Stew Smith Fitness News

Workouts and Techniques That Help with Drownproofing (SAFELY) Many people need to work on their water confidence.  Treading water, swimming, swimming underwater is one way to build a moderate level of confidence in the water. Add in gear, equipment, clothing, and for some units hands tied / feet tied and you have a high level of water confidence that is required in many of the nation's special ops units like Navy SEAL, Air Force PJ, and USMC RECON.  Some rules:1 - Don't swim alone2 - Do NOT practice underwater swimming alone3 - Do NOT do underwater breath holds for max...

Weight Vest Wednesday #4 Here is a fun workout we did on Weight Vest Wednesday!  Check out this link to sign up for VIP text updates of the latest articles, podcasts, LIVE Q and A videos, and workouts of the week.  Get a 20% coupon code for signing up! Sorry - I am a few days late from posting what we did on Wednesday this week.  Check out this Pulling Day Workout we did with weight vests. Run 1 mile Warmup pace - no weight vest / stretch Put on Weight Vest Pullup Pyramid 1-5 warmup with 50m jog in between sets(stop at...

Pushing Through the Dark Ages - Getting Ready for Spring -  Winter Run at Sandy Point State Park (Maryland) The time between Jan. 1 and the start of spring can feel like the Dark Ages. Of course, the more southern your location, the less it's likely that seasonal changes will affect you, but those feelings can still occur as the days are short and outdoor activities are reduced. If you are starting to feel the strains of the season and your New Year's resolutions have faded, realize that your situation is a common one. The official term used to describe...

Training Overload - When Less is More When training hard, especially those preparing for a Special Ops level selection program in their future, multiple challenging workouts in a week always requires a strict recovery regimen.  That means your sleep, nutrition for fuel, nutrition for recovery, electrolytes / hydration, recovery days, and a smart balance of training using split routines that allow for muscle group recovery ALL have to be in perfect alignment.  When any of those get neglected, you will start to see the signs of over-training or under-recovery start to show themselves usually as lack of energy to train...

PST and Selection Training:Perfect is the Enemy of Good Enough When it comes to performing well on fitness tests that are competitive in nature like those of special ops programs, too many times I have seen great candidates sabotage themselves because they wanted to crush a particular strength they had, but they left a weakness that was quickly exposed. Underperforming in one of many events is common and you just have to gut check that weakness when enduring selection, but doing this in Phase 1 of Tactical Fitness (Getting TO the Training) can cause you to not even meet the standards...