Tactical Fitness Report With Stew Smith Podcast

Have you been told that static stretching is bad, and it does not doesn't prevent injuries? See - https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/dont-skip-moblity-dayMost of us have been coached to avoid stretching altogether, don’t stretch before a workout, or use dynamic stretches instead. For me personally, stretching more has been life-changing, with increased joint mobility, reduced pain, and even injury prevention. Despite what you may have been told, a well-balanced mix of cardio warmups, dynamic stretching, and static stretching can make a real difference in your physical health. Finding the right warmup routine for your body and your specific physical activities is a process that will take some trial and error, but the benefits are well worth the effort.The Benefits of Daily StretchingDaily stretching can be spread throughout the day with short walks mixed with any stretch for just minutes a day. But it is recommended to add a stretching session after exercise or stressful days or as a cooldown to cardi

Get good at both - learn about Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization - https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/seasonal-tactical-fitness-periodization-what-is-it-why-is-it-importantFor the best athletes in either the endurance or strength world, you will find both athlete types excel in one and perform rather miserably in the other.  While this may be true for the elite athletes who need to master their competition events, it does not matter for the tactical athlete in the military, who needs to have a solid foundation in both but does not need to be great in either strength or endurance. Just being good at both is the goal of the tactical athlete in the military, police, and firefighting professions. A recent study was published ( https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35971745/ ) discussing that after a cycle of endurance training, athletes who did a resistance training cycle immediately following saw an increased rate of muscle growth. This is news as, for as long as I can remember, those who like to lift f

National Diet Cheat Day is was here this week. Many Americans are thankful for this day of feasting as it can bring together family, friends, and lots of food with no excuses. If you are considering making Thanksgiving Day your “cheat day” and combining eating a masterfully prepared meal by someone prideful in their cooking with sitting around watching football, parades, and dog shows, try some of these ideas to help with some activity. Get the Physical Activity Done BEFORE Eating – There are many tradition-making ideas to get you moving on Thanksgiving morning. The low-hanging fruit for physical activity can start with home and yard cleanup if you are hosting a dinner. Local Turkey-Trots for a good cause are also available in most areas, OR you can make your own family/friend-oriented Turkey Trot. If you have a big family or group of friends, maybe create your own Turkey-Bowl Flag Football game. These are all great ideas for morning activity.Start a Tradition - My own Thanksgiving Day workout consists of cur

See related article on the topic: https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/training-overload-when-less-is-moreIf you are burned out from life, previous high volume cycles, you may want to do a deload week prior to getting your lift cycle on. As you know we do Fall / Winter Lift cycles and will progress into lifting.  We even do a 4th week deload during the Fall progression and throughout the winter lift cycle. WHY? - It helps....both with recovery and progress. 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 usua

New Article: https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/most-common-training-mistakes-made-by-former-athletes-preparing-for-spec-opsIt is no secret that attrition rates are historically high among the Special Ops units across the military and SWAT Teams. Becoming a tactical athlete is a requirement for any tactical profession, as the job tends to be physically demanding, and the members are placed in dangerous situations. Life-or-death situations are common in the tactical professions (military, police, firefighters, EMT), and your fitness level may be THE determining factor in someone (or you) living or dying. So, fitness and your ability to learn tactical skills while remaining calm in stressful situations are that important.  The attrition is high in these jobs because the training has to be tough physically, mentally, and emotionally to best prepare you for when it is real. Check out my info at https://www.stewsmithfitness.com for more on tactical fitness training, testing, and getting TO and THROUGH Sel

Before I go down this rabbit hole, I will explain where I heard this comment. An older candidate gave his opinion to a younger candidate when asked, "How are you crushing everything like you do?"  See full article at https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/update-to-articleThe new guy is still in his teens, played sports in high school, and is preparing for the Navy SEAL program. The "older guy" is 23 years old, spent his high school years playing multiple sports, and continued wrestling through college. During the off-season, he practiced swimming, treading, and getting comfortable in the water. My involvement with the "older guy" was to fine-tune his swimming, to be honest. He had all the other scores on PST, longer runs, rucks, swims with fins, lifting, etc...He continued: "Before I even considered going to SEAL training," the wrestler who can swim said, "I was working out hard since 12 years old, getting my ass beat by high school wrestlers." My life was practicing, lifting, running (for other sports)

Check out https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/rucking-progression-rules-of-rucking for more rucking tips. But here is the latest info to help beginners:Here are seven things to consider when new to rucking for exercise:Walk, Don’t Run – In the military, there are often races with moderately heavy rucks that many can still run with (40-50lbs). Your goal as a new rucker is to put time under the load and walk.  If you want a standard, shoot for 15-minute miles (4 mph), which you will see is a moderate pace that borders on the casual stroll and a power walk. Start Light – You may have heard stories about 100+ lbs. rucks from your military friends. While this is true with many who served in the Infantry, Rangers, and other special operations ground pounders, the beginner doesn't need to go heavy. Start Short and Progress Smartly – If you walk 30 minutes a day already, try making 5-10 minutes of that normal walk with the added new weight. Progress every week or two with an additional 5 minutes under the ruc

Stew Smith https://www.stewsmithfitness.com and Jeff Nichols https://www.performancefirstus.com discuss students and coaches who take their training seriously.  What does that actually mean? Here are some great examples of cues given off by students to the coaches that show a lack of seriousness with the process of becoming a __________.Check out other videos of combat swimmer stroke, workouts, and other spec ops-related training.  See http://www.stewsmithfitness.com for more information about the military, law enforcement, special ops, fire fighting training programs.

