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

Here’s the New Navy Combat Fitness Test for SEALs, SWCC and EOD/Divers, Plus What It’s Missing

The Navy has a new fitness test for active-duty “combat arms personnel,” including members of Naval Special Warfare and Naval...

How to Gain Strength While Maintaining Cardio and Muscle Stamina

Here is a typical leg day routine for athletes do who need a foundation of strength, load-bearing stamina, and to maintain...

Navy special operations candidates do pushups.

Ask Stew: Does ‘Well Rested -- Well Tested’ Apply to Military PT Tests?

This short saying should be a mantra for any testing you do in the future to achieve the best results.

Airmen run toward the camera in the dark.

Struggling to Start? This ‘ACTION’ Plan Helps Turn Ideas and Goals Into Reality

Here is how I like to break down action, with the ACTION acronym helping to solidify those steps into a practical strategy.

Advanced Upper-Body ‘Push’ Workout With Running

Here is a favorite “push” day workout with running we do for our special ops candidates.

Ask Stew: Should I Take a Scuba Course Before Military Dive School?

Does getting scuba qualified before military dive school training help?

A soldier in an Army tracksuit does a deadlift outside.

Training to Fatigue? Rethinking Limits for Muscle Growth and Strength

Throughout my years of coaching and training on my own, the subject of pushing to failure (or beyond) with heavier weights or...

The Mobility 20/20 Is the One Workout You Need in 2026: 20 Minutes a Day for 20 Days (or Forever?)

After over a decade of adding this specific mobility and flexibility routine to my life, to say it has been life-changing is...

Soldiers in civilian workout clothes stretch on a beach.

Ask Stew: A Step-by-Step Plan to Get Started on Your New Year Fitness Goal

Here is a three-step blueprint to help you transition from the "resolution" phase of fitness to a lifelong habit and the...

A silhouette of an airman running on the beach at sunrise.

From Lifespan to ‘Health-span’: Use the New Year to Focus on Both Health and Fitness

Instead of thinking simply about living longer, let’s use the start of a new year to focus on getting healthier, so we live...

Service members in the desert, wearing PT uniforms, take off running.

Run, Ruck or Swim: 3 Cardio-Enhancing Workouts

If you are preparing for military service that involves intense physical training, you will want to be a cardio machine. Here...

Closeup of a weightlifter's hand while performing a bench press.

Applying the Stoic Cardinal Virtues for Both Optimal Performance and Longevity

The philosophy of Stoicism, originating in Greece and refined in Rome, offers a timeless framework for living well.

Ask Stew: How to Make Time to Work Out

By rethinking how you approach physical activity and embracing creative ways to fit fitness into your routine, you can build...

Marine lifts a 30-pound ammunitions can during his combat fitness test.

Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test (CFT)

The Marines' combat fitness test, taken every six months, is intended to keep Marines ready for the physical rigors of...

Four military members in workout gear do events of the Murph on a ship's deck.

A New Way to Make the Murph Workout More Difficult

If you want to succeed with the Murph, you may want to start your preparation several months before Memorial Day. Typically...

Military News

Get the Military Insider Newsletter

Get the latest on pay updates, benefit changes and award-winning military content. Right in your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice.

Thank you for subscribing!

View more newsletters on our Subscriptions page.

One last step.

Verify your free subscription by following the instructions in the email sent to:

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.

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

Trump's Insurrection Act Threat Stands Out Against the Law's Long History

Trump's Insurrection Act threat stands out against the law's long history.

Venezuela's Machado Says She Presented Nobel Peace Prize to Trump

Venezuela's Machado says she presented Nobel Peace Prize to Trump.

At a Devastated Training Base, War Can’t Stop Ukraine’s Winter Athletes

At a devastated training base, war can’t stop Ukraine’s winter athletes.

FBI Searches a Washington Post Reporter's Home

FBI searches a Washington Post reporter's home as part of a classified documents investigation.

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

Army soldier Ben Gross in Korea in 1953. (Submitted photo)

Korean War Veteran Reunited with Lost Letters from 1952

Ben Gross is trying to hunt down remaining lost letters he wrote back home from the Korean War more than 70 years ago.

Law enforcement uses a chemical agent on protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

Army Combat Veterans, Sisters Document ICE Actions in Minneapolis

Sisters Chelsea Kane and Courtney Azar have been documenting ICE operations in the wake of Renee Good's killing last week in...

Navy News

Smoke rises from the wreck of USS LST-480, at right, as tugs and other craft try to put out her fires. At left is USS LST-39, also burning, with men on her bow ramp, probably removing cargo, and other vessels alongside and nearby. Photograph is dated 22 May 1944, the day after the explosion. (Wikimedia Commons)

Pearl Harbor's Forgotten 1944 Disaster Killed at Least 163 Men and Reformed Navy Safety Measures

The blast consumed everyone near the bow. No witnesses survived to explain what triggered the detonation. A fireball erupted...

Malaysian fugitive Francis Leonard Glenn, known as Fat Leonard

Appeals Court Rules ‘Fat Leonard’ Must Serve Full Sentence in Navy Corruption Scandal

Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian contractor known as “Fat Leonard” at the center of the worst bribery and corruption...

Air Force News

An artist rendering of the proposed Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Photo from Terry Massey/The Post & Courier)

Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Coming to South Carolina Tourist Town

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is working on another attraction that will finally honor the sacrifices of Vietnam War veterans.

Air Force veteran Dominic Marino was murdered in the fall of 2018. Police are still searching for leads in his case. (Photo from obituary)

Who Killed Dominic Marino? 7 Years Later, Murder of Disabled Veteran Baffles Police

More than seven years after Dominic Marino was brutally killed inside his Connecticut home, police are still searching for...

Space Force News

President Donald Trump holds top a signed executive order as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth watches in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

How Trump’s 2025 'War' Agenda Rewired the Pentagon

Trump’s 2025 executive actions reshape how the current administration defines national security.

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

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Grant Morris, a digital wideband systems maintainer with 2nd Intelligence Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, II MEF, works on the hand-held radio test set at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Sept. 4, 2025 (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Brady Hathaway)

Marines Revolutionize Readiness at Innovation Campus

Marines at the II MEF Innovation Campus are revolutionizing combat readiness with additive manufacturing. 2nd MLG troops 3D...

General Tapped to Lead US Operations in Latin America Grilled Over Presence in Region

The Marine Corps general tapped to lead U.S. military operations in Latin America says he's ready to oversee an expanded...

Coast Guard News

Adm. Kevin Lunday was sworn in Thursday as the 28th commandant of the United States Coast Guard. (US Coast Guard)

New US Coast Guard Commandant Kevin Lunday Sworn In: 'Nation Will Prevail'

“I am honored to assume command of the United States Coast Guard,” Adm. Kevin Lunday told Military.com prior to becoming the...

US Seizes Another Sanctioned Oil Tanker It Says Has Ties to Venezuela

U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker the Trump administration says has ties to...