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Does Water Affect Weight?

Stew Smith, CSCS — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:53:00 -0800

This week a young man asked me, "Does water affect weight?" After some digging, I realized he has been observing his mother use one of the 45 Day Plans to lose weight / get fit and this program requires the user to drink more water than they normally would - up to 3-4 quarts a day!!

Most people do not drink enough water in a day PERIOD. The Mayo Clinic states, "Water is your body's principal chemical component, making up, on average, 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues. Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don't have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.

The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 quarts (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 quarts (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. Total beverages mean water and other drinks as well.

As with most things in health / nutrition and exercise, there is always some study that disproves another study.

Many doctors agree that eight ounces of water - eight times a day (2 quarts) has no scientific backing. This is true! Water intake does not and probably should not have a universal standard as water intake depends on the individual / environment / activity level, etc...

The explanation of this question has a few levels of details, so it is broken up in the following sections:

Daily Weight Gain - By drinking more water per day, you will have a series of weight gains throughout the day as a quart (32 oz) of water weighs two pounds. So, as I write this article and sip from my 32 oz glass, I will gain two lbs in the next 90 minutes. Now, I will likely be interrupted by Mother Nature and lose 1-2 lbs from the previous 32 oz glass of water I drank after my early workout. The easy answer is yes - drinking water does affect weight significantly enough to be seen on a scale immediately. Usually, in a 24 hour period, you will cycle through this process of gaining water weight and losing water weight and have either a net loss or stable weight for the day.

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What About Weight Loss? - Here is where I came up with the saying - "Want to Lose weight? - Just Add Water!" Adding more water to your diet will help you lose weight a few ways. ONE - hunger suppressant - you will not be as hungry when drinking water through the day as your stomach will constantly have something flowing through it. TWO - when your body realizes it is getting enough water, it will allow you to release retained waters from your cells through digestion.

I had a client who lost 20 pounds in one week after adding JUST water to his diet. He was so bloated, his rings did not fit him, stomach was large, and socks would indent his lower legs when he removed them. Have you ever felt bloated, hands and feet puffy, belly extended - well this is your body holding onto water. This could also be a symptom of a variety of medical issues so alerting your doctor is never a bad idea when bloated for long periods of time with no relief. But it is also easily removed by adding water if you are just bloated due to dehydration or high sodium diet.

Replacement of water lost - Humans sweat, digest, and breathe. All three are processes that help our bodies to expel water. These fluids should be replaced and depending on your activity level and environment, your replacement maybe significantly different that someone with a different lifestyle. Regardless, everyone needs water. The amazing thing about the human body is that it is capable of pulling water out of every piece of food we eat. So by eating, you can actually survive and have enough water in your body to excrete toxins, sweat (some), and breathe. You can also lose significant weight through sweating (like wrestlers cutting weight). This is not healthy as you are also losing vital electrolytes that is not replaced will negatively affect performance and could cause death. However, what performance fitness experts agree on is that additional water will help us perform better by staving off dehydration, overheating, and even heat stroke. A common formula is to take 1/2 to 2/3 of your bodyweight in pounds and replace that many ounces of water in a 24 hour period. For instance, I am 200lbs so I typically get 100 oz of water a day - especially after exercise.

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Too much water - How much is too much? I tackled this one a few years ago when a water drinking contest on the radio actually caused someone to die from water intoxication. That person had downed nearly two gallons within a short period of time (less than 2 hours). This caused her body to shut down causing kidney failure as well as electrolyte imbalances that affect all organ function. Many endurance athletes have died from the same issues, however they sweat profusely and re-hydrated with ONLY water and had the same electrolyte imbalances that caused death. When drinking water after sweating profusely, you should consider foods or supplements with electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc) so that does not happen.

I like to eat a can of chicken noodle soup after a workout where I lose 5-7 lbs of water through sweating - it can happen in humid or arid environments. The chicken noodle soup (especially kids double noodle style) can offer several hundred milligrams of sodium and potassium - much more than sports drinks. See related article - Too Much Water

Another question to ask is "HOW does water affect weight loss?" Over the course of a 10 day period, you can see significant weight loss by adding water to your daily intake. So, let's see for ourselves. (try at own risk)

Take a 10 Day Challenge - Below is a chart that will take you through a ten day extra water consuming process to show you that a few quarts of water a day will make you feel better, make skin look better, make you less hungry, and best of all help you release water that is retained in your body's cells - perhaps you will lose some weight.

Weigh yourself in the morning after using the bathroom and in the evening after dinner

Try adding 2-3 quarts a day for men and 1-2 quarts a day for women and let's see what happens!!!

*NOTE* - if you are already consuming the above amounts there is no need to try this 10 Day Challenge
or add more water to your diet.

Running: How Do You Find Your Pace?

Stew Smith, CSCS — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:37:00 -0700

As with any cardiovascular activity if you are going to perform for several minutes or even a few hours you need to find a sustainable pace. Here is an email from someone who enjoys running with a group but struggles with running alone:

Hey Stew - When I run with my group of friends, I am always faster than when I run alone. It seems my group pushes me harder than when I run by myself. Do you have any advice on getting better running workout when alone? - Tom

Great question Tom. I have struggled with this one as well so I formed a group locally where we are all constantly challenging each other in one of several arenas - running, swimming, weight lifting, calisthenics. Personally, now I train harder on my own in order to compete with the faster / younger runners. Here is how I do it:

Normally we run the same routes. When we are together running, I make landmarks and time checks to see how my speed is. So usually at a mile marker, I can find out if I am in a sub 7 minute mile pace or not. Usually the group hits this mark repeatedly. So on my own, I go to a track and work on my speed and pace and push myself for 6-6:30 mile pace. For instance:

Repeat 5-6 times

¼ mile run - 90-95 seconds

cooldown jog for 1/8 mile

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Then I see if I can pull it all together with sub 7 mile pace for 2-3 miles. Now this pace maybe too fast or too slow for you depending on your running level and experience, so I recommend running the original route you and your friends like to run and mark off time checks at certain landmarks like intersections, flag poles, someone's house, etc. Then see if you can push yourself to match those scores the next time you run alone.

I have often used the stop watch as a training guide for a variety of events - especially physical fitness tests. When I do situps, I try to find my goal pace that will get me to 100 situps in 2 minutes. This is 25 in 30 seconds or 50 in 1 minute. I repeat those sets a few times in my PT workouts and compete with no one but myself and my watch.

The same can be done with swimming, biking, and running. Find a pace you like to strive for and divide that distance by a number that makes sense and work several sets of that pace into a workout. Like this:

Swimming a 500m swim - divide the swim into 5 x 100m sets or 10 by 50m sets. If you goal is to swim in the 8 -8:30 mark then shoot for a pace of 50m in 50 seconds. In the end you should be at 500 seconds (8:20) for 500m. Your multiple sets of swimming at that pace will soon be easier and easier to maintain.

Running a 3 mile run - divide the run into ½ miles or mile runs and do a workout called "repeats". Basically, run 5-6 ½ mile runs at your goal 3 mile run pace or run 3-4 mile runs at your goal 3 mile pace. These workouts will challenge you and you may need to rest in between for a 200-400m walk to catch your breath, but as you practice these run or swim sets, you will find maintaining a faster pace while running gets much easier.

Hang in there and keep practicing to learn or muscle memory a pace. Feel free to email me if you have any questions at stew@stewsmith.com. I will try to answer them all or even create a new article out of them if the question inspires me.

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 Policeinkfitness.com Fitness eBook store

The 15 Day Plan For The PFT

Stew Smith, CSCS — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:03:00 -0700

This 15 day plan was written for a military member who had two weeks to pass his fitness test of 1.5 mile run, pushups, and situps. It is not designed for those members who have not exercised in months, but for those who just need an extra push to surpass the minimums. You could also use this routine to help you hit the maximum standards if you are hitting a plateau in your testing for the Most Common PFT. Knowing that this test is the most common fitness test in the military and law enforcement, I thought I would post the routine online as it is a combination of three routines:

The Pushup Push Workout - Add 50-100% to your Pushups in two weeks. You will be doing pushups for the first 11 days of this workout, then rest for 3 days of no pushups and test on day 15 of this routine. If your test requires pullups, you can do the same for that exercise - see Pullup Push.

