Stew Smith Fitness News

This week an Army Officer emailed me with a goal of dropping two minutes off his mile run pace. This is not a tough goal to achieve IF you are presently running a 10:00 mile and have a goal of 8:00 mile pace. However, as you can imagine, it gets much tougher going from 8:00 mile pace to 6:00 mile pace or faster. But the 10:00 to 8:00 pace can actually be done in less than a few months as long as you are not new to running. If you are a beginner, you should always ramp up distance, pace,...

Running injury free requires near perfect technique, great shoes, possibly the addition of orthotics / insoles, and a gradual build-up after long periods of no running or beginning a running plan. Last week’s article concerning women’s running and training plan caused me to re-think my advice as the intensity of the article was not perfectly directed toward a novice exerciser. In fact, thanks to some feedback from readers, it inspired me to reach back into my archives of how I used to personally train beginners as opposed to how I personally re-started a running program after a year of not...

This week must be getting close to command physical fitness testing day, for it seems that most of my emails this week were running related. I developed a Six Week Running Program you can download for free to help you with achieving your running goal whether it is to run a faster 5-10km run or ace a PFT run in the military or in law enforcement. It never fails – unless you are a cross-country runner or track star in high school or college – you will probably have a problem with running a timed run at an above average...

Everyday you can usually spot someone who chooses running as their source of daily exercise. So many times I cringe as several "runners" pass by, running in pain and obviously not enjoying the popular cardiovascular activity. Improper technique is the main culprit for less enjoyment and injury among runners. Maybe the "runners" would enjoy running a little more if they knew the proper techniques. Here are a few tips to help you pick up your pace and stay injury free: 1) Breathing - Take big, deep inhalations and exhalations similar to the way you yawn. This will help you receive...

Last week, I received an email asking if interval training was a good way to improve speed in your military PFT run. The answer is absolutely. “But what exactly is interval training and how do I determine what speed I should train?” the question continued.There are some general formulas that can help you determine where you should be, but I personally like to use the following method of determining interval workout components that include: Distance, Run and Rest Interval, Repetitions, and Time. Each of these components of interval training effect the other as noted below.I do not use a general...