Stew Smith Fitness News
Changes at U.S. Naval Academy Naval Special Warfare Selection Process
Stew smith
Ever Wonder What a Competitive NSW Candidate Looks Like at the U.S. Naval Academy? It is highly competitive to obtain a Naval Special Warfare / SEAL billet out of the Naval Academy. Usually, each class has 120-150 "interested" candidates. After a series of pre-selection screeners, that number gets cut in half. These 70-80 Midshipmen candidates will attend SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection (SOAS) during the summer before their senior year. None of that will change. But the process to go from "interested in NSW" and attending SOAS has now started during their sophomore year. Some History on the Changes Over...
The Fall Recovery and Assessment Week
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Transitioning from High Miles / Reps (endurance/muscle stamina) to Heavier Lifts and Faster Cardio Summer High Reps and Cardio Workout with the Sunrise After a tough calisthenics and cardio overload focus (especially this past peak month), we are making a shift to let the joints recover from the high miles running/rucking and high reps doing high volume calisthenics all summer. It is time for a break, as we all are feeling the long workouts in hot and humid air, cranking out tons of reps and miles. Here is what we are doing this week to start a recovery, assess our...
Army Fitness Test (AFT) No Longer the ACFT / Rucking Prep and Ranger / Special Forces Combo Prep Guides
Stew Smith
You're Going To Get Selected And Prepare Properly For What Follows...Qualification Army AFT / PFT / Rucking Prep | Army Ranger / SF Prep You Need To Start Training Today. I think it's safe to say that it is not an easy process to get TO and THROUGH the Army Rangers or Special Forces selection process. In fact, it is no cake walk to get through Army Basic Combat Training - There is preparation time involved! The problem we all have in common is that we all have certain weaknesses as we transition out of high school or college sports and...
From Struggle to Strength: The Growth Journey of Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Long-Term Goals
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How Persistence and Preparation Lead to Growth and Eventual Success(But you have to start and develop the Never Quit Mindset) If you are considering doing something hard, it will require getting good at something that you are currently not very good at doing. Maybe it is something you have never even tried before. I know that my own journey as a freshman (Plebe) at the Naval Academy was complete with ups and downs, a few successes, and many failures, but each day, I was improving just a little bit more than I had the day before. Sometimes the win for the...
Plank vs. Sit-ups: Core Training Comparison for Military and General Fitness
Stew smith
Evaluating Effectiveness, Safety, and Benefits of Plank Pose and Sit-ups Both situps and planks can offer gritty exercises to any tactical fitness program The military's transition from sit-ups to plank pose for standard core assessment reflects evolving perspectives on exercise safety and effectiveness. However, certain special operations units—such as those in the Navy PST, Air Force IFT, Army RPAT, etc —continue to test sit-ups as part of their fitness evaluations. This shift raises important questions for both service members and civilians about which core exercises are most effective, which are safest, and whether incorporating both offers unique advantages. The...