The Need for Speed Workout - Ace the 300m and 1.5 mile runs for FBI Academy, but this plan below is geared for any timed run no matter how short or long it is.

Proper Situps Technique - Learn your pace when it comes to situps. Find a goal and pace yourself to the goal. If your test is a 1 minute test, then you should strive for a pace of nearly 1 per second so you score in the high 40-50s for your situp test. If your test is a 2 minute test, pace is more important and you may need to slow it down to 20 situps per 30 seconds to score in the high 70 / low 80's.

Here is an explanation of the chart below:

Supplemental Plan - You can use this plan below in addition to your current workout if you wish but it is a pretty challenging plan and would not do this unless you are pretty fit now and seeking to improve your PFT scores so you are near maxing the test.

2 - Stand-alone Plan - If you are an intermediate / beginner level (not complete beginner) I would recommend to just follow the plan for the next two weeks. This will challenge your pushups and situps and push you in the running category as well. If you are not used to running 1-2 miles then I would not attempt this program as this is NOT a program for beginners.

Goal Pace Runs - Learning to pace your runs will help you score better on 1.5, 2, and 3 mile timed run tests. Typically, I like to teach at a 400m track so students will learn the distance and muscle memory the time to do that distance. For instance, if you want to score a 12 minute 2 mile run - that means you need a 6 minute mile, 3 minute 1/2 mile, and a 90 second 1/4 mile *(400m) run. This will help you understand not to start out too fast on your timed run and a strategy to PACE the run. Just divide your timed run distance / goal into 1/4 mile distances and strive to learn the pace at 1/4 mile, then 1/2 mile and so on... also read - Drop Mile Pace

400m Runs - You can also replace this distance with a 300m run distance especially if you are seeking to ace the 300m sprint used by many law enforcement departments around the United States as well as the FBI Academy. BUT instead of running at goal 1.5 mile pace you should run it at goal 300m sprint pace.

Lower Back Plan - Great for Strength / Flexibility - Add this into the daily routine at the end of the day.

Try this routine if you wish. It does work and let me know how you do after the 15 Day PFT Challenge. This is not something I would repeat several times in a row but only once in a while. Your pushups / situps muscles need rest like all other muscle groups. Typically, I recommend resting 48 hours after hard pushups / ab workouts before challenging that muscle group again. Please feel free to email if you have any questions at stew@stewsmith.com

Passing Military and Special Ops Swim Test

Stew Smith, CSCS — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:29:00 -0700

Many future military and law enforcement special operations team members have to learn how to be comfortable in the water. Whether that is to SCUBA dive, swim for miles, or learn insertions and extractions from the water using boats, submarines, or helicopter, learning to swim while wearing full combat gear is a requirement in many special operations units. Here is a common email from a recruit:

Hello Sir, I am trying to go spec-ops. I am required to pass a swim test which involves me swimming 25 m in uniform with boots on and an assault rifle. What do you think is the best way to go about doing this? Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

The more comfortable you get in the water the easier this test becomes. Swimming with clothes on for the first time is a shock and requires much more effort than in normal swimming trunks. So do not let the test be the first time you do this test - PRACTICE it - but never alone. A good way to describe the feeling of swimming with clothes / gear is like swimming in mud. You just do not glide or travel very far for every stroke / kick you perform.

After a normal swimming workout of 1000-2000m - you should be capable of doing this if you are seeking a job that requires this water survival test - try adding a sweatshirt to a swim for a few laps. Do this small addition for a week or so. Then add a pair of pants after the workout for a few laps. Feel free to rest on the wall as you will be tired. Then add boots or shoes for a week of post swim skill sessions. Finally, add some form of weight to simulate a weapon. Usually weapons will weight 8-12 lbs so you could use a dumbbell or a plate or find a weighted bar to resemble a gun. Give it a month of adding this supplement to your swimming 2-4 times a week and doing it for just 25m will not be an issue.

See Swimming Workout Options if you need to create your own swim workouts:

Also related article - Passing Military Swim Tests

Training For The Coast Guard Special Ops DOG

Stew Smith, CSCS — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:18:00 -0700

I have been asked by a few future Coast Guardsmen about the new fitness test utilized by DOG. First of all, I had to figure out what DOG was. After some research, the good news is that the fitness test is very similar to law enforcement fitness tests used by many federal and local police agencies. Also, DOG stands for Deployable Operations Group (DOG) and is considered the Coast Guard Special Ops Team. After September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard became part of Homeland Security and developed the DOG in order to establish a single command authority to rapidly provide the Coast Guard, DHS, DoD, DoJ and other interagency operational commanders adaptive force packages drawn from the U.S. Coast Guard's deployable specialized force units.

These six units, under a single command, create an organized quick reaction force that can be deployed to handle natural disasters, environmental catastrophes, terrorism and other threats to the United States and the world. The groups that are under DOG are the following:

MSRT - Maritime Security Response Team - The premiere counter-terrorism teams of DOG are interoperable with DOD Special Operations Forces with port security, maritime interdiction, and other high threat events.

MSST - Maritime Safety and Security Teams - Established in 2002, these tier 1 forces are anti terrorism and port security teams who can operate domestically as well as internationally. The MSSTs execute Coastal Security operations (enforce security zones, port state control boardings, protection of military out loads and major marine events, augment shore side security at waterfront facilities, detect WMD weapons/agents, and participate in port level anti-terrorism exercises.

NCWS - Naval Coastal Warfare Squadrons - These Coast Guard units are part of an interoperable force and part of the Department of Defense international and domestic security. They provide anti-terrorism / force protection for forward deployed base camps and ports around the world where needed.

PSU - Port Security Units - These units are integrated and interoperable and deploy nationally as well as internationally in support the Department of Defense port security. They can deploy within 24 hours.

NSF - National Strike Force - These Coast Guard are immediate action teams and deploy to deal with HAZMAT, CHEM / BIO environmental disasters.

TACLET - TACtical Law Enforcement Teams - Provide maritime drug interdiction and well as maritime interception domestically as well as where requested by the Department of Defense. Also they conduct training for foreign Navy and foreign Coast Guard.

For more information on the variety of missions done by these groups see the official Coast Guard website at http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/dog/

The Coast Guard Deployable Operations Group Tier 1 Fitness Test is:

Men / Women	All Ages
1.5 mile run	11:38
Situps 1 minute	42
Pushups 1 minute	38
300m sprint	48 seconds
Vertical Jump	23 inches

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This test is very similar to the FBI fitness test except for the Vertical Jump exercise. Training for it is not that difficult to organize into your week.

By using a standard split routine you can organize the workout week into progressive program. For instance:

Workout 1,3,5: Paced Cardio / Upper-body / Abs & Lower-back

Workout 2, 4: Leg PT / Sprinting

You can opt for a sixth workout in your seven day week, but I do recommend you give yourself 1-2 days rest for recovery. A workout #6 option would be to take a day off prior and do the full test in the order that you will be taking it. This will help you alleviate any PFT anxiety as after several times taking this test, it will become easy and feel just like another workout.

DOG Tier 2 Fitness Test for Men and Women under 30 years of age:

Men	Under 30 years old
1.5 mile run	12:51
Situps 1 minute	38
Pushups 1 minute	29
12 minute swim	500 yds
Sit and reach	16.5 inches

Women	Under 30 years old
1.5 mile run	15:26
Situps 1 minute	32
Pushups 1 minute	23
12 minute swim	400 yds
Sit and reach	19.25 inches

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The same can be done with the Tier 2 test as far as creating a split routine to prepare for the fitness test. Here is how I would recommend training for this different test:

Workout 1,3,5: Run / Upper-body / Swim / Abs & Lower-back - Make your workouts similar for the test complete with a run, upper-body PT or weights followed by a swim and stretch.

Workout 2,4: Weakness Day: These days can be spent working on one of the two cardio testing events that you are having the most trouble with and resting the upper-body muscles from the day before. You can also do some leg PT to build up your leg endurance for the run.

