Stew Smith

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the Military.com Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive at Military.com. Contact Stew with your comments and questions.

Email: stew@stewsmith.com

Latest Articles

Lacey Hancock works out with dumbbells in Smith Physical Fitness Center while Curtis Nelson spots her. The two have become close friends as they share their love of bodybuilding and fitness with others. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim)

Advance Your Fitness Level Through Periodization

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert, lays out a perfect plan for those beginning their f...

U.S. Army Soldiers conduct their two-mile run during the Army Physical Fitness Test (Photo courtesy of militaryonesource.mil)

Ask Stew: Fitness Goals Using the PT Pyramid

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert, answers a question from a reader on how to set appr...

Pararescueman from the 48th Rescue Squadron workout while using technologies to track their physical and mental well-being as part of the Human Performance Optimization program at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Mar. 13, 2019. (U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Kristine Legate)

How the Mind-Body Connection Affects Performance

Here are some ways to think your way to better physical performance -- whether it is a PT test, or just a normal workout.

Bridget Rolens demonstrates various mindfulness activities during the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction luncheon Feb. 27 at Scott. Mindfulness meditation is being used in a variety of ways in the military. Rolens is the owner and program facilitator for the Pathways to Mindfulness. (U.S. Air Force photo/Kiana Brothers)

It's Time We Look at Mental Health the Same as Physical Health

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and Military.com's tactical fitness expert explains why taking a mental health day as part of your fitn...

Marine recruit Andrade was required to lose 60 pounds in order to enlist in the Marine Corps (Photo By: Kailey J. Maraglia).

Ask Stew: Losing Weight Before Joining the Military

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and Military.com's tactical fitness expert gives advice to a service member who is trying to lose weigh...

U.S. Navy SEAL candidates participate in Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training, Jan. 23, 2018. (U.S. Navy photo/Abe McNatt)

Ask Stew: I Failed at Never Quit

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and Military.com's tactical fitness expert responds to a Naval Officer who failed at BUDs and is wonder...

How to Become a Navy SEAL

All roads to becoming a Navy SEAL, end at BUD/S - Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL Training.

Seal Training Via Officer Candidate School

So you have a college degree and are now thinking about what you want to do with your life? Many attempt to join the military...

Chief Master Sgt. Robert Valenca, 1st Combat Camera Squadron superintendent, performs a dead lift during a weightlifting test (U.S. Air Force photo/ Nicole Mickle)

Ask Stew: The Difference Between Power and Absolute Strength

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert answers a question from a Navy service member about...

An unidentified advanced individual training Soldiers assigned to the Quartermaster School performs stretching exercises during a Physical Readiness Training primer. (Photo Credit: T. Anthony Bell)

How to Begin Training After Injury or Illness

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and MIlitary.com's tactical fitness expert details how to start training after an injury or illness.

Recruits of Company H, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, push themselves through the last stretch of their timed three-mile run during the final physical fitness test aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (Photo By: Bridget M. Keane)

Goal-Paced Running, Intervals Sprints, and Timed Runs Training

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert answers a question from a Marine on how to impove hi...

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Randy Oczkowski, 19th Operation Support Squadron Air Traffic Controller, gets his face painted by Lily (left), Henry (bottom middle), and Patrick Griego (right), during a camouflage face painting activity as part of a mock deployment line (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Grace Nichols)

Parental Advice for Teens Who Want to Join the Military

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert, doles out sound advice to parents who have children...

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brandon, a member of the 118th Wing, Tennessee Air National Guard, performs an overhead squat during a high-intensity workout (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Mark Thompson)

What Is the Most Important Virtue and Element of Fitness?

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and Military.com's tactical fitness expert, delves into what virtue is most valuable for achieving fitn...

Col. Kenneth Moss, 374th Airlift Wing commander, runs up a flight of stairs during the Sept. 11 Tower Run at Yokota Air Base (U.S. Air Force photo by Machiko Arita).

Travel and Workouts: Tips to Avoid Getting Out of the Habit of Training

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert, details how to get your workout in while traveling.

Marines test their resiliency during Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany's first High Intensity Tactical Training tactical athlete competition (Photo By: Marti Gatlin).

Ask Stew: How to Create a Tactical Fitness Program

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and Military.com's tactical fitness expert answers a question from a reader on how to great a rigorous...

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Most Popular Military News

Sgt. Roddrick Johnson of 125th Finance Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, inspects the selection of meat products at the Schofield Barracks commissary. Johnson shops at the post commissary for the sake of convenience and savings. (Photo Credit: Molly Hayden; Staff Writer; U.S. Army Garrison; Hawaii; Public Affairs)

Should Low-Income Military Families Get a Food Allowance? White House Says No

A provision in the House defense policy bill would create an entitlement to cover food and other needs.

Two U.S. Marine Corps gunners attached to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit perform system checks on a Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) as it transits the Suez Canal, Jan. 12, 2019. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Mike DiMestico)

Here's the New Marine Corps Weapon that Just Destroyed an Iranian Drone

The Marine Corps' Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System, known as LMADIS, jammed an Iranian drone.

Midshipman from the class of 2012 take the oath of office administered by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert during the 2012 U.S. Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Peter D. Lawlor)

Lawmaker Orders Investigation into 'Pink Tax' on Women's Military Uniforms

A bill in Congress would order a GAO report on whether there really are gender disparities in uniform prices.