No doubt, you have seen countless ways to lose weight in your life, from dieting, fasting, and sweating (water weight) to portion control; all work if you are consistent with your chosen process of restricting calories consumed.  See https://www.stewsmithfitness.com for more info. The one thing you must realize no matter what method you choose to try to lose extra weight is it takes an effort to burn more calories than you consume. Typically, this process takes weeks of consistently either burning more calories than normal or reducing the number of calories you eat during this time. As a person who is not a dietitian or nutritionist, I want to share some experiences over the decades of trying to gain weight as a young athlete, maintaining a healthy weight during military service, and even losing weight throughout my forties and fifties.  Though each scenario is different, it all comes down to keeping track of the number of calories IN versus OUT.  Here are some classic examples: (see LIVE QA show)Also if you

Stew Smith discusses running / rucking activities for various athletes in jobs where load bearing is needed.  See more at https://www.stewsmithfitness.com and use LIVE 15 to save 15% with books / ebooks / programming.If you have ever served in a unit that rucks as its primary method of transportation, you may have noticed three different groups. A group that could outrun everyone but only ruck at a mediocre pace. A group that could out-ruck everyone but ran at a mediocre pace. Then there is the hybrid guy who is just above average in both.  Think of The Groups As Cars, Trucks, and SUVsThank you for your watching, if you need anything you can find me on social media, email - stew@stewsmith.com, and my articles at Military.com and https://www.stewsmithfitness.comVoted Top Ten Military Fitness Blog (#1 and #3)Check out Most Common Mistakes Report for Spec Ops CandidatesFollow Stew Smith on:  Facebook    Instagram      TikTok  Youtubehttp://www.facebook.com/stewsmith182http://www.instagram.com/stewsmith50https://

Stew Smith https://www.StewSmithFitness.com discusses what you ask about today. Some of the most common topics and related articles about prior questions are here.Related introduction topic article: https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/two-programs-that-turn-weakness-into-strengths-or-much-less-of-a-weaknessCheck out my info at https://www.stewsmithfitness.com for more on tactical fitness training, testing, and getting TO and THROUGH Selection. https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/physical-assessment-tools-for-to-and-through-selection Personalizing Spec Ops Programming to Logically Fit Your Abilities...then Progress from There... See ideas: https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/test-article Also - Two Programs To Turn Weakness into Strength - https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/two-programs-that-turn-weakness-into-strengths-or-much-less-of-a-weaknessCheck out the System’s Check article - https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/perform-a-systems-check-after-long-bouts-with-illne

Stew Smith talks about training for goals and assessing yourself regularly to see if you are on the right program. https://www.stewsmithfitness.comTrust the Process...But Verify / Assess RegularlyIf you plan to challenge yourself by attending any Special Ops program selection course, you likely were training hard just to get accepted into the training. If you were one of the wise ones to focus on the following phase of training (getting THROUGH the training) after crushing the entry-level fitness test process, then you likely have been on this journey for quite some time.See - https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/do-you-trust-your-training-regardless-test-it-often

Stew Smith https://www.stewsmithfitness.com discusses consistency and hard work along with talent and genius.  Check this out:Making day 2 of the week is even more important as getting a good day 1 (Monday) completed. Consistency wins in this world with no matter what goal you have. I saw a good quote the other day that read like this:  Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.  We all know the saying "Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard." So, with that in mind, I added this sentence to the above quote:  Hard work hits a target no one thought possible.  Keep Grinding is the key. Check out other LIVE QA sessions on YouTube as well as Tactical Fitness Report podcasts, swim videos exercise videos, and much more. Without these steps, success is delayed or not achieved. Get moving - even if an easy time place holder at first. See related article:  https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/online-pt-club-one-on-one-coaching-with-stew-smith-cscs

Stew Smith - https://www.stewsmithfitness.com discusses bringing back physical education and training in schools. New Meta-Analysis proves what many of us have been thinking / saying for decades:  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-023-01881-6  Throughout time, the discussion of the younger generation not being capable of taking on the challenges of adulthood has been taken place by the older generations. When I was going through SEAL training, the Vietnam Veteran SEAL instructors called our class the MTV generation – having grown up in the 80s and had access to increasingly more TV channels to tune into than earlier generations. Therefore, the article's tone is based on the science behind this decade-old opinion and the audience of parents, teachers, and school administrators.  This is not just the opinion of a grumpy old fitness writer who grew up with PE Classes throughout every grade of school, but a thorough meta-analysis of scientific studies on children and adolescents who needed more phy