The DOG Physical Fitness Test Exercises (Tips and Sample Workouts):

Running -1.5 mile run:

Pace, breathing, arm swing, stride - Learn to regular your breathing by timing INHALES for 2-3 steps and EXHALES for 2-3 steps in a regular breathing rhythm to keep heart rate lower and running potential faster in the last ¼ mile.

Arm swing and stride - arms should be slightly bent but relaxed and swing in a straight line not crossing your body. Stride and foot strike should be efficient enough so you are not running on your toes or too wide where you land on your heels. Foot strike should be closer to the balls of the feet but not flat footed.

Injury prevention / stretch properly - Warmup well and stretch by jogging or jumping jacks and a few squats.

For more information see related articles at www.stewsmith.com/linkpages/runningarticles.htm

Learn how to pace your 1.5 mile run by breaking the run down into ¼ and ½ mile interval workouts like this:

Repeat 6-8 times

Run ¼ mile at goal pace (ie if your goal is to run a 10:30 1.5 mile run then your ¼ mile should be at 1:45 each lap of the quarter mile.
Rest with 100m walk
Add in squats or lunges to build endurance in legs as well as jumping skills.

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Pushups:

The pushup is the most commonly used exercise in military, law enforcement, and fire fighter training programs. Learning how to ace a fitness test is required for most groups BUT being able to do multiple sets of countless pushups is usually required in most indoctrination training programs (Boot Camps, Basic Training, Military and Law Enforcement and Fire Fighting Academies). Here are some tips for the exercise that has been around for 1000's of years.

Proper hand placement - Keep hands just greater than shoulder width apart and placed lower than your shoulders as if you were doing a bench press. This will place an equal amount of force on the chest, shoulders and triceps.

Up / Down movement - Pushups in this test is a 1 minute sprint. Building your endurance to do non-stop pushups for one minute is not as difficult as it may first appear. To score your best, you should focus on doing pushups as fast as you can, however exert on the UP motion and relax your arms when coming DOWN. Let gravity take you down.

The workouts used to build a foundation for your pushup scores by using super set or pyramid workouts like the ones below:

Repeat 5-10 times
Pushups - 10
Situps - 10-20 on pace with goal 1 minute test

Pushups Pyramid - do 1 pushup and build up to 25 pushups and back down to 1 in as little time as possible. If you need to, "rest" by doing a timed set of situps of 15-30 situps.

Situps:

This exercise requires some stomach and lower back strength as well as hip flexor / psoas strength and flexibility. For some ideas to stretch / build lower back areas check out the Lower Back Plan.

This is a pacing exercise as with running. If your goal is 50-60 in 1 minute, you have to build up to withstand a pace of up to 1 situp per second for 60 seconds.

Touch elbows to knees / shoulders to floor - This is a full repetition for the situp and the best way to master this is to exert on the UP movement and relax on DOWN and let gravity take you to the floor. Just as with the pushup test.

Paced Sets - Focus on learning the pace to reach your goal. If you goal is 50 situps in 1 minute, then get 25 in 30 seconds, 12-13 in 15 seconds and develop your situp workouts with timed sets throughout your workout.

Running Speed - 300m sprint:

This is ¾ of a 400m track and is meant to be a full sprint. Some people perform this fast run as a build up to a full sprint and still perform well. Start off fast to build up your momentum for the first 10-20 m, then keep that pace for the first 100m, pick it up a notch for the seconds 100m, and then the last 100m is full speed.

Build VO2 max with intervals / speed work / leg stamina thru calisthenics / weights / plyometrics

Some favorite workouts to ace this test as well as the vertical jump is to mix sprints with squat, lunges, and jumps a few times a week for 4-5 sets like this:

Repeat 4-5 times
300m fast run
squats - 20
lunges - 10/leg
vertical jump - 5
stretch legs lightly

Pushups for Time - Pushups to the Extreme!

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:55:00 -0700

This week I received a fun email from a former Marine who likes to push himself still and those around him. He writes:

Stew, I have been using your workouts to get my pushups up to 100 in 2 minutes (as a Marine we focused on pullups as you know) and got it last week. Now I an thinking of doing pushups for some kind of record - thousands maybe?

Also if you would I have laid down the challenge in my office to do 15 pullups / 40 pushups for 3 sets in under 6 minutes. Any ideas on how to train / strategize that one?

Good job with the pushups tests in two minutes goal! The super-sets, pyramids, and timed rep sets work pretty well to build up to those goals even for us 40+ year olds. But to train for the higher rep no time limit pushups contests you need to change your focus. As you know for a two minute test it is all about speed as an above average score is one pushup per second or faster even.

I compare the two styles of pushups to running a 100m sprint for time and running a marathon. Both are still running, but two entirely different methods to train as well as energy systems that are used.

For the higher goals you want to pace yourself and go slowly so your muscles can recover during the long duration. But you actually let gravity take you down - no exertion and come up relatively fast - and pause at the top with arms straight (muscles relaxed) - using more bones to stay up than muscle. This type of steady pace can help you last longer in the pushup contest, but you also need to practice working other muscle groups in order to stay in the UP position.

Watch for Tendinitis! This type of repetition will wreak havoc on your elbows / shoulders so you need to recover well with good foods / ice after hundreds of pushups workouts / stretch well.

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Lower back / abs - working the back muscles and stomach muscles is critical as well. A yoga based plank pose (UP pushup position) is challenging if you try to hold it for more than 3-5 minutes. You will have to build up to several hours sounds like. This takes time to perfect - give yourself a good year of this core training and it will make pushups a ton easier.

Pushup workouts - I would start out with multiple sets of pushups done at a steady pace. Start off with ten minutes of pushups non-stop - meaning - you cannot place your knee on the floor for 10 minutes. But you can rest in the UP position after a set number of pushups.

This is actually pretty good training for you SEAL candidates out there as I remember days of hanging out in the leaning for for 45-50 minutes doing sets of 30-50 pushups until the instructors were tired. Add a little surf zone (sand and water) for better results!

Second question on 15 pullups / 40 pushups contest:

Sounds like you are on a 2 minute interval. So I would tackle this one by doing:

- 15 pullups / drop down immediately for 40 pushups - this will take 1 minute tops
- Take about 30-45 seconds to rest / stretch and begin set #2.
- Repeat with 1 minute rest on last one if needed.

But basically you have to be able to do multiple sets of 15-20 reps of pullups - make your workouts that. The two exercises (pullup / pushups) are opposing muscles groups so they should not tire you out from one exercise to the next.

Once you get good at this timed test with rest, decrease your rest time until you can roll through this workout with no rest at all. It can be done - just takes practice. Then your office will say, "Don't mess with that guy - he used to be a Marine!"

Thanks for the email, I think I will challenge my group of future military guys who train with me to the same workout. For all readers, if in the Maryland area, come check out the free workouts I do for all pre-military / LE guys. We also take in former military guys too!

Good luck with your pt program and I hope you see improvement soon. More workouts can be easily obtained at the Policelink.com Fitness eBook Store. Send me an email and I may post it up as an article next week. You can contact me at stew@stewsmith.com.

Mixing In Calisthenics With Lifting Weights

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:51:00 -0700

Here is an email I get often from people seeking to improve calisthenics scores in PT tests. Either they ask to do pull-ups, pushups, dips, etc every day or how to mix them into a weight lifting program. Here is what I recommend:

Hi Stew - I really enjoy weightlifting three times a week. I was wondering if I can do a pull-up / pushup workout the day after weightlifting and not overwork myself. Right now I'm at 96 pushups in 2 minutes, but only 13 solid pull-ups. Thanks for the email access.

Your PT scores are pretty good and I would keep up the calisthenics workouts especially if you are seeking employment into the military or law enforcement careers. I have no issues with lifting weights. As a former power lifting football player, I love lifting weights, but calisthenics should also be considered "weight training" as it still provides significant resistance to your bones, joints, muscles.

For instance, if you do a pull-up, you are pulling your entire body weight over a bar. Now try to do the same amount of weight on a lat pull-down machine. If you have never tried body weight pull-downs, let me warn you - THEY ARE HEAVY! So consider pull-ups a heavy weight lifting exercise as far as recovery is concerned. Your lats, biceps, grip muscles will require up to 48 hours rest to fully recover.

