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 at stew@stewsmith.com.

Latest Articles

Fitness on the Cheap: Smart Ways to Keep Moving and Save Money

Maintaining your health can seem expensive, but fitness doesn’t have to break the bank or eat up all your free time.

Get Faster with These Built-for-Speed Workouts

Many fitness tests include speed and agility in addition to endurance runs. You need a good workout to take to the track to...

A swimming pool from the perspective of standing close to the edge.

Ask Stew: How to Train for Air Force Special Warfare with Limited Pool Time

Here's what I would do with two days a week of swimming to get ready for the challenges of the Air Force pararescue (PJ)...

A service member wearing race number walks with a backpack.

8 Ways Military PT Has Shaped the Wider World of Fitness

Military fitness training has infiltrated our country’s fitness world for decades.

Do This to Get Your First Pull-Up or Improve to Double Digits

Federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, have added pull-ups to the special agent candidate fitness test. Here is a...

Ask Stew: Athletes Are Taking Baking Soda to Boost Performance, but Is It Safe?

Each year, many health, fitness and wellness trends arrive on social media platforms, discussed by coaches, medical...

Reduce Dementia Risk by Having Fun with These Ways to Move

Just as much as the physical benefits, another reason we should keep exercising as we age is to protect our brains. Yes...

(U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Daniella Peña-Pavao)

Beginner Strength Training Workouts

Strength training throughout your 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond is completely possible and should be continued in any version you...

Dumbbells are lined up on a weight rack.

Strength Training In Your Late 50s and Early 60s

Incorporating strength training into your week has remarkable benefits. So, the question is not whether you should...

Culinary specialists from the Connecticut Army National Guard cut up cucumbers while preparing a meal inside a containerized kitchen at Fort Drum

Joint Pain While Training? This Vegetable Can Help

Cucumber extract has shown promise in studies on its efficacy in addressing joint pain.

Sailors use exercise bikes during a physical readiness test in the hangar bay of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

Workout Ideas for Those New to High-Intensity Interval Training

We all grow older. There is nothing we can do about that, but the quality of those years is within our control, as recent...

(Senior Airman Jessi Monte/U.S. Air Force photo)

How Much Weekly Running Is Advisable for Military Special Operations Training?

It's better to build your cardio so that running a 7-minute mile pace for 4-6 miles feels sustainable, rather than just...

Hospital Corpsman Third Class Dru Calloway conducts push-ups aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.

The 5 Most Effective Push-Up and Pull-Up Workouts

Simply performing more reps is a logical start, but how you structure your training volume can mean the difference between...

The Do's and Don'ts for Training Safely in Extreme Heat

Many special operations dreams have ended in the heat of rigorous physical activity during selection, just as it occurs in...

U.S. Marine Corps candidates with Officer Candidate School complete a 3-mile run during the inventory Physical Fitness Test on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.

Tips to Help You Run Faster on Your Physical Fitness Test

It is wise to practice taking military fitness tests, long before the real ones count toward your record or your chances of...

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Most Popular Military News

Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., left, confronts House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Federal Government Shutdown Grinds into a Second Week as Tempers Flare at the Capitol

As the federal government shutdown enters a second week, there’s no discernible endgame in sight.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) questions U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Trump Targets Blumenthal, Calling for Investigation into Senator's Vietnam Service Claims

President Donald Trump is targeting U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal again after Connecticut’s senior U.S. senator grilled U.S...

Pvt. Paul Douglas, age 50, performs a rifle inspection with his drill instructor aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot S.C., 1942. Douglas, at age 50 was the oldest recruit in the history of Parris Island, and went on to become a purple heart recipient and Chicago senator (DVIDS).

At 50, He Survived Marine Boot Camp — Then Fought at Peleliu and Okinawa

When 50-year-old Paul Douglas showed up at Marine Corps boot camp in 1942, the white-haired economics professor looked more...

Pack and transport platoon of the Russian army. Southern Military District. Ministry of Defense of Russia (Wikimedia Commons).

Ukrainian Drones Attack Russian Cavalry Troops in Rare 21st-Century Encounter

A short video circulating online this month appears to show a Russian mounted patrol being struck by a Ukrainian drone near...

When The Government Can Afford Everything Except The Essentials

Every shutdown forces the government to decide what counts as “essential.” Air traffic controllers and TSA agents fall into...

Troops Will Miss Paychecks Next Week Without Action on the Government Shutdown

The federal government shutdown is raising anxiety levels among service members and their families, because those in uniform...

Latest Military Videos

Rain Drenches Tent Camps in Central Gaza

Rain drenches tent camps in central Gaza as winter storm continues in the war-battered enclave.

Senators Question National Guard Officials on Lawfulness of Deployment Orders

Senators question National Guard officials on lawfulness of deployment orders.

President Trump Delivers Year-End Remarks

President Trump delivers his year-end remarks at the White House Congressional Ball.

NTSB 'Vehemently Opposes' Draft on Airspace Safety

NTSB 'vehemently opposes' draft on airspace safety following DC mid-air crash.

Investigations and Features

In One of the Marines' Most Iconic Jobs, a Stunning Pattern of Suicide

Marine Corps drill instructors are a national symbol of discipline. But for some, their imposing persona belies a dark...

Army Capt. Jeremy Kuykendall and his wife Kate, cradle their daughter

Unsupervised: Military Child Care Centers Slow to Report Abuse with Little Oversight

A Military.com investigation into military day care centers revealed that service branch rules generally prioritize...

Army News

A new Government Accountability Office report provides recommendations for the Pentagon to boost testing, evaluations to improve warfighting capabilities. (Freepik)

Pentagon Must Boost Testing for Weapons, Warfighting Capabilities: Report

"These modernization plans identified a need for DoD to issue new or revised policies and guidance to support modernized test...

Army Sergeant to Face Court-Martial in Georgia Base Shooting That Wounded 5

An Army sergeant will stand trial in a military court in the shootings of five people at a Georgia base in August.

Navy News

Navy veteran Chuck Reeves repairs donated bikes for veterans in need. (Photo from ABC15 Arizona)

Former Navy Servicemember Repairs Bicycles for Veterans in Need

Navy veteran Chuck Reeves overcame homelessness to provide repaired bikes for other veterans in need.

Pentagon Must Boost Testing for Weapons, Warfighting Capabilities: Report

"These modernization plans identified a need for DoD to issue new or revised policies and guidance to support modernized test...

Air Force News

Reginald "Crash" Harrison was a heavily decorated WWII veteran. (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)

World War II Pilot Who Lived Through Four Plane Crashes Dies at 103

Reginald "Crash" Harrison lived through four plane crashes in WWII and lived to talk about it. He died in Canada recently at...

Pentagon Must Boost Testing for Weapons, Warfighting Capabilities: Report

"These modernization plans identified a need for DoD to issue new or revised policies and guidance to support modernized test...

Space Force News

U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Rachel Harmon and Master Sgt. Tom Anderson, weapons loaders assigned to the 174th Attack Wing, checks an inert GBU 12 laser guided missile on an MQ-9 Reaper at Springfield-Beckley Air National Guard Base in Springfield, Ohio.

Two Space Force Units Bring the 'Invisible Front Line' to Ohio

A ceremonial ribbon-cutting is planned for Friday for the Space Intelligence Production Cell at the Springfield-Beckley Air...

A painting of a Defense Support Program satellite from the Air Force Art collection. DSP provides a variety of national security capabilities. Its flagship mission of launch detection was made famous during the Cold War. (U.S. Air Force image)

Clearing The Orbits: Space Force Partnerships In Orbital Cleanup

The growing congestion of Earth orbit has raised risks to satellites, space stations, and long-term space sustainability. The...

Marine Corps News

Captured French soldiers, escorted by Vietnamese troops, walk to a prisoner-of-war camp in Dien Bien Phu. (Wikimedia Commons)

North Vietnam's Best General Beat France at Dien Bien Phu, Then Failed With the Same Tactics Against Marines at Khe Sanh

Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap earned his reputation as one of history's great military commanders on May 7, 1954, when 16,000 French...

John Gilbert as World War I soldier Jim Apperson marches with a column of helmeted troops in The Big Parade (1925), looking anxiously to the side.

Before ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ This Forgotten Silent War Epic Nailed The Veteran Homecoming Story

A decade before Hollywood had a name for PTSD, a Marine veteran helped make The Big Parade (1925), a World War I epic that...

Coast Guard News

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., arrives at the chamber.

Senators Want Answers From Coast Guard on How it Probes Displays of Swastikas or Other Hate Symbols

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., warned that “relaxing policies aimed at fighting hate crimes not only sends the wrong message to...

Coast Guardsmen assigned to the Law Enforcement Detachment conduct small boat operations with sailors assigned to the littoral combat ship USS Charleston during a southern border support mission in the Pacific Ocean, May 30, 2025. (Navy Seaman Joey Sitter, DoW).

Coast Guard Reverses Course on Policy to Call Swastikas and Nooses 'Potentially Divisive'

The U.S. Coast Guard has released a new, firmer policy addressing the display of hate symbols like swastikas and nooses just...

Stew Smith, CSCS®

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