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

Naval Surface Force Atlantic's (SURFLANT) Force Master Chief Jack Callison participates in a physical training session held at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) during Sailor of the Year (SOY) week. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Justin Wolpert/Released)

Workout of the Week: How to Add Variety to the PT Pyramid

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and Military.com's tactical fitness expert details how to add variety to the classic PT Pyramid workout...

A Marine from Alpha Co., Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., conducts kettlebell swings during the high intensity tactical training (Official Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Chi Nguyen/Released).

Here Are the Biggest Problems Confronting Tactical Athletes

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert, details some of the common challenges that tactica...

Sgt. Hector Masso, a Binghamton, New York, native and automations section sergeant with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, performs weighted squats at the Greywolf Physical Fitness Center Aug. 13 at Fort Hood, Texas. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf, 3rd BCT, 1st Cav. Div.).

Phase Three of Tactical Fitness: Active Duty

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert, details what to expect during the third phase of ta...

Lance Cpl. Samuel St. Clair, left, and Sgt. Geirrell Grayer perform pullups while participating in the “Murph” Challenge for Memorial Day on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan (Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Douglas Simons/Released).

Workout of the Week: Max Rep Sets PT with Challenges In Between

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert's workout of the week.

Brig. Gen. Michael A. Fantini performs push-up repetitions while Master Sgt. Gen Vicente counted on May 24, 2012 at Sheppard Air Force Base. Fantini took his physical fitness test at the Pitsenbarger Fitness Center. (U.S. Air Force photo/2nd Lt. Jerred Moon)

Ask Stew: Help With Upper Body Fitness Test - CFA

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

A competitor bikes during Adventure Race XII in Del Rio, Texas, April 23, 2016. The biking portion of the race was a 23-mile stretch from Laughlin AFB to the Laughlin Southwinds Marina off of Lake Amistad. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jimmie D. Pike)

Rules Regarding Second Workout of the Day After Military PT Sessions

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and Military.com's tactical fitness expert details how to properly fit in two workouts in a day without...

Recruits of Company H, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, are taught different ways to transport a wounded comrade during battle. The buddy bear crawl allows one to keep a low silhouette while dragging the injured to a safe environment (photo by Bridget M. Keane).

Workout of the Week: When You Only Have a Field

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert's workout of the week.

Sleep is an important factor in health. In addition to aiding in the healing of the body after injury, studies suggest that sleep can help boost the immune system, prevent disease, and ease depression. (U.S. Army photo by Lt. Col. John Hall)

The Importance of Sleep to Workout Recovery

Sgt. Matthew Nees, 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, runs up Netzaberg Hill, just outside the gate of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria, Nov. 17. Nees recently logged 2,500 running miles in the Run for Your Life program; he did so in only nine months. (Photo Credit: Chelsea Bissell, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria Public Affairs)

Workout of the Week: Hill Workout Interval Options

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and Military.com's tactical fitness expert's workout of the week.

Navy SEALs jump from the ramp of a C-17 Globemaster III April 15, 2010, over Fort Pickett Maneuver Training Center, Va. The jump was part of a joint training exercise with 517th Airlift Squadron members from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. (U. S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)

Ask Stew: Older But Still Trying

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL and Military.com's tactical fitness expert answers a question from a servicemember recovering from an i...

Spc. Reggie Wilson of the Raymond W. Bliss Army Health Center demonstrates the use of rollers for treating myofascial pain. (Photo Credit: Mo Greenberg)

Gear to Help Your Post-Workout Recovery

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert's recommendations on gear to help you recover from s...

Extract Labs CBD products (photo courtesy of Extract Labs).

CBD Oil and Hemp Oil – Uses and Future Military Acceptance?

Soldiers of 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the Republic of Korea 11th Special Forces Brigade, provide security for their fellow members during training near Gwangyang, South Korea, April 1, 2009. The two forces trained together during the annual springtime exercises Key Resolve and Foal Eagle. (Photo Credit: SFC Andrew Kosterman)

Ask Stew: Can You Make a Special Operator?

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert answers a timeless question: Can special operators b...

Sgt. Guadalupe Campos, the marketing and public affairs representative for Recruiting Station San Antonio, performs push-ups during a physical training session as part of the inaugural Battles Won Academy (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Bryan Nygaard/Released).

The Triple Pyramid: Speed, Run, Swim

Stew Smith, Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert's workout of the week.

USMC recruits train to earn the title US Marine at MCRD San Diego.

Workout of the Week – Full Body Pyramid Plus Running/Swimming

Navy SEAL veteran and Military.com's tactical fitness expert's workout of the week.

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Modern Day Marine '18

Marines, sailors with Bravo Company conduct security patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, August 29, 2014. (U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Cody Haas)

Marine Leaders' Plea to Companies: Get Us Our Gear Faster

Some of the Marine Corps' top acquisition officers had strong words for contractors about the need to move gear into warfight...

Lance Cpl. Brook Klahn, a combat engineer with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, aims a Taser during nonlethal weapons training at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, May 15, 2018. (U.S. Marine Corps photo/Alexis B. Betances)

Could This Non-Lethal Round Replace Tasers for Marines?

The munition is intended to be a small-caliber, non-lethal round that can be fired from current conventional small arms.

Most Popular Military News

North Korean soldiers walk past the USS Pueblo, which was attacked and seized by the North Korean navy on Jan. 23, 1968. One of the spy ship's 83 crew members was killed in the attack. The others were held in captivity for almost one year. The Pueblo remains on the list of commissioned U.S. Navy warships. (KCNA via KNS)

Pueblo Crew Tells Trump to Bring Their Warship Home from North Korea

The still-commissioned Navy warship remains on the Potong River as a museum piece in North Korea's capital.

The metal bars of a jail cell in a U.S. Marine Corps brig. An unidentified Navy SEAL is being confined at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, while authorities investigate the stabbing death of an ISIS combatant. (US Marine Corps photo/David Murphy)

Navy Times: Navy SEAL Detained in ISIS Death Probe

The unidentified SEAL is being held in a San Diego brig, but has yet to be charged with a crime.

The White House announced that Staff Sgt. Ronald J. Shurer II will receive the Medal of Honor for going above and beyond the call of duty April 6, 2008, while in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Courtesy photo from Ronald J. Shurer II)

Army Special Forces Medic Will Get Medal of Honor for Afghanistan Heroism

Ronald J. Shurer II will receive the Medal of Honor, an upgrade to the Silver Star he was awarded for his actions in 2008.

Senior leaders of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade participate in the Army Combat Fitness Test on Aug 14, 2018 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. (US Army photo/Verniccia Ford)

For Some Soldiers, New, Tougher Army Fitness Test a Jarring Wake-Up Call

The new Army Combat Fitness Test has eliminated age-specific scoring.

A sculpture portraying a wounded soldier being helped by a doctor stands on the grounds of the Minneapolis VA Hospital, where five doctors have resigned over allegations of improprieties with a bio-pharmaceutical company. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Five Doctors Out at Minneapolis VA Over Bio-pharma Improprieties

VA proposed terminating all five doctors, but each of them opted to resign or retire.

Latest Military Videos

Army News

From left, future International Space Station crew members Army Astronaut Lt. Col. Anne McClain, with U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command; Oleg Kononenko, with the Russian space agency Roscosmos; and David Saint-Jacques, with the Canadian Space Agency, pose for a picture as a Soyuz rocket arrives at the launch pad June 4, 2018, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (U.S. Army photo)

Army Astronaut Prepares for December Launch

One soldier is proving childhood dreams can come true as she prepares to launch into space for her first time.

Soldiers assigned to 55th Signal Company stand in a horseshoe formation during a safety brief on Fort George G. Meade, Md., Nov. 12, 2015. (U.S. Army photo/Deven Waller)

Soldiers Recount Memorable Moments from Mandatory Weekend Safety Briefs

The warnings given to soldiers at weekend and holiday safety briefings in recent decades are the stuff of Army lore.

Army Special Forces Medic Will Get Medal of Honor for Afghanistan Heroism

Ronald J. Shurer II will receive the Medal of Honor, an upgrade to the Silver Star he was awarded for his actions in 2008.

Navy News

Ship's Sponsor Diane Donald christens the Virginia-class submarine Indiana (SSN 789), witnessed by (from left) Vice President Mike Pence, Indiana's Commanding Officer, Cdr. Jesse Zimbauer and Newport News Shipbuilding President Matt Mulherin, April 29, 2017. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy Huntington Ingalls Industries/Ashley Major)

Commissioning Ceremony Set for 4th USS Indiana

The commissioning ceremony for the USS Indiana will be held Saturday in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

U.S. Navy medical personnel treat a simulated casualty during a mass casualty exercise at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, Dec. 23, 2015. (U.S. Marine Corps/Sgt. Rick Hurtado)

New Rules: High-and-Tights for Sailors Who Serve With Marines

Navy corpsmen will no longer be exempt from Marine first sergeants' orders to police their mustaches.

This May 10, 2007 file photo shows the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. (Kathleen Lange, AP)

Naval Academy's Cybersecurity Program Receives Accreditation

The U.S. Naval Academy's cyber operations program has been formally accredited.

Air Force News

Air Force Maj. Charles Hodges, left, and Master Sgt. Derek Anderson, both of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, out of the 353rd Special Operations Group, based in Kadena, Japan, discuss their contributions to the rescue of a Thai soccer team from a cave system during the Air Force Association conference in September 2018. Hope Hodge Seck/Military.com

'Expecting Casualties:' How Airmen Created the Incredible Thai Cave Rescue Plan

For a rescue attempt like this, with children trapped deep in an uncharted maze of caves, there was no roadmap.

More Than a Decade Later, the Air Force Finally Picks a Huey Replacement

The U.S. Air Force has picked Boeing to build the replacement for its UH-1N Huey at a cost of approximately $2.38 billion.

The U.S. Air Force is adopting the Army's Operational Camouflage Pattern as its new combat uniform and will begin incrementally phasing it in beginning Oct. 1. The Air Force will differentiate itself from the Army by using a "spice brown color" for velcro patches, name tape and insignia. Courtesy of Air Force

Air Force OCP Uniform Rollout Just Days Away

The U.S. Air Force is on track to begin distributing its new Operational Camouflage Pattern uniform beginning Oct. 1.

Marine Corps News

Marine Leaders' Plea to Companies: Get Us Our Gear Faster

Some of the Marine Corps' top acquisition officers had strong words for contractors about the need to move gear into warfight...

Could This Non-Lethal Round Replace Tasers for Marines?

The munition is intended to be a small-caliber, non-lethal round that can be fired from current conventional small arms.

Students from Class 4-12, Sergeant’s Course, Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Academy Camp Pendleton, conduct a Combat Fitness Test during training aboard base, June 1, 2012. (U.S. Marine Corps/ Sgt. Christopher O'Quin)

3 Ways the Marines Are Making Their Fitness Tests Tougher in 2019

Marines will face several new standards next year that will make it harder to pass their physical and combat fitness tests....

Coast Guard News

An MH-60T Jayhawk Helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, evacuates residents from Rocky Point, North Carolina due to flooding caused by Hurricane Florence. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Dustin Williams)

Coast Guard Members Talk About Being a Rescue Swimmer

Rescue swimmers are a critical part of the response effort to hurricanes, flying around in helicopters in search of people.

This Oct. 15, 2017 photo shows the Potomac River at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va. Paddlers are suing the U.S. Coast Guard in an attempt to reverse a policy that closes a stretch of the Potomac River when President Donald Trump is playing golf at his course outside Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Paddlers Sue Coast Guard over Limited Potomac Access While Trump Golfs

Paddlers are suing the Coast Guard in response to a policy that closes part of the Potomac River when the president golfs.

Whiskey One company practices formation with their cadre as the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Class of 2022 reports-in for day one of Swab Summer Monday, July 2, 2018 at the academy in New London, Conn. The seven-week Swab Summer introduces the newest class to military academy life. Day One includes haircut, uniform issue and drills in teamwork and discipline. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day via AP)

Coast Guard Academy Officials Say Air Conditioning Caused Mold in Dorms

Mold is growing in several rooms in Chase Hall, the main residence hall on the Coast Guard Academy's campus.