Pushups - These exercises are a bit different as a pushup is about 50-60% of your body weight placed on your chest, shoulders, and triceps. This is like a 200 lb man doing a bench press with 100-120 lbs. This is not that tough, but if your volume of repetitions is significant (greater than 200-300 reps) in a pushup workout, you will need at least 48 hours to recover from high repetition workouts.

How about dips? Dips are tougher on the shoulders, chest, triceps than pushups as you are placing your full bodyweight on that joint so proper form is recommended. Usually I recommend to not go down where your shoulders are lower than your elbows as it will stress our most versatile joints to potential injury. Once again, recovery is needed after a pt workout that involves parallel bar dips as well.

So if you like to lift weights, add the calisthenics exercises to the end of your workout to fully burn them out OR start off with bodyweight exercises like pull-ups, pushups, dips to warm up prior to lifting weights. Both types of resistance training will pump you up and develop muscle growth, strength, as well as stamina if you use a moderate high repetition workout program.

Don't forget your cardio! Especially if you are seeking a military or law enforcement profession and training for indoctrination / academy programs you will be running - a lot! So build up your running accordingly over a reasonable period of time. Do not just start out one day and hit a 5 mile run out of nowhere. If you are just starting out on running, only add 10% of time and distance per week (starting at 1 mile of running a day) as long as you are not experiencing any pain while or after running. If you are overweight and need to lose 30-40+ lbs, consider a non-impact aerobic activity like biking, rowing, swimming, elliptical gliding or just walking as the impact of running heavy can be a burden on your knees, shins, heels, and lower back.

Please feel free to email me if you have questions regarding your fitness. If you have questions about a specific fitness test, please let me know at stew@stewsmith.com - I will be glad to help.

So Where Can I Serve?

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:24:00 -0700

Every now and then I get a question that requires extra effort to answer. This question required every bit of experience I had to answer. If you are on the fence or how or where to serve your country, please read.
Stew

I am debating where to serve? Firefighting EMT, Police SWAT, or Military Special Ops. I know you write about all of them - do you have any advice on what you'd recommend? I am trying to do a workout that would help prepare me for all of them as I have about a year before I need to make my decision.

Whew - this is a big question, but a great one! My first opinion is that you cannot go wrong with any of your choices as serving your community in Emergency Services / Law Enforcement or your country in the Military are great professions. So, let's break it up into two major groups with several sub groups in order to see how people can find elements of these service professions that appeal to them.

First: Community Service - The Community Services you asked about were Fire Fighters, Emergency Medical technician, and Police SWAT teams. Depending on where you live, the opportunities may be better in one state / city than another so these groups may differ from town to town. So generally speaking research into the city/state has to be done to determine the physical fitness entrance standards as well as other requirements and benefits.

Emergency Medicine - To make the decision to serve as a Fire Fighter / EMT you should consider your desire to learn about emergency medicine. You can actually be both a Fire Fighter and an EMT or an EMT only. Both are physically demanding and require academic study, however the Fire Fighter profession is much more so and involves VERY HOT temperatures. Also, there is a type of bravery that not many people have to be able to run into a burning building to save another person.

Dive Teams - Most cities also offer a Public Safety Diver (PSD) program where you will use your skills in the water to rescue or search for people in rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans etc. Many Fire Fighters and Police officers also train as PSD which requires a strong ability in the water / swimming / diving. This is considered a Special Operations team in most cities as you will be diving in usually cold, dark, murky water where you cannot see the hand in front of your face. This requires an ability to be comfortable underwater / in tight enclosed areas.

Police / SWAT - Typically, you have to have at least a few years of experience before trying out and getting accepting into Police Special Weapons and Tactics Teams. Depending on your location (State / City / County) the selection process maybe extremely challenging and very limited acceptance due to space availability on the Team. But these officers are the sharp shooters, rescue specialists, warrant delivery officers when the job gets above and beyond the average officer to handle with safety. First you have to pass a police academy and then become an outstanding police officer in order to later become a SWAT team member. Usually SWAT Team tests are quite challenging. Some require swimming, running and PT with body armor, and expert shooting skills in order to qualify.

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Second: Service to your Country - Military Special Operations - By branch of service, here are the differences and requirements for each of them:

Army Special Forces - The Army Green Berets are the ground element of the special ops command, So, if you are smart with an ability to speak foreign languages, like foreign travel into both friendly and hostile countries, as well as be able to learn and teach weapons systems and tactics, this is the job for you. Army SF is on the front line of the War on Terror and a highly capable force. If you like running / rucking in desert, mountain, or jungle environments and have an ability to live in the field for weeks / months at a time while performing highly sensitive operations, this job might be for you. Get prepared by running, PTing, ruck marches, and building your leg and lower back to be strong to endure miles and days of moving. Depending on your job, you can be a combat medic, engineer/explosives, diving, weapons specialist and other combat related skills.

Special Operations Flight - The Army also has a Special Operations Flight program (Army Special Operations Aviation Regiment - SOAR) that are some of the toughest, bravest pilots / crew in the military. With this team on your side, as a ground Special Op team, you grow to love the pilots who can get you out of a hot location or drop a bomb with precision on an larger enemy force. So if you think you may want to become a pilot, this maybe an option for you too. Check out SOAR for more info.

Naval Special Warfare - Navy SEALs require a strong ability to do underwater and maritime operations as well as missions on land in all areas of the world as well. These sailors have a challenging selection process which will require you to have a solid foundation in upper body strength / endurance, cardio vascular endurance, and the ability to run, ruck march, and swimming for miles. Tactically you need be able to learn skills such as shooting, patrolling, SCUBA diving, explosives. If you are NOT comfortable in the water or being cold - this is not your job. After SEAL training - BUD/S - you will continue to jump school and more advanced training. If this excites you like it did me, it maybe a job for you.

Naval Special Operations - EOD - Explosive Ordinance Disposal - All branches of the military have EOD units that have to travel in harm's way and disassemble bombs of all types. In the past 8 years, their profession has grown out of necessity. Navy EOD also disassemble bombs underwater as their skills as divers are often used with torpedoes, mines, and unexploded ordinance on the bottom of the sea. Having an ability to be calm in high danger situations is definitely a requirement.

Air Force PJs - These are combat medics who skills are top notch in emergency medicine as well as combat. The selection process is highly challenging and requires advanced skills in the water, land, air, marksmanship, and navigation. The training pipeline is long but the most challenging is the initial training where there is greater than 50% attrition rate.

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Air Force CCT - Combat Control Technician - The CCTs are FAA certified air traffic controllers and responsible for conducting all types of missions behind enemy lines while setting air fields, calling in fire support while working jointly with Army SF, Navy SEALs, etc. There training is challenging as well as they have to learn the water, land, air skills of other Special operations as well as stressful air traffic control. See AF PJ / CCT job requirements.

USMC RECON / MARSOC - RECON still exists! They have simply rearranged the Force RECON teams into MARSOC and the Battalion RECON missions have been largely unchanged. See the details at Camp Pendleton’s Basic RECON Course. But in a nutshell, all future RECON students must attend BRC – BASIC RECON COURSE. You can still do this as a new Marine but you must first qualify after Boot camp and School of Infantry (SOI). The link above will describe the standards that a RECON applicant must adhere to before joining the Marine Occupational Specialty 0321 (RECON Marine). RECON Battalions remained as part of the USMC Divisions and continue to perform missions for the deployed USMC commander. BRC is open to Marines and Navy Hospital Corpsman.

MARSOC took both Force RECON Companies, which became the MSOB (Marine Special Operations Battalions). The West Coast MSOB is located in Camp Pendleton, CA and the East Coast MSOB is in Camp Lejeune, NC See the MARSOC Website.

CAN YOU DO BOTH? Yes!

There is an ability to do both community and country special ops service. There are friends of mine who are Reservists in Special Ops (Navy SEAL / Air Force PJ / CCT / and Green Beret) who are also Police SWAT officers or Fire Fighters in their home state. Many have deployed to Iraq / Afghanistan in the past few years and came back to their community professions. Many of these require you to have served first in order to become a Reservist, however the Army National Guard has Special Forces career paths that allow you to go to SFAS / Q course as a Reservists and train /deploy with SF Teams.

