Stew Smith Fitness News

I often get emails from people young and old about getting prepared for military training, and also from veterans who want to be in the shape they used to be when they served in the military. Here is a list of just a few of the many former military officers and enlisted who train civilians to not only lose weight and get healthy, but prepare for military training too. If you are a veteran in the fitness business, send me a paragraph and link of what you do and I will add to this page.Military Fitness programs are popular. In...

I am not sure if the StewSmith.com or the Military.com readers read the most recent article written by the Associated Press describing the overweight soldiers in our military titled “Are U.S. Troops Too Fat to Fight?” The story not only discusses the overweight trends of the active duty and reserve military, but also the recruits who are too heavy to enter into the military. The military community has always been a cross section of society – good or bad. These days, as our country increases in size, it is only a matter of time before the military shares the traits...

Every year, I have the honor of working out with more than 2000 high school students seeking acceptance into the Naval Academy during the Summer Seminar program. Hundreds of emails each year concerning all of the Service Academy programs have prompted me to write the most frequently asked questions I receive. These emails are from many of the young men and women seeking to serve their country as an officer in any of the services.Here they are: 1 - Do all of the services have their own academy? If so how do you get into them? This is a monster...

When on a Navy war ship (or submarine), you have two issues to deal with: lack of time and lack of space (unless you are on a huge ship, then you will have access to moderate scaled weight rooms -- but you still have the issue of time).This week a Navy Sailor emailed me and got me thinking back to the underway deployments I was on, and what we did to stay fit -- or to at least maintain an advanced level of fitness. He wrote:I'm currently in a deployable billet. I know some people come back a few pounds...

I often get emails from soldiers and civilians who are training for Ranger or Special Forces courses on how to prepare for the Ruck Marches. Many civilians training to join the Army ask more specific questions concerning how the Ruck Marches are performed. For example here is a Ranger / SF hopeful:I'm currently a civilian and about to join the Army and go Ranger, then HOPEFULLY to SF. So, for beginner/first timer's, do I start with about 25 lbs. in my backpack? Is that at a "normal marching" speed or borderline jogging or should I just be walking "briskly"? Finally,...