Stew Smith Fitness News

This week an email prompted me to write about one of my favorite and most frequently done exercises in my workouts – the CRUNCH! The question asked was concerning when in your workouts do I like to do abs – in the beginning, after cardio, or in the middle? I have found that I do two types of abs that work very well for me as well as many of the people I train - - I REST WITH CRUNCHES and WARMUP WITH CRUNCHES! Many will say that crunches are in no way a resting exercise, but I disagree. If...

The NEW DVD by Stew Smith - Workout with Stew Using the Pre-Habit Fitness Concept!!!Often, I get requests from my readers to make a workout DVD. Though I appreciate the requests, I have never felt comfortable making a workout of large reps of pushups or pull-ups and abs, because for me, high repetition workout videos get pretty boring. So, I have been waiting to find something that would be a good plan to build muscle tone, as well as functional fitness, and create stability in an unstable world, but still have a flare of Special Ops training that I love...

Understanding the Psychology of Fitness  When you think about any growth process from goal achievement, fitness training, business / career goals, there is a unique journey that takes place that is not typically easy. In fact, the journey maybe riddled with doubts, failures and learning experiences that can start to replace the focused hard work that you have put in to getting to where you are at that point in time.    I have often used the five phases to describe to people how they are going to feel in the near future about starting a fitness program whether as...

People get injured all the time – some are activity related others freak accidents like a friend of mine who shut his trunk of his car and dislocated his shoulder. Many injuries are sports related or environmental injuries such as heat stress. Stuff happens! But there are ways to avoid many of these common injuries that occur daily in life and in sporting activities – the method I prefer is called – PREHABILITATION.Defined by the National Institute of Health, doctors use pre-hab to prepare a patient for the inactivity associated with post surgical procedures. The addition of functional exercises prior...

Last week, we had several emails, but I had one from a woman about exercising while pregnant. Consulting with the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, I verified the following little known facts to the commonly asked questions:I'm newly pregnant and could be in better shape. Is it safe to start an exercise program now? It's important to review your exercise plan with your doctor before you begin. Pregnancy isn't the time to try to start a rigorous routine. However, if you aren't in a high-risk pregnancy group, you can pursue an exercise program at a mild to moderate level....