Regardless, training for ALL of these professions requires time and effort. You should find out what the entrance standards are and strive to surpass the minimum standards to such a degree that the test is actually easy to you. In fact, you should have done the test so many times on your own that you truly feel like it is “just another workout”. If you prepare like this for ANY of the jobs, you will be highly successful.

This was a tough question to put my hands around so I tried to answer it as best I could. Basically you should think about where you want to live as many Military bases are in different places all over the world. The one thing I liked about the Navy is most bases were near a beach - growing up in Florida made me a beach bum. But there are many beautiful places the other branches have posts - it all depends how you define "beautiful". But the main thing is what interests you. What do you like to do as a hobby - swim vs. hike? cold vs. hot? medicine vs. explosives? Figure all that out and narrow down your search.

Safe Running During The Hot, Dry Summer

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:57:00 -0700

With the long days of summer, there are more daylight hours in which to exercise. Many people focus on running and outdoor activities. These days, though, it may be best to stay indoors and do another type of workout instead of breathing polluted air during strenuous cardio activity.

In an email this week, I was asked about running during the summer, specifically during sand / dust storms of Iraq. In a separate email I was also asked the same question about running near the cities of the South East Coast of the United States when the summer days are hazy, hot and humid. Both humid and dry summer environments are not the most enjoyable places to run because if dehydration does not slow you down the fine particulate matter that can lodge in your lungs will.

Humid Cities

In the hot and humid cities like Washington DC, Atlanta, and even worse Beijing, more pollutants are trapped in the wet air that we breathe and will lead to many health issues such as:

1 – Reducing lung capability / function
2 – Damaging the lining of the lungs
3 – Causing asthma flare ups
4 – other chronic irreparable lung diseases

Tip to avoid: Do not run in the hottest part of the day and watch for Weather Ozone alerts in your city as the local weather channels / websites will discuss the fine particulate. For instance, check out Weather Channel State Air Quality Tool for up to date information about your city’s air quality.

Arid Environments

I asked an Army General Surgeon attached to a Special Forces Group and he said, “In the desert (specifically Iraq), you do not have the humidity issues of many regions, but due to the dry air, sand, dust, chemicals, and even animal / human feces microbes can get lodged into your lungs especially if you try to run during or shortly after a wind storm in the desert.” The same lung issues can occur as the above because the fine pollutants fly through the air and can get into your lungs and be an irritant at best.

In either environment, you should consider a TRX, weights, or PT workout for the day. I know it is tough to skip a cardio workout when seeking a fitness goal of some sort, but consider the near and long term health goals as well. Many complain of a persistent cough after running in a polluted area, which can last for months. If reduced lung capability is the best you can hope for when running in pollutants and permanent lung damage / cancer is the worst, I would seriously consider opting out of the long hard run until the air clears.

Fighting Lower Back Pain At Home

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:50:00 -0700

Our back side (posterior) of the body sustains a majority of the injuries mainly because we neglect major muscle groups such as rear deltoids / upper back, lumbar region (lower back), as well as hamstrings. These three weaknesses create front / back imbalance of strength and flexibility and lead to the three most common injuries in active as well as inactive people: shoulder, back, and knee injuries. Here is a question that requires a long answer as lower back pain can stem from many causes:

Why do lower back muscles get tight in the morning? What things should I be considering before going ahead? A little advice would go a long way right now. Thanks.

Assuming stiffness and not injury, there are many reasons for lower back discomfort. It could be the fact you were on your feet all day or lifting heavy objects incorrectly. I asked one of my workout partners, chiropractor Dr. Steve Erle DC and he gave me the laundry list of potential causes to having lower back pain. As Dr Erle says, "You can either live with the pain or do something about it."

Here is a list of things Dr. Steve and I came up with to narrow our answer:

1 - Your bed is no good - You need a firm mattress - not too soft / not too hard). Your bed should form to the shape of your body.

2 - The way you sleep - if you sleep on your belly your lower back stays tight all night
- if you sleep on your back your back is allowed to relax - this supports your spine.
-. If you sleep on your side put a rolled up blanket or pillow between your knees.

3- Stay hydrated - Sore muscles could be thirsty

4 - Weak abs / lower back muscles - You may just need to work them more - see my fitness plans.

5 - Stretching - It keeps the pelvis as well as lumbar muscles and ligaments pliable thus allowing joints to move more freely and less susceptible to pain. Also, stretch psoas and piriformis muscles as these muscles place stress on the spine from the inside causing lumbar region to contract - these are often neglected lower back muscles.

6 - Work out - Beginner PT programs / lower back plan and exercise like yoga and pilates will strengthen your core muscles which support the lumbar spine.

7 - Posture – Poor posture is a result of spinal issues not a cause of them. If you have noticeably poor posture you likely have a spinal problem. These are best diagnosed by a Chiropractor.

From Dr Erle - What causes Back Pain? The quick answer is gravity. The spine is the main weight bearing structure of the body and houses the central nervous system (CNS). The more you move the more wear and tear the spine takes. Therefore pain and injury are extremely common. 80 plus percent of the world’s population will experience lumbar pain at one point over a lifetime. Lumbar pain is the number one reason for visits to primary medical physicians and number two reason for work absence.

You cannot avoid the effects of gravity, but you can minimize the effects of wear and tear. How? As a dentist is to tooth decay a Chiropractor is the spinal decay. Exercise; this is not just a recommendation, it’s a must. The body is designed for activity, you therefore must remain active. Low impact activities such as yoga, pilates, stretching, running, resistance training, swimming are great ways to minimize the effects of wear and tear of the spine and reduce pain. High impact activities like football, ruck marches, gymnastics and or just sleeping wrong can lead to chronic spinal issues.

Start a low impact exercise program. PT as well as other low impact activities such as yoga should be done daily. Be proactive in your health care. Don’t wait for back pain, that’s like waiting until your teeth hurt to brush them.

However, if you are like 99.9% of all people you are going to wait until you have back pain before you’ll do anything. If you wake up one morning with stiffness and it goes away, you are likely fine. However, if you wake up every morning this way, remember the seven most dangerous words in health care, “it will go away on its own.” It not go away on its own and it will get worse and be harder to fix later. If you are having back pain more than one time a week, see your local Chiropractor. These are the doctors who spend more time than any other on spine related issues.

Surefire Strategy For Beating Physical Fitness Test Fatigue

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:15:00 -0700

How many of you have taken a physical fitness test (PFT) and did not score as well as you have in the past during your own workouts? Often by the end of a PFT, you will be fatigued and the last cardio test will be slower than normal workouts scores. Here is an email I received that I think we all can relate to:

Hey Stew - I normally run a 9-minute zone 1.5 miles, but after pull-ups, pushups, and sit-ups testing portion, I can only get 10 minutes on the 1.5 mile run. What gives?

This is very common. Once I realized you need to have a strategy for taking the PFT, my scores started improving. Of course, I was doing more PFTs in the order of the test I was about to take, so I am sure getting in better shape helped with my PFT stamina.

First of all, you have to train the way you test: If your PFT requires you to perform weights or PT exercises first, then your workouts should mimic the order of the test as best you can.

For example, for your test, you should do your PT, weight training first, then, follow it with the running portion of your workout. By arranging the workouts this way you will get the body used to running when the upper body is pumped up with blood. During the test you need to understand about PFT Transition. In a nutshell, if you can loosen up your upper body by stretching the arms, chest, shoulders, and back muscles prior to running, that will help with your more natural running state. Also loosen up your legs by doing a short run so you get the blood from your upper body down to your legs. This transition takes about 4-5 minutes and usually you get about 10 minutes to prepare for the last event of the PFT.

Stay Hydrated and Cool: If you can keep your heat down, your performance will improve. Be well-hydrated days prior to the event and sip water or a sports drink during the test in order to stay cool. The sports drink or fruit will help you keep blood sugar levels high during the test. By doing this you will have energy to push yourself on the last event of the PFT. In between all events, hold onto cold water bottles (even ice filled) to keep the colder blood circulating to your core. You will be amazed at how well this works.

