Stew Smith, CSCS®

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 his Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive on Military.com. Contact Stew with your comments and questions.

Email: stew@stewsmith.com

Latest Articles

Master Sgt. Josh Horsager of the 75th Ranger Regiment took first place in the 2017 Best Ranger competition (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo).

Ask Stew: Army Ranger Hopeful Is on Mission to Lose 100-Plus Pounds

If you need to lose more than 100 pounds to qualify for military service, you will require significant time for both physical...

Tips for Better Pull-ups

Of all the exercises, the one with the largest mind game attached to it is the pull-up.

Achieving Your Goals Takes Time, Work and Unspectacular Preparation

No part of this journey is sexy.

Sgt. George Ruiz, left, of the 49th Personnel Support Company, 115th Regional Support Group, California Army National Guard, battles Spc. Devon Witt to the finish line of the 2-mile run of the Army Physical Fitness Test. (Army National Guard/Eddie Siguenza)

How to Make a Plan to Improve Weaknesses and Maintain Strengths

An honest assessment of your fitness strengths and weaknesses is just as important to optimal performance as training itself...

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)

Ask Stew: Four Ways a Power Athlete Can Get Ready for the Marines or Army Rangers

Strong and powerful weightlifters have a leg up on the strength requirements needed when serving in the military.

Run, Bike and Leg PT

Exercising your legs is very often overlooked by even the most avid weight lifters and exercisers.

5 Reasons the ACFT Is Better Than the APFT, According to a Military Fitness Expert

While there are many critics of the new test, I believe the things that changed, changed for the better.

Tough Combo Workout Straight Out of the ACFT

There are many reasons to like the changes found in recent tactical fitness.

Navy corpsman administers a Marine with COVID-19 vaccine

How to Work Out When Your Shoulder Hurts After 2nd-Shot COVID Vaccine

If you have had vaccines or flu shots in the past, you may remember the typical soreness many feel in the shoulder area.

Patrons of the Warrior Fitness Center exercise on treadmills June 17, 2013, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (Matthew Lancaster/Air Force)

Ask Stew: How Can I Lose the 19+ Pounds I Gained During COVID?

What Comes Next After You Accomplish Your Primary Goal? Time to Assess Yourself

Even when you have accomplished a task you have prepared for a long time, the training continues.

Ask Stew: Gut Checks

Your future in any tactical profession will require you to succeed in challenging selection programs with high attrition...

Coast Guard recruits arrive for basic training

Military Boot Camp At a Glance

Training is a benefit of service that starts the day you enlist.

CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti - Some very strong service members and base personnel participate in a weightlifting challenge at the Clam Shell gym on base, Oct. 19, 2018. The total weight of three events, bench press, squat and dead lift, had to meet or exceed 1000 pounds for men and 500 pounds for women in three attempts. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Rullo/Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti)

Between Mentally Tough and Stupid: The Fine Lines We Need to Acknowledge in Training

Crossing that line can lead to pain and injury.

Favorite Workout of the Week: Weight Vest Speed Pyramid

The pyramid has a way of taking you to a happy place as you learn to disassociate from the pain cave when you reach your...

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Most Popular Military News

Proposed Law Would Make It Easier for Vets to Get Private-Sector Care on VA's Dime

The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act would largely take the VA out of the community care process.

Ray Weaver, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, supports Rolling Thunder 2017. (Joshua L. DeMotts/U.S. Air Force)

Pentagon Rejects Permit Request by Veterans Group for Memorial Day Motorcycle Ride

Motorcyclists typically use the Pentagon's parking lot as a staging area for the ride, but officials denied the application.

Recruits conduct a 5K Hike Parris Island

This Change to Boot Camp Training Could Cut Recruit Injury Rates

Lima Company was one of two recruit companies selected to participate in a study assessing a progressive approach to hiking...

Retired Col. Ralph Puckett Jr visits U.S. Army Rangers.

Army Ranger Legend to Receive Medal of Honor at 94

President Biden will upgrade Ralph Puckett's Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor.

American military convoy stops near the town of Tel Tamr, north Syria, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

82nd Airborne Paratrooper Faces Charges Related to Gunfight at Syrian Checkpoint

An 82nd Airborne soldier is facing charges stemming from a deadly firefight between U.S. forces and those backing Assad.

