Stew Smith Fitness News

Hardcore Obstacle Races such as the intense military spec ops based , mud, crawling, climbing, even zombies chasing you, are all the rage these days. Most of these races share a common denominator - mud, water, obstacles you climb, crawl under, jump over, and run to and through. Most also throw in a few curve ball obstacles as a surprise that are usually terrain / race event specific to include sliding down hills, dealing with fire, rope climbs and swings, swims, log carries, and many more. But much of the fun is to not have a mapped out course and...

Here is an email I get often from people seeking to improve calisthenics scores in PT tests or just about working out in general. Either they ask to do pull-ups, pushups, dips, etc every day or how to mix them into a weight lifting program. Here is what I recommend:Hi Stew - I really enjoy weightlifting three times a week. I was wondering if I can do a pullup / pushup workout the day after weightlifting and not overwork myself. Right now I'm at 96 pushups in 2 minutes, but only 13 solid pull-ups. Thanks for the email access.Your PT...

As we age, overuse injuries tend to occur if a never changing exercise routine is done for too long or if you start something new and do too much, too fast, too soon. Whether it is high mileage running, heavy weight lifting, high repetition calisthenics, and anything else for that matter, if we do not change the routine frequently, you have a high chance of getting injured or just burned out on an endless plateau. Also, frequency, intensity, time doing workouts can play an equal part in both properly training you as well as over-training you. Here is what I...

I received two great emails this week from an Army Soldier and an Army recruit. Both did free workouts offered through my Article Archive page at StewSmith.com -- The Pushup Push Workout and the Free Six Week Running Plan. Here are their emails:Before starting the workout my APFT 2 mile run was 17:38. I started this run workout in January 06, here it is 12 weeks later and I ran a 13:10 - 2 mile. I just about exploded, but I did it. I found the workout VERY EASY to do. I pushed my self "gently", and low and behold,...

Often, I receive an email concerning that nauseated feeling you can get when exercising. There are a few issues that can cause this uncomfortable feeling as well as many ways to prevent it. Here is the email to give you a better idea of the issues involved with this topic: “I noticed that no matter how light or heavy my workout is for the day I always experience some nausea. Even on the days I do very light cardio and just weightlift...... could there be something causing this? I have the understanding that when you push your body to a...