Learn How to Pace Yourself: The pacing exercises in this test are the sit-ups and the running portion. These require a steady pace and not a fast starting pace. Many times in sit-ups, people score 30 sit-ups in 30 seconds, but cannot get another 30 in the next 1:30 in a 2-minute test. By simply dropping your initial pace to 20 in 30 seconds, you can easier score 80 sit-ups in 2 minutes without a single workout. Same for the running. You never sprint the first quarter mile of a 1.5 mile run. Find your goal pace and stick to it by training at that pace at every distance you run. For example, if your goal is to run a 10:30 1.5 mile run then you have to run a quarter mile in 1:45, a half mile in 3:30, and a mile in 7 minutes. Learn the pace by practice!

Exert On The UP: . When doing any of the PT exercises, you have one advantage to half the exercise - gravity. Gravity will take you down faster with no effort, so do not waste energy by slowly lowering yourself to the bottom of the exercise. If doing sit-ups, let gravity take your back to the floor by relaxing the abdominal muscles. If doing pushups, relax the chest and triceps and fall to the counter. Same goes for pull-ups, but you must semi-control your decent here as it can produce swinging, which will throw you off your best scores.

So the thing to remember is this: go into the PFT well prepared. Make sure you are hydrated, stay hydrated, stay cool, and stretch well before running (both upper and lower body). Do not forget to learn your pace and pace yourself during the test!

Self Motivation - The Difference Between Wanna-Be and Gonna-Be

Stew Smith, CSCS — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:06:00 -0700

Most people who email me are pretty motivated but need guidance on how to get to a new level of fitness and health. From the unfit seeking to getting healthy and lose weight to the athlete seeking to change from a sport workout routine to a military workout routine to better prepare for the different challenges that the military provides, I am honored to help.

However, every now and then I receive emails from those who say they want to serve but have been unmotivated for a year or more to physically prepare for a profession in the military or law enforcement. This is a problem. With the current economic recession and job losses, recruiter's offices are full of young and older recruits looking for a job.

Here is an email from a young man seeking to join either the military or police force:

Hello - I am a recent college graduate and used to be an athlete in high school, but have not worked out in more than two years with any consistency. I know I need to lose weight for my health but I also want to get a job in the military or police. I am not sure which one and I just cannot get motivated to go and workout. Any suggestions?

The good news is that you are young enough to get in shape relatively quickly. Four to six months of daily fitness at your age will help your ability to survive whatever training you are seeking. However, ask yourself: is this an attempt at "job hunting" or are you really motivated to serve your country in the military or police force? These are honorable professions that require personal drive and motivation to succeed, not just a place to pick up a check every two weeks.

One day while performing your duties, your fitness may mean the difference between life and death for you or your buddy. If that does not motivate you to workout then I am not going to be able to do it by holding your hand and telling you that you can do it if you try. You have to ask yourself, do you really want to serve your country enough that you are willing to suck up the pain of preparation in order to achieve the goal of proudly wearing that uniform?

Another thing you will develop when you start to train hard is the confidence in yourself. You will sharpen your mental toughness by pushing your fitness levels each week.

One thing I have learned by being in the military/law enforcement fitness and fitness writing business for the past ten years is that you can set the example for people to follow, but you cannot make them follow. I do not motivate people to workout - YOU have to do that. When you are motivated, let me know and I can help you get the the level of fitness you need.

When you are truly motivated to serve, you will do whatever is in your power to prepare yourself. You have to understand that we are at war with people who want to shoot you for your ideals and beliefs. Whether it is your belief of freedom for all or justice to those who break the law, you will one day embody that belief in the uniform you choose to wear. It is not just a job - it is a noble profession that you will always treasure having served in and you will never forget those who served and the new generation that still serves after you.

Now get to work!

Bodyweight Exercises - Create Your Own Workouts

By Stew Smith — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:50:00 -0700

Calisthenics, or bodyweight exercises, originated thousands of years ago in ancient Greece and have been a major component of fitness in athletics, military, law enforcement, and daily fitness for home workouts without equipment. Here is a request from a Perfect push-up customer seeking to do more exercises without having to go to a gym.

A note from a reader:

I need help in making a full body bodyweight routine. Any advice/sample that you can offer? I am seventeen and have been using your push-up PT pyramid on and off for a year now. With it, I am able to pump multiple diamond push-ups more than I ever have in the past years.

I have been creating calisthenics based workout plans for more than twenty years to build muscle stamina, strength, and flexibility. By adding a form of cardiovascular activity like running, swimming, or biking to complete the workout, you can burn more calories and improve heart and lung circulation. I also like to supplement calisthenics with some form of simple weight training like dumbbells in full body movements.

Here are some sample routines that focus on both upper body, lower body, and core exercises:

Upper body Warm-up

Repeat 5-10 times

Jumping jacks - 10

Push-ups - 10

Note: Add pull-ups when multiple sets are possible at 5-10 reps per set.

Lower body Warm-up

Repeat 5-10 times

Jumping jacks - 10

Squats - 10

Upper / Lower Body & Cardio Combo - A full body plan like the one below is a fast way to complete a workout with little or no rest by resting your upper body by working your lower body and abdominal exercises.

Repeat 3-4 times

Pull-ups - max reps

Squats - 20-30

push-ups - 20-30 reps

Lunges - 10-15 / leg

Abs of choice - 50 reps

Optional Cardio of choice - 10 minutes

Supplemental Dumbbell Routine - For a detailed photo-explanation of a great full body routine, click here.

Lower body / Cardio Workout - Here is a quick and challenging workout to build both leg speed and endurance.

Repeat 4-5 times

Run or bike 3 minutes

Squats - 20 reps

Lunges - 15/leg reps

Heel raises (calves) - 20-30 reps

Upper / Lower back Balance Cycle - In order to balance out doing several sets of push-ups or other pushing exercises, add in the below exercises for 2-3 sets at the end of the workout to avoid internal rotation of the shoulder girdle.

Repeat 2-3 times

Reverse push-ups - 25 reps

Birds - 25 reps

Plank pose - 1 minute

Note: Review more ways to balance out your push-up routine.

Push / Pull Upper body Cycle - To fully work the upper body, balance out the pushing muscles (chest, shoulders and triceps) with the pulling muscles (biceps, forearms, back)

Repeat 4-5 times

Push-ups - max reps

Reverse push-ups - 20

Pull-ups - max reps

Birds - 20

Abs of choice - 50

Note: Try to also include some of the supplemental push/pull exercises.

Abdominal Cycle - Do this 2-3 times during the workout and 4-5 times a week. It is fine to do abdominal and cardio exercises several days a week or on back-to-back days.

Crunches - 25

Reverse crunches - 25

Double crunches - 25

Left crunches - 25

Right crunches - 25

Bicycle crunches -25

Plank pose - 1 minute

These workouts can be done throughout the week, but as with weights, it is not recommended to do the same major muscle groups on back-to-back days. So pick a calisthenics day and follow it with a cardio workout on the next day; this is the easiest way to create a fitness routine for yourself. If you are new to exercise, just Google some of the workouts above or visit StewSmith.com for articles, pictures, and books complete with workouts and exercise descriptions.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Stew Smith CSCS, is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author specializing in military, law enforcement fitness for future and active duty members who serve the country in physically challenging and potentially dangerous professions. Contact Stew at stew@stewsmith.com for answers to your questions.

Balance Out Your Pushup Workouts

Stew Smith, CSCS — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:25:00 -0700

People who exercise and those who do not, often neglect the upper back and rear shoulder muscles. Life has a way of bowing your upper back and rolling your shoulders forward. In technical terms, we are basically “internally rotated” with the shoulder girdle. Many things in life "internally rotate” us such as driving, sitting at a computer, playing video games, texting, carrying backpacks, bench pressing, pushups, situps and many more exercises and daily life events. So posture is critical to performance and our confidence. Perfect Posture is possible by adding in a few daily exercises for only a few minutes.