See https://www.stewsmithfitness.com for more articles like this as well as dozens of fitness training programs to get you to and through any military, police, and fire fighter training.  You should create an assessment week for your training program at some point. A logical time for that assessment during a 12- or 16-week cycle would either be at the beginning, the end or both. About midway through the cycle, check your progress to see whether you are moving in the right direction. These assessments have to be honest if you want accurate measures of your ability, but the test should also cover the basics of training. See ideas for building your own fitness test if you do not have one to take:  https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/developing-fitness-tests-for-selection-into-special-ops  How do you feel? Are you burned out? (see recovery help) Do you think you're consistent with your training? Missing any days during the week? How are you eating at each meal and sleeping each night? These somewhat subje

As Humans, We All Make Mistakes - Learn From These - See full article at https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/avoid-these-mistakes-save-your-spec-ops-dreamMy ebook, “Get Ready to Serve in the U.S. Military - How to Avoid the Common Mistakes That Keep You Out of Special Operations” is the perfect guide for military recruits and special ops candidates to learn the ins and outs of military life. As a former Navy SEAL and coach, I am well-versed in the physical, mental, and emotional demands of the military spec ops training and I share my knowledge to help you prepare for your future career.If you have listened to or read any of my advice over the years, you may have heard that I am not a fan of 18-year-olds going straight to spec ops training immediately after high school. I say this ONLY due to statistics as the bulk of the attrition rates in spec ops training are teens who are in way over their heads - typically speaking. The other thing that I see people get wrong more than anything is walking into a

Check out link for classic Log PT Simulation Plus Listen to a new idea - https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/the-official-sandbaby-devil-murph-workout-log-pt-plus-simulationPreparing for Log PT is a constant worry in a young person's mind considering military service in combatant jobs or special operations selections. Log PT is used throughout the military to develop teamwork, leadership, and physical and mental toughness. In these training programs, it is about as hard an evolution as you will have on land. If you are looking for effective ways to help you better prepare, check out these two options below that can be added to the back end of any weight, calisthenics, and cardio workout. This week, we developed a supplemental Log PT simulation workout to top off an upper body day and a full body (mostly leg) day. Try this challenging progressive workout add-on after fully warming up and finishing your routine. Get a 40-pound sandbag and try the following one-minute circuit:Log PT Simulation #1: One mi

Stew Smith takes a common question:  See https://www.stewsmithfitness.com for more articles, training programs, coaching, and more. Depending on a military recruit's athletic history, the preparation process may differ from one person to the next. Endurance athletes do well on calisthenics and cardio fitness testing, but not on strength, power, speed, and agility. The opposite is true for the strength athlete, who struggles with running, swimming, and higher repetition calisthenics ranges needed for good scores on fitness tests. Here is an email from a Navy recruit who is preparing for the Navy PST to secure a contract in one of the fields (SEAL, SWCC, EOD/Diver, Rescue Swimmer, or SARC):Hi Mr. Smith. I've got a question. Since I'm training for a PST, my weakness is mainly in running and CSS swimming technique, but I have solid calisthenics numbers (pushups 90, Situps 95, Pullups 22). Should I focus more on running/swimming workouts and stop lifting and doing calisthenics?  Both my run and swim are over 11 mi

Stew Smith will take live questions and give answers but the introduction is the focus of today's article - Gaining Assets Often causes the Loss of Being a Capable Asset.   See more articles / books / coaching at https://www.stewsmithfitness.com This generational story has played its cycle out multiple times long before me and will continue especially as we advance into a more highly technical society. The young person who works hard and trains typically gains the strength and abilities to be an asset in life’s dangerous situations long before they have acquired any monetary assets. However, as we all age, life requires more responsibilities such as providing for your family and the chase for gaining assets causes many people to lose the ability to be a capable asset in life’s potential dangers. Stew Smith CSCS USN (SEAL)www.stewsmithfitness.comVoted Top Ten Military Fitness Blog (#1 and #3)StewSmithFitness.com - Where Candidates Learn to Get To and Through SelectionIf You Are Serious About Getting TO and THR

After a quick discussion on workouts of the week,  Stew Smith will take questions LIVE about training for the tactical professions or other topics of interest if you have them. See https://www.stewsmithfitness.com for more info. Check out other LIVE QA sessions on YouTube as well as Tactical Fitness Report podcasts, swim videos, exercises videos, and much more. Without these steps success is delayed or not achieved. Get moving - even if an easy time place holder at first. See related article: https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/online-pt-club-one-on-one-coaching-with-stew-smith-cscs