Stew Smith Fitness News

People who exercise and those who do not, often neglect the upper back and rear shoulder muscles. Life has a way of bowing your upper back and rolling your shoulders forward. In technical terms, we are basically “internally rotated” within the shoulder girdle. Many things in life "internally rotate” us such as driving, sitting at a computer, playing video games, texting, carrying backpacks, bench pressing, pushups, situps and many more exercises and daily life events. So posture is critical to performance and our confidence. Perfect Posture is possible by adding in a few daily exercises for only a few minutes.Basically,...

Nearly on a daily basis, people young and old confide in me with their fitness goals. Too many of these goals are extremely broad and lack focus and many are too narrow in scope and require more elements to succeed. For example, broad goals are “getting healthy again” or “losing weight”. These can require some to stop over-eating, smoking, drinking soda or other sugary products, as well as start exercising ALL at the same time. Anytime someone tries to do all of the above in the same week, they are statistically destined to not be successful. The opposite problem occurs...

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...

When to eat and what to eat are constant questions that affect your fitness and health goals as well as your weight loss desires.   I was recently asked a question by email that asked, “What should I eat/drink before, during, and after my workout?  I am 40 years old and my goal is to look better and be healthier. I need to lose weight in other words.” The answer will vary depending on your goal, but understanding After, Before, During (ABD’s) of Workout Nutrition will better help all groups (performance athletes, weight losers, general health clients) reach their personal goals.  I saw the” ABD’s of  Nutrition”...

The other day, I was emailed the following question: I only have about 20-30 minutes a day to exercise. What can I do in that amount of time? Not wanting to limit the answer to - just a few pushups and situps - I set out to prove how much you could do in such a little amount of time. My goal is to prove that you do not need several hours to maintain a fitness program - just minutes a day. Though the transition time may add to the total time invested in your workout, here is a list...