Basically, every “push” workout you do should be balanced out with a “pull” type of workout. You can do pull-ups to help balance out your pushups as well as supplemental daily exercises like the following:

*Upperback exercise #1 (Arm Haulers)* - Lie on your belly with your feet on the floor. Lift your chest slightly off the floor and wave your arms from your sides to over your head for 30 seconds.

*Upperback exercise #2 (reverse pushups)* - Lie on your stomach in the down pushup position. Lift your hands off the floor 2-3 inches instead of pushing the floor. This will strengthen your upperback muscles that balance out the chest muscles. Do 20-30 reps Rear deltoids and rhomboids are the muscles used.

*Upperback exercise #3 (Birds)* - Lie on your stomach with your arms spread to the height of your shoulders. Lift both arms off the floor until your shoulder blades “pinch” and place them slowly in the down position. Repeat for 20-30 repetitions mimicking a bird flying.

This simple 3-4 minute program will help you keep your spine in proper alignment and fortify your delicate shoulder girdle. If you neglect these smaller muscles of the upper back and rear shoulder, all it will take is a fun toss of a football, baseball, or over head smash of a volleyball and your rotator cuff muscles will be talking to you immediately. If you want to hear your doctor tell you that you need surgery, neglect these muscles.

Training for an “O-Course” Without Obstacles

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:40:00 -0700

Many pre-military and law enforcement recruits who are training for their future training programs often are hit with this problem of not having an obstacle course to train with before departing. Here is an email from a trainee seeking advice on how to pre-train for this issue:

I do not have access to an o-course, but would really like to be able to train on one, or at least train a workout that has some carryover to something like the bud/s o-course or the USMC confidence course. Any ideas? Thanks very much.

All obstacle courses have high and low obstacles and usually some distance to run in between them. Here is how I recommend training for such a test:

1 - Continue with upperbody strength / endurance workouts - You need the muscles that enable you to perform a pullup, pushup, and dip. Keep doing those in a regular program in your PT workouts. If you are not doing these exercises here is a sample plan:

Repeat 5-10 times

Run 100m fast

Pushups - 10-20 reps

Pullups or flexed arm hang - 15-20 seconds worth

Dips or bench dips - 10-20 reps

This type of quick circuit will ensure you are working the right muscles that will help you get over a wall, up a rope, and over a fence. Notice the short fast 100m sprint in this workout. This addition will help you cover ground quickly and make up valuable time if you are struggling with any obstacles.

2 - GRIP - climbing a rope or jumping over a wall will require significant upperbody strength but it will also require you to be able to grip a rope or wall edge as well. Once again, flexed arm hangs and pull-ups will help to a degree, but I like to add a piece of rope or rolled towel over a pullup bar and practice hanging on the two ends or even doing pull-ups with it. That is one of the best grip workouts ever. In fact, on the strong man competitions, often they have the world’s strongest men hang from a bar the longest as a part of the event.

3 - Balance - find a curb or long beam you are walk across / run across to practice balance on a log as many obstacle courses have a balance portion. A trick I always use is to look at the end of the balance beam and run to it. Do not look straight down as that can interfere with your ability to stay on the balance log.

Weights or Calisthenics - Many people ask me what they should use to prepare for military or law enforcement training programs. I always recommend to do a calisthenics based program complete with plenty of cardio activity like running, swimming, biking to increase your endurance and muscle stamina. However, I do like to supplement the workouts with some weights IF you must lift weights, but any of these programs will not have significant weight lifting in them. This is mainly a logistical issue as large recruit classes are difficult to run through “real” weight lifting programs in a gym. As a former powerlifter, I understand the urge to lift, but do yourself a favor and while you are pre-training just PT and run with some weights to balance your training.

Put it this way, no 400 lb bench press is going to get you over a wall or up a rope!

Feel free to email me if you have any questions at stew@stewsmith.com

Fighting Disease and Illness with Fitness

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:14:00 -0700

We have all heard that daily exercise and eating a healthful diet can help you fight many diseases and illnesses to include diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and even cancer. This weekend in Tucson, AZ, I had the honor to meet a woman who donates her time to help people fight cancer through exercise. The “Sarge,” Anita Kellman runs the "Beat Cancer Boot Camp":http://www.beatcancerbootcamp.com and has used many of my workouts for ideas to train more than 700 people over the past five years.

I was honored that a product of mine was instrumental in helping people get healthy and fight cancer while on chemotherapy, getting radiation treatments, or in remission. As you know, I write books to help people pass fitness tests for military, law enforcement, and fire fighting professions. To think that the Beat Cancer Boot Camp and Anita Kellman were able to give more meaning to my workouts than I ever thought possible is completely humbling. It is a great idea and if you are trainer or want to help fight cancer, you should consider putting on a Beat Cancer Boot Camp event in your city. See the "www.beatcancerbootcamp.com":http://www.beatcancerbootcamp.com website and learn how to help in the cause.

_*Beat Cancer Boot Camp 5k Obstacle Course*_

I witnessed more than 300 inspiring participants (cancer patients, survivors, and family and friends) in the first ever Beat Cancer Boot Camp 5k run and obstacle course in Tucson, AZ. I was honored as a special guest and prepared the large group with a quick warm-up / stretch prior to the event. Here is what we did prior to the race:

*Repeat 3 times*

Jumping jacks – 10

Toe Touch, Down Dog, into pushup position

Pushups – 10 (wide, regular, close pushups)

Squats – 20 (squats, ½ squats, side stepping squats)

Stretch arms / legs

8 Count Body-builder Pushups – 10

Lunges and torso stretches – 10 each leg

Toe touch / Down Dog / Pushups – 10

Reverse pushups – 20

Birds – 20

Arm haulers – 20

Swimmers – 30 seconds

Plank pose 30 seconds

Arm circles -10

Press-Press-Fling -10

Hi Jack / Hi Jills -10

Leg / Arm stretches

After this little warm up, the 300 racers ran the 5k complete with pull-ups, wall climbs, low crawls through a mud pit, fire hose drags, tire runs, and other strength and agility obstacles.

The Marines and Army recruiters were there and many of the ROTC students from the University of AZ, Tucson Fire fighters, police men and women all volunteered and raced in the event as well. There were even some Olympic athletes signing autographs and motivating the racers over the obstacles. Overall, it was one of the most inspiring events I ever participated in.

Check out the site at "www.beatcancerbootcamp.com":http://www.beatcancerbootcamp.com and listen for an event near you soon in the future.

Advanced Balance Training for Athletes – Tactical Athletes Too!

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:11:00 -0700

I recently wrote an article on "Adding Balance to Your Life,":http://policelink.monster.com/police-fitness/articles/101253-add-some-balance-to-your-life but it was aimed more at beginners and for those who are losing their balance as they age. People fall everyday due to loss of balance muscles that accompanies a sedentary lifestyle. Spending your 40s, 50s, and 60s not exercising regularly can lead to a variety of broken bones and even death. So by simply standing on one leg everyday for a few minutes can help you build the lower leg muscles which will help with your reaction time to catch yourself if you stumble.

This article is inspired by an email from a 17 year old skateboarder who plans on serving in the military and asked if I thought his advanced ability to balance and be agile would help him in performing his job in the military.

Good question.

I have used balance training with athletes using Balance balls, Bosu Balls, and one legged exercises. After doing some research for some local athletes who play sports like hockey, lacrosse, football, and basketball, I found a device that is hardcore and will help any athlete better stay on their feet during competition. If you have ever stunt biked, skateboarded or surfed, you will see the benefit of the Indo- Board Balance Trainer. Personally, I think these extreme sport athletes are perhaps the strongest in core strength and balance than any other athletes. See www.indoboard.com for more information and for some crazy videos go to YouTube.com and do a search for Indo-Board. After watching some videos of people falling, I realized that a bicycle helmet would be a good addition for both kids and adults alike, especially when learning how to stand on the Indo-Board. When I first stepped on the board using the cylinder, I thought, no way am I going to do this. Then after watching the instructional video that came with the Indo-Board both my 11 year old daughter and I had it down and could balance it on the cylinder for more than 3-4 minutes.