In this Aug. 23, 2018, file photo, Republican U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter leaves an arraignment hearing in San Diego after he and his wife, Margaret, pleaded not guilty to charges they illegally used his campaign account for personal expenses. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

US Marine Corps Asks Duncan Hunter to Stop Using Marine Symbols for Campaign

The service apparently wrote Hunter a letter asking him to immediately stop using the USMC Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblem.

Marines' New Top Officer Wants to Give New Moms a Full Year Off

The commandant's plan would drastically expand the service's maternity leave benefits.

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B-2 Stealth Bomber’s Incredible First Flight

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B-2 Stealth Bomber Marks 30 Years

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Meet the Newest Army Astronaut

Col. (Dr.) Andrew “Drew” Morgan was selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2013 when he was serving as...

Army News

U.S. Air Force Capt. Lauren Kalani, 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron flight nurse looks over her electronic flight book onboard a KC-135 Stratotanker during an exercise May 8th, 2019, out of Kadena Air Base, Japan. The 18th AES deploys and operates elements of a theatre aeromedical evacuation system capable of worldwide taskings. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew Seefeldt)

Air Force and Army Practice Aeromedical Evacuation in Hawaii

The point of the exercise in interoperability was to practice rapidly treating casualties.

West Virginia Soldier Dies in Kuwait in Non-Combat Incident

The incident is under investigation.

Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Robert P. Ashley Jr. responds to a question during an open hearing on worldwide threats facing the nation to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Jan. 29, 2019, on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Brian Murphy/Defense Intelligence Agency)

What's Keeping Generals up at Night? Cyber Threats

America, the world's most computer-dependent nation, is especially vulnerable to cyber attack.

Navy News

U.S. Marines with Golf Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), conduct ship-to-shore movements to Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) during Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) MEU Integration Training (PMINT) in vicinity of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, July 11 2019. PMINT is part of the 26th MEU’s and PHIBRON 8’s pre-deployment training program, which enhances interoperability and familiarizes Marines and Sailors to life

A Marine Called on the Commandant to Fix the Corps' Identity Crisis. Here's His Response

The commandant's vision is that Marines will be trained and equipped as a naval expeditionary force.

Norfolk Navy Airman Sentenced in Murder for Hire Plot

Navy Airman Uriel Gerardo-Olivas will also receive a dishonorable discharge.

An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Indians of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6 lands on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is currently underway conducting routine operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Olivia Banmally Nichols/Released)

Leonardo Helicopter Clears Final FAA Approval

If selected by the Navy this fall, the company would produce up to 130 helicopters at its Philadelphia production facility.

Air Force News

Air Force and Army Practice Aeromedical Evacuation in Hawaii

The point of the exercise in interoperability was to practice rapidly treating casualties.

Tim Darrah, 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron aircraft servicer, marshals a civilian Cessna 172, during a General Aviation Fly-in event at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, July 28, 2017. The event gave the local aviation community an opportunity to land aircraft at Shaw and learn about the 20th Fighter Wing mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher Maldonado)

Former Air Force Pilot Lands Plane in All 50 States

Ronald Davis' recent flight in Hawaii represented the culmination of a 63-year journey to land a plane in all 50 states.

Three F-35C Lightning IIs complete a flight overhead Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Feb. 1, 2019. (U.S. Navy/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon E. Renfroe)

Eglin AFB F-35s Hit Their Highest Mission-Capable Rate

The 33rd Fighter Wing posted a 77.1% mission-capable rate for the 33 F-35s on its flight line.

Marine Corps News

A Marine Called on the Commandant to Fix the Corps' Identity Crisis. Here's His Response

The commandant's vision is that Marines will be trained and equipped as a naval expeditionary force.

Colonels Amy and Curtis Ebitz pose for a picture. Colonel Amy Ebitz is taking command of Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations East-Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, and Colonel Curtis Ebitz is taking command of Marine Corps Air Station New River. (U.S. Marine Corps photo/Miranda DeKorte)

Married Marine Colonels to Take on Separate Commands on the Same Day

During two separate Marine Corps change-of-command ceremonies Friday in North Carolina, Col. Ebitz will take the reins.

Sailors assigned to the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) man the rails on the flight deck as they return home from deployment, July 18, 2019. Kearsarge was the flagship of the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group during the deployment. (U.S. Navy photo/Louis Thompson Staats IV)

USS Kearsarge, USS Arlington Return Home After Deployment

The USS Kearsarge and USS Arlington returned to Norfolk Thursday following a seven-month deployment.

Coast Guard News

The Coast Guard Cutters Oliver Berry (WPC 1124) and Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) at the Coast Guard Base Honolulu pier Sept. 12, 2018, following Tropical Storm Olivia. The commercial harbors throughout the state re-opened to traffic throughout the day as crews completed damage and impact assessments. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. J.G. Peter Driscoll/Released)

Coast Guard Cutter Provides World War II Aviator with Final Sendoff

His memorial service took place on board the Coast Guard cutter Oliver Berry.

A pallet of interdicted cocaine is offloaded from the Coast Guard Cutter James (WMSL-754) by crane Nov. 15, 2018 in Port Everglades, Florida. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Brandon Murray)

Here's How the US Coast Guard Helped Put El Chapo Away for Life

Drug interdictions by the service played a role in convicting the kingpin.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter refuels between search-and-rescue missions during Tropical Storm Barry, Air Station New Orleans, July 13, 2019. The aircrew had returned from recovering people stranded by the storm on Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, before taking off to respond to another case in Terrebonne Parish. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class John Michelli)

Barry Drenches Gulf Coast, but Initially Spares New Orleans

Coast Guard helicopters rescued a dozen people and two pets from flooded areas of Terrebonne Parish, south of New Orleans.