Finding your "why" for long-term, high-intensity goals like special operations training involves connecting with a deeply personal, service-oriented purpose beyond just earning a title. While titles are nice, they are not enough to sustain you through the long days and nights of challenges you will face. You may have a passion and desire you cannot yet verbalize. That is fine to be drawn to something for unknown reasons, but you need to dig deep to figure it out. Here are several ways to consider when you are