Latest Military Videos

Zombie Army 4 Game Trailer

You may have taken down an Undead Zeppelin, but the fight never ends in the most expansive Zombie Army...

Luke Air Force Base Unveils Updated Shopping Center

Luke Air Force Base is celebrating the grand opening of its 112,670-square foot shopping center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Defense Department Watchdog to Examine Pentagon's Handling of UFOs

The Defense Department's watchdog said it will look at how the Pentagon handles UFO reports.

Army News

Soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg and Airmen from the 437th Airlift Wing train together during exercise Predictable Iron. (U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Jade Dubiel)

How Fort Bragg, the Largest Military Base in the US Today, Got Its Start a Century Ago

Fort Bragg was built to train troops for World War I, but became the largest installation in the U.S.

Family and supporters of murdered Private First Class Vanessa Guillen.

Spc. Vanessa Guillen's Harasser Was a Known Toxic Leader, Army Report Shows

The sergeant was known to yell, belittle and threaten soldiers with counseling, delayed promotion or denial of leave.

'They Actually Listened:' Mothers in Uniform React to the Army's New Postpartum Policy

Army moms say that they feel affirmed after the service extended the time allowed to get back within postpartum body...

Navy News

In this Tuesday, July 2, 2019, file photo, Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher leaves a military court on Naval Base San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Gallagher Claims SEAL Platoon Agreed to Practice Medical Procedures on Dying Prisoner

Gallagher's attorney said that nothing he said on the podcast changed the facts of the case as they have been known.

Navy rescue swimmer Cale Foy looks on at Naval Air Station North Island

'I Have to Help,' Says Sailor Who Rescued Migrants at Sea

Foy and another young sailor who was also out hiking and is in basic training as a Navy SEAL recruit were among the first to...

The crew of Wasp-Class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) holds a burial at sea for 25 service members and two spouses while at sea in the Pacific Ocean, March 29, 2021. (U.S. Navy)

USS Essex Honors Service Members and Families During Burial at Sea

The crew of Wasp-Class amphibious assault ship USS Essex held a burial at sea for 25 service members and two spouses.

Air Force News

The Skyborg autonomy core system launches.

Air Force's 'Skyborg' AI System Flies for First Time in Mako Drone

The U.S. Air Force flew an artificial intelligence system onboard a subsonic autonomous drone for the first time last month

Curtis LeMay Haywood Hansell Roger Ramey

How the WWII ‘Bomber Mafia’ Lost the Short-Term Battle But Won the Strategic War

“The Bomber Mafia” digs deep into one of the lesser-known rivalries of the war, the one between Brig. Gen. Haywood Hansell...

Security Forces check personnel coming through Gate 15A at Wright-Patterson AFB on April 8, 2015. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jim Mitchell)

Dayton Sues Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Defense Department for Water Pollution

The lawsuit accuses the base of failing to stop PFAS from entering one of the sources of the city's water.

Marine Corps News

F-35B Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

British Aircraft Carrier Departs on Landmark Deployment with Marine Corps F-35s Aboard

U.S. Marines have joined a British naval crew to form the biggest fifth-generation carrier air wing in the world.

Why These Infantry Marines Have a New Obsession with Chess

It's kind of like Fight Club. Except it's mental, not physical, and Marines can't stop talking about it.

Japanese amphibious assault vehicle in the well deck of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset

Navy Launches Its Own Investigation into Fatal Marine Corps AAV Accident

The Navy is reviewing its role in an at-sea accident that killed eight Marines and one sailor.

Coast Guard News

Coast Guard canine Kyra and Petty Officer 1st Class Clinton Stone MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter

Coast Guard Grounds Some Search-and-Rescue Helicopters As It Struggles to Find Spare Parts

Six Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopters are currently grounded, with four more expected to be out of circulation by June.

Joe Biden welcomes the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's Class.

Coast Guard Academy Will Get Commencement Address from Biden

The ceremony will mark the school's 140th graduation and Biden's second keynote address there.

Coast Guard helicopter flies over boats searching where a boat capsized off San Diego coast

At Least 3 Killed, Many Hurt in Boat Capsize Off San Diego

Lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies responded Sunday following reports of an overturned vessel.