Stew Smith Fitness News

CSS Help: Fix my Pulls (Top arm / Bottom arm) & Recovery If you want to work on your force production and energy efficiency with the CSS, master the arm-pulling motions, as they can produce a huge amount of speed with smaller muscles using less energy (compared to leg/kicking). In the case of the Combat Side Stroke (CSS), the top arm is the workhorse of the two arm pulls, and the bottom arm is not so much but can be used to help with a slight lift to inhale (get face out of the water) and streamlining.  See more about the individual...

CSS Help: Fix My Glide  (also see updated CSS One Stop Shop Article for More Coaching) In my opinion, the most important piece of swimming fast and efficiently is mastering the glide phase of the CSS. There is a spectrum of gliding that most people do not realize. Many people skip the glide altogether, reduce it in length each stroke wasting momentum, and a few over-glide and lose too much momentum. But some of the fastest swimmers find the perfect mix of streamlined body position and glide time. Most people who create good power with their kicks AND have a tight...

We All Make Mistakes, Fail, and Quit...We Are Human - Now What?  When things do not turn out as planned, you have several choices: you can quit and move on to something else, find another path, try harder next time, or be better prepared. Finding a new way to a different outcome is the growth in failing and if you truly consider all that we as humans mess up each day, these are learning experiences - nothing more, nothing less. Take ownership of failures and keep moving forward, but this time, you are now smarter because of your failure.  There...

Goal Accomplishment is All About One Bite at a Time, Baby Steps, Sub-Goals...Shortening the Tunnel PC - D.McBurnett @mcteams3842 A recent question about Hell Week prompted an answer I have never used before, as the question required some thoughtful introspection. The questions were "What is Hell Week like on Monday (Day 1) - What is your mindset when you have until Friday to keep doing the things you have been doing since midnight that day?" My response: "On Monday, you are already tired, and the light at the end of the tunnel is not visible. It is a dark tunnel. But you...

To Add the Breaststroke Pullout to the CSS or Take It Out? It Depends...  For many years, I have been learning how to best coach the Combat Swimmer Stroke (CSS) to non-swimming athletes, primarily those preparing for a career in any military special ops programs involving diving or combat swimming. I have always taught the breaststroke pullout as a way to kick off the wall; however, many candidates have difficulty adding it to the 500-yard swim test of the Navy PST (SEAL, SWCC, EOD/Diver, SARC). I am now teaching to do the Navy PST WITHOUT the pullout as an option if you...