Now after only two weeks, I can add dumbbell exercises, full squats, even lunges on the board and there is plenty of room to grow and become even better on the balance board. The addition of balance training with sports is starting to get traction with top trainers of professional athletes. Balance is a neuro-muscular stimulator that involves every facet of movement and coordination from your feet to your core and to your inner ear as well as hand eye coordination. All of these are critical to athleticism and fast team movements as made by athletes and special ops teams.

Add Some Balance to Your Life

Stew Smith, CSCS — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:46:00 -0700

An email from a physical therapist in the Navy asked me about training people to have better balance.

He states:

"One of the biggest culprits to injury as we age is falling or losing your balance. Do you have any plans for folks to gain balance or better stability?"

Great question! When training athletes, one of the most important elements of training used is balance which will assist greatly with agility and prevention of injury in sports. But yes, we all can stand some balance in our life. As we age, our body can lose its quick reaction time and forget how to catch us when we fall. Adding some simple balance exercises is all you need to do. The next time you do your dumbbell exercises like bicep curls, overhead press, triceps extensions and other exercises simply do it standing on ONE leg. Also, passing time standing in line can be enhanced by seeing if you can stand on one leg for one minute without catching yourself. If you think it is too easy, then close your eyes while on one leg and you will feel the muscles in your legs work that keep you from falling.

There are many items to assist with balance training used by athletes as well as the average person seeking better fitness. Such items are the following:

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1) Balance boards like the IndoBoard

2) Stability balls / bosu balls

3) TRX - Suspension Trainer

4) Wobble boards

5) Agility ladders

6) As well as simply jumping or standing on one leg

Some advanced routines you can add to balance training is to place your knees / shins on the balance ball as in the picture. Then use the regular dumbbell exercises you normally do while standing to challenge your balance further. You can also use the ball as a bench and do your bench press / flies on it as well with dumbbells or barbell.

I have used the above training with hockey players and other athletes to better challenge them with the same type of balance skills they need when on the ice.

The best thing about this type of program is that is does not need to replace any training you are currently doing - just supplement it. By simply adding one legged exercises and a variety of balance products listed above for 10-15 minutes during your workout will help you prevent the loss of balance that often occurs with becoming sedentary and aging.

Getting Ready for Summer: Can You Hang with Two-a-Days?

Stew Smith, CSCS — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:22:00 -0700

If you have been dedicated to your exercise routine and results have started to taper, it may be time to pump up your workout by adding something new - maybe even another workout in a day. Yes - good ole two a days! They worked back in high school preparing for sports. But, can you fit two workouts into your day and will it hurt you to do too much, too soon, too fast?

I would only recommend a two-a-day fitness routine to someone who ALREADY has a one-a-day fitness routine going for several months. However, it is possible to break a workout into two parts to better fit your schedule as most of us have a difficult time fitting in a continuous 90 minutes of training into a day. Yes, you can overdo this type of training if you continue this for months and if you try to double your current fitness routine overnight. So, here are some ideas for you to get off the training plateau EVEN with a busy schedule:

One of the split programs I like to do when my days are 12-18 hours long is to break my cardio and calisthenics / weights into two workouts:

Workout #1 - Wake up with cardio. Usually a steady run, bike ride, or a challenging swim is a great wake-up call and will prepare you for your job or shift work. I would do this type of workout for 30-45 minutes before going to work. You can break it up with shorter interval workouts of fast bursts for 2-3 minutes followed by an equal or double rest of easy pace or walking. Then again, if you do not want to think the first thing after waking up - just go for a steady 30-45 minutes of exercise - even if that exercise is just a walk.

Workout #2 - After work or during a lunch or dinner break, get another quick workout in. Usually a fast paced circuit or superset workout will do the trick and you can use weights or just focus on calisthenics such as push ups, pull-ups, dips, variety of abs. This will get the metabolism going again and help you stay awake for another 4-5 hours. I do not recommend getting a workout and trying to go to sleep shortly after as it will interfere with the quality of sleep you have that night. AND, if you are busting out two workouts a day for a few or more days a week - you will need quality sleep.

Some quick routines:

*Repeat 10 times*

Jumping Jacks - 10

Pushups - 10 (on leg days do squats in place of pushups)

Abs of choice - 20

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This “warmup” routine takes about 10 minutes if you move through it with little resting - in fact just rest with your abs. Resting in between any set during a workout with a 20-30 reps set of stomach exercises is a great way to fit more into a short period of time.

After your warmup, hit a circuit:

Mix in pull-ups or pulldowns on a lat machine, pushups or bench press with weights or dumbbells, followed by a Multi-Joint Dumbbell set that mixes in several exercises into one movement.

On leg days, you can actually mix into your bike or run workout a few sets of body weight squats, lunges, or calf raises to work the legs. See the Run and Leg PT article for a killer leg and cardio workout mixed. Here is one example:

Run ¼ mile at goal 1.5 -2 mile pace (usually 90-100 seconds)

Squats - 20

Lunges - 10/leg

Heel raises - 20

Repeat above 4-5 times for a 20-30 minutes workout plan that gets both cardio and legs pumped up.

These are just some of the many ideas you can try when mixing in multiple disciplines into a workout day.

Too Busy To Workout? Try This...

Stew Smith, CSCS — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:28:00 -0700

_Stew - I have only about 15 minutes in the AM to workout and I want to start mixing in more things into my workout - weights, PT, cardio. Any tips?_

Here are some ideas for those of you who only have a few minutes a day to exercise. Often I tell people if they do not have time to workout - they are doing too much - and that applies to a good majority of people. However, for those who are burning the candle at both ends it may not be that beneficial to wake up 15-20 minutes earlier to get a longer workout. IF you can go to bed 15-30 minutes earlier however, that may help with an earlier REVEILLE!! "See importance of SLEEP article.":http://policelink.monster.com/police-fitness/articles/53270-sleep-the-best-training-routine

So regardless of the hours you keep, here are some options for you to get in quick workouts that are both affective and will wake you up whether it is done in the AM or PM after dinner.

1 - Wake up with Crunches - Here is an exercise that is JUST a little harder than sleeping and it WILL wake you up by doing simple movements:

I do a complete crunch cycle complete with the following:

Regular Crunch - 10-20 reps - Just lift shoulder blades off the floor

Reverse Crunch - 10-20 reps - Lift hips off the floor

Double Crunch - 10-20 reps - Lift BOTH hips / shoulders off the floor simultaneously

Left Crunches - 10-20 reps - Take right elbow to the left knee

Right Crunches -10-20 reps - Take left elbow to right knee

Bicycle Crunches - 10-20 reps - Take right/left elbow to left/right knee by bicycling the legs

Plank pose - 30-60 seconds

Stomach stretch - 30 seconds

THIS TAKES about 3-4 minutes

2 - Jumping jacks / Pushups - Do 10 jumping jacks / 10 pushups and repeat the non-stop cycle 5-10 times depending on your fitness level.

THIS TAKES 3-5 minutes if you push all 10 sets.

3 - If you want to add in a leg workout try replacing pushups with squats above.

4 - MJDBs - Multi-Joint Dumbbells Exercises - with a set of dumbbells mix in a few exercises into one movement:

- Bicep curl, military press, tricep extensions - do 10-15 reps

- Squats, bicep curl, military press, tricep extension - do 10-15 reps

- Squat thrust, pushup x 5, stand up, bicep curl military press, tricep extension - 5-10 reps

"See related LINK with pictures of exercises.":http://policelink.monster.com/police-fitness/articles/94830-spruce-up-the-workouts-with-dumbbell-movements If you select one of these to do it only takes about 30 seconds per set. Mix in a few sets of each exercise and you have completed a challenging and effective fullbody workout cycle.

5 - CARDIO option. You can skip all the above and just run, bike, walk, elliptical glide, or row for 15-20 minutes or you can add in a quick burst of cardio for the remaining time you have.

With spring on its way, the days will get longer and the mornings will become bright as early as 5am. Try to start your day with some sunrise workouts and eventually you will build up with a realistic progression of activity that will last several months. Then as the days get shorter you can slowly start to shorten your workouts in order to recover from a more aggressive cycle of fitness. "See Solstice Running Plan for more details.":http://www.stewsmith.com/solsticerunningplan.htm