Stew Smith Fitness News

(Part 2 of this article - What is Good Enough - Strength Numbers) Throughout your journey into the military and perhaps as you move into a special ops selection, you will hear people describing their PT scores as “good”, “great”, “optimal”, or even the occasional “PT animal”. But what is “Good Enough”? Of course, all of these scores are relative to the person, programming, branch of service, and the person evaluating these scores and abilities of candidates.  As a tactical fitness trainer with decades of this type of training, this article is going to try to add some objectivity to...

In the tactical professions, fitness can be the difference between life and death and we will be older for a longer period of time than we were younger. Learning how to progress into those decades smartly with added longevity training - typically in the form of active recovery days and mobility days is going to increase your abilities and decrease your pain. The following series is a new programming focused on an often neglected age group of active duty and retired veterans of the tactical professions who need to rebuild and take their fitness to the next level in order...

Army Ranger / Special Forces Programming The training pipeline to become a member of the Airborne Infantry Units, 75 Regiment as an Army Ranger, or Army Special Forces are challenges that require many months or even years of preparation prior to and while serving in the Army. You may ask, “What do you mean by pipeline?” A training pipeline is a set course you will take to go from Recruit to Soldier to Ranger or any other MOS in the Army.  Here is what you need to do and understand if you want to join the Army and become a...

Are you worried about the New Army Combat Fitness Test?  Were you one of those who were barely passing the old test (muscle stamina and endurance) each 6 month cycle? OR are you a new recruit and all of this change of PT tests news to you?  If so, you need to get into the weight room and not only build your muscle stamina and cardio endurance, BUT now you need to add strength, power, speed and agility, and grip strength.  You still have to do a 2 mile run and pushups (sort of) so maintaining those numbers while building...

Never Give Up!  I did not know there was a National Never Give Up Day! Sounds like a good a day as any to explain the term - NEVER GIVE UP.  When you use the term “never give up” to someone who is not native to the English language, they ask interesting questions to please explain what is meant by “never giving up.” You quickly realize “give” and “up” together make little sense so you quickly resort to a simpler expression such as “never surrender” or the more popular “never quit”. But this is not just a new term from...