Stew Smith Fitness News

If you are considering joining the Marine Corps, you may ask yourself, Am I ready? If this is you, the new GOOD ENOUGH series is designed to answer those questions for you as you journey through the process of getting TO and THROUGH challenging selection programs.  To get TO the training - Ace the PFT plus other related events:Scoring well on the PFT and other related / common exercises seen in training is a must.  The following scores are borderline maximum or close to the maximum scores.  If you want to know what GOOD ENOUGH is - it is that -...

In a recent article, Special Ops – How Good is Good Enough? focused on explaining the process of training as we strive to get good at all the elements of fitness that make us successful in challenging spec ops selection programs.  Understanding your strengths and weaknesses should drive how you create training programs and invest your time training. These elements include but not limited to strength, power, speed, agility, endurance (run, swim, ruck), muscle stamina, grip, flexibility and mobility.  Depending upon the branch of service, you may need to be good at other elements that include load bearing (carrying logs,...

(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...