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Stew Smith Fitness News

CSS Help Series: Quick Fix to Crushing the Swim

Stew smith

CSS Help Series: Quick Fix to Crushing the Swim

Spec Ops Swimming Tests: Learning the CSS to get TO and THROUGH Spec Ops Selection The RULES: First, the 500yd Navy Physical Screening Test (PST) allows for the elementary side stroke, the breaststroke, or the modified side stroke nick-named the Combat Swimmer Stroke. The general theme is that these strokes must be "underwater recovery strokes."  However, beyond the PST (getting accepted into training) will require the addition of swimming and SCUBA diving with fins mostly in open water. 99% of your swimming will be done in fins once you are accepted into the training. So, if you choose to use breaststroke as your PST stroke, you will also need to learn...

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Sink or Swim: The Essentials for Acing the CSS, Military Swim Tests and Improving Water Confidence

Stew smith

Sink or Swim: The Essentials for Acing the CSS, Military Swim Tests and Improving Water Confidence

Sink or Swim: It is Up to How You Prepare NOW... Hey there, aspiring special operations candidates, it is time to sink or swim! Are you ready to conquer the military swim test and gain more water confidence? We know that being comfortable in the water can be a daunting task, especially for non-swimmers, but you can do this – even if your first time ever swimming the length of a pool was today! We're here to guide you on the right path to success with swimming, finning, treading, and other aquatic skills needed to ace any military swimming and/or...

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CSS Help: Fix my Pulls (Top arm / Bottom arm) & Recovery

Stew smith

CSS Help: Fix my Pulls (Top arm / Bottom arm) & Recovery

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...

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CSS Help: Fix My Glide

Stew smith

CSS Help:  Fix My Glide

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...

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From Average to Outstanding on PT Tests

Stew smith

From Average to Outstanding on PT Tests

From Average to Outstanding: How Strategic Pacing Will Elevate Your Fitness Test Scores Are you ready to ace your fitness tests? You may have heard that you need to give it your all but let me tell you something - pacing is the key to achieving optimal scores, not sprinting. Regarding fitness tests, unless it specifically calls for 2x25m sprints or 300m sprints, you need pacing for drills such as a 1.5 mile timed run, two minutes of sit-ups, or a 500-yard swim. Why is this Important? You will not get accepted into military/spec ops programs if you cannot meet specific higher-level standards.  Situp...

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