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

Coast Guard recruits prepare to jump from a platform into the pool below and begin their swim assessment aboard Training Center Cape May, N.J.

The Most Common Military Service Fitness Training Errors

Many people are doing the wrong workouts that lack the specific requirements of military testing, basic training and special...

5 Quick and ‘Easy’ Fitness Assessments You Can Do Anywhere

After watching Jason Kelce challenge veterans to a push-up contest during ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown”, I had the idea to...

(U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Garcia)

How to Lift for Strength While Maintaining Your Fitness with Calisthenics and Cardio

Whether you’re preparing for boot camp or already serving, you’ve probably noticed the military provides ample opportunities...

A soldier takes an Army Combat Fitness Test at Strickler Field at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.

How Combining Calisthenics, Cardio and Strength Training Builds the Tactical Athlete

As you build your training routine, remember that each aspect of fitness plays a crucial role in your overall ability and...

Omega-3 fatty acids are commonly found in types of fish, nuts and seeds.

Why Omega-3s Should Be at the Heart of Your Wellness Plan

As you consider ways to enhance your longevity, stave off memory loss and combat feelings of depression, you might be...

U.S. Army Sgt. Melissa Schimmel, an intelligence analyst with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, performs squats at Fort Carson’s Iron Horse Sports and Fitness Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

What Is the Best Beginner Fitness Workout?

I often get asked what the best workout is to do when you are trying to add fitness back into your life again. My answer...

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Hannah F. Montegue, a scheduling officer with Officer Candidates School, Quantico, Virginia, swims during the first Training and Education Command Fittest Instructor Competition at The Basic School on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.

5 Tips to Help You Return to Swimming After a Shoulder Injury

It is not uncommon to obtain shoulder injuries that require surgery. While the shoulder is the most versatile joint in our...

The Best Way to Get a Jump-Start on New Year's Fitness Goals: Start in November

Start now with a few logical goals that can help you with your discipline and stress to build a solid foundation for any New...

A Marine conducts a 500-meter underwater swim with fins and a snorkel at the Courthouse Bay Training Tank aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.

How to Improve Your Ankle Mobility to Handle Swimming with Fins

Ankle mobility is the root cause of pain when it comes to swimming with fins, which requires both practice and stretching.

U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Military Welfare and Recreation holds a sunrise yoga class at the Corlett Recreation Center, Kwajalein Atoll, in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

5 Tips to Recommit to a Healthier Lifestyle

Start by embracing simple beginner routines that act as steppingstones, providing guidance without the initial intimidation.

(U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean Furey)

This 2-Part Swimming Workout Will Help Anyone with Water Confidence

You must swim, tread and place your face in the water to overcome any water fears. Here is a workout that will progressively...

U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Briana Quintana performs a clean and press at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea.

How Improving Your Tactical Fitness Can Make You a Better Service Member

The development of the elements of fitness, ensuring a military member is proficient in all of them, is a journey that adapts...

(U.S. Marine Corps/Sgt. A. J. Van Fredenberg)

5 Reasons Why Service Members Need Physical Training for Job Performance Beyond Fitness Tests

While the initial physical assessment is a crucial entry-point event, it hardly scratches the surface of what is necessary...

Culinary Specialist 1st Class Bennett Evans uses dumbbells for the bench press during a physical training session aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) in the East China Sea.

This Full-Body Exercise Circuit Will Take Your Fitness Training Up Another Level

If you like full-body workouts that focus on pull-push-legs-core, this circuit of these fitness components will challenge you...

A soldier from the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) participates in his semiannual physical fitness test at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

How to Determine the Source of Your Running Pain

Running for the first time requires a delicate progression to avoid typical overuse injuries such as shin splints, Achilles...

Military News

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Most Popular Military News

Hegseth Paid Woman Who Accused Him of Sexual Assault over Fear for His Fox News Job, Lawyer Says

More details are emerging about an alleged 2017 sexual assault involving Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee...

Sgt. Jacqueline Speights, from 175th Surgical Detachment, 531st Hospital Center, prepares a sample for COVID-19 testing while Spc. Samuel Mawanda, from 626th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), records data at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital’s COVID-19 sample processing section within the hospital’s Department of Pathology, Jan. 24, 2022. (Maria Christina Yager/Army)

Tricare Changes are Coming in 2025. Here’s What Beneficiaries Need to Know Right Now

Tricare beneficiaries need to be aware of changes taking place in both the East and West regions and may need to take action...

