGTNSF3 workouts?My second question is about pull-ups. I have been stuck at around 20...

Here is an email from a military man seeking to get better at his pull-ups and pushups for an upcoming PFT for Special Ops Selection.Thank you for the 14 day Pull up and the Push up routine. I did it to the letter, doing on average of a 130 pull ups and 300+ pushups per work out. I went from 19 solid pull ups to 22 solid pull ups, and 76 pushups to 86 in 2 minutes. Now that I have come this far, what else can I do to get up to 25+ solid pull ups and 100+ push...

Here is an email I get often from people seeking to improve calisthenics scores in PT tests or just about working out in general. Either they ask to do pull-ups, pushups, dips, etc every day or how to mix them into a weight lifting program. Here is what I recommend:Hi Stew - I really enjoy weightlifting three times a week. I was wondering if I can do a pullup / pushup workout the day after weightlifting and not overwork myself. Right now I'm at 96 pushups in 2 minutes, but only 13 solid pull-ups. Thanks for the email access.Your PT...

As we age, overuse injuries tend to occur if a never changing exercise routine is done for too long or if you start something new and do too much, too fast, too soon. Whether it is high mileage running, heavy weight lifting, high repetition calisthenics, and anything else for that matter, if we do not change the routine frequently, you have a high chance of getting injured or just burned out on an endless plateau. Also, frequency, intensity, time doing workouts can play an equal part in both properly training you as well as over-training you. Here is what I...