Stew Smith Fitness News

Usually, after 8-9 months of challenging running and calisthenics based workouts (see Solstice Plan), I am ready for a few months of non-impact aerobics of indoor swimming and biking for cardiovascular workout options. However, this year, I have tested out some gear during the 30 degrees days of the past month and feel like pushing it a little during the winter months. During the Holiday seasons of festive foods, endless football, and huge meals even the most avid exerciser can pick up a few pounds. Here are some tips to continue pushing yourself through the winter “hibernation” days. Pace Yourself...

Sometimes we think we are in shape because a “test looks easy” or “you were in shape in high school”, but many people fail to prepare for a fitness test and wind up realizing they need to change their training AND thinking. Check out this email:Stew – I run all the time 4-5 days a week and usually get 25-30 miles a week, so I have a runner’s body. I just tried out for the FBI fitness test for Special Agents and thought that the calisthenics and the run would be a joke. Well, I was wrong. I almost failed...

This week an Army Officer emailed me with a goal of dropping two minutes off his mile run pace. This is not a tough goal to achieve IF you are presently running a 10:00 mile and have a goal of 8:00 mile pace. However, as you can imagine, it gets much tougher going from 8:00 mile pace to 6:00 mile pace or faster. But the 10:00 to 8:00 pace can actually be done in less than a few months as long as you are not new to running. If you are a beginner, you should always ramp up distance, pace,...

Running injury free requires near perfect technique, great shoes, possibly the addition of orthotics / insoles, and a gradual build-up after long periods of no running or beginning a running plan. Last week’s article concerning women’s running and training plan caused me to re-think my advice as the intensity of the article was not perfectly directed toward a novice exerciser. In fact, thanks to some feedback from readers, it inspired me to reach back into my archives of how I used to personally train beginners as opposed to how I personally re-started a running program after a year of not...

This week must be getting close to command physical fitness testing day, for it seems that most of my emails this week were running related. I developed a Six Week Running Program you can download for free to help you with achieving your running goal whether it is to run a faster 5-10km run or ace a PFT run in the military or in law enforcement. It never fails – unless you are a cross-country runner or track star in high school or college – you will probably have a problem with running a timed run at an above average...