U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor arrives at the ROTC building on a university campus

Kings of Campus: How Some Army Instructors Use Their Clout to Prey on College Cadets

To the young students in the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), the officers who run the programs on college...

Squad live fire exercise at Schofield Barracks

Thousands of Women Serve in Combat Roles. Pentagon Nominee Hegseth Says They Shouldn’t.

Pete Hegseth has made clear, in his own words, that he is critical of military service by women and more specifically opposes...

Veterans Affairs Officer Hit Man with Baton 45 Times as He ‘Screamed in Pain,’ Feds Say

The beating caused multiple injuries, including cuts on the man’s legs and a broken bone in his foot, according to...

Who Is Doug Collins? A Look at Trump's Pick to Head the VA

The former Georgia congressman is a Southern Baptist minister and Air Force colonel.

Latest Military Videos

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's D-Day Message

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower began drafting his Order of the Day for June 6, 1944, in February. It was...

French Military Training Ukrainian Troops Ahead of Battlefield Deployment

A French military task force with a festive name — “Champagne” — is wrapping up a mission that's no...

Ukraine Soldiers Focus on Keeping Russian Advances at Bay but Brace for Trump Taking Over in US

Ukrainian soldiers on the front know the re-election of Donald Trump in the U.S. will change their lives, but...

US Military Releases Video Said to Show Impact of Drone Strike on Houthi Rebels

The U.S. military on Wednesday said it had conducted several days of strikes targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels. (Nov. 14)...

Investigations and Features

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...

A patch in the home of retired missileer Paul Hunke

They Stood Sentry over America's Nuclear Missile Arsenal. Many Worry It Gave Them Cancer.

For years, it was an open secret among missileers that the Cold War-era missile alert facilities and launch control centers...

Army News

Arthur Frommer, 83, and his daughter, Pauline Frommer, 46, pose among tourists

Arthur Frommer, Army Vet and Travel Guide Innovator, Has Died at 95

Travel writer Arthur Frommer, who revolutionized leisure travel for ordinary Americans with his guidebook “Europe on 5...

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at the House GOP conference

Trump Backs 'Emergency' Plan to Use Military for Mass Deportations

Trump made mass deportation a major plank of his successful presidential campaign and has claimed more than 15 million...

Navy News

Cher's more formal look in her 1989 music video, "If I Could Turn Back Time," filmed aboard the battleship USS Missouri. (Criteron Studios)

How Cher's 'Turn Back Time' Music Video Made Even the Navy Blush

A video featuring Cher singing to a rowdy group of American sailors would have been no trouble for anyone involved -- if it...

A view of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, which is across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia.

Navy Shutters Premier East Coast Substance Abuse Program Amid Staffing Shortages

The program, in an aging building at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia, has struggled to retain employees.

Air Force News

Privately owned vehicles wait to enter through the Dale Mabry gate at MacDill Air Force Base.

MacDill Airman Gets 5 Years Of Probation in 'Undead Apes' Blockchain Fraud

U.S. District Judge William Jung sentenced Devin Rhoden to five years’ probation, a reflection of Rhoden’s substantial...

Two Air Force Special Operations Command CV-22B Ospreys fly low and fast in formation on a training range

The Osprey's Safety Issues Spiked over Five Years and Caused Deaths. Pilots Still Want to Fly It

The Osprey is back in the air after being grounded for months following a crash last November that killed eight U.S. service...

Space Force News

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink 4-36 payload launches

Pentagon Silent on Elon Musk and Starlink Risks as Military Use Expands

In the past year, U.S. news outlets have reported that Musk, who oversees the satellite internet provider, has developed a...

The flag of the U.S. Space Command is unfurled at the White House

Colorado Could Lose US Space Command. Trump Is Expected to Move It to Alabama.

Trump's original decision to place Space Command -- the combatant command tasked with military operations in space that was...

Marine Corps News

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln

Marine Corps F-35C Was Used in Combat for First Time to Strike Houthis, Military Confirms

Traveling at speeds of 1,200 mph, the F-35C can carry Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs, air-to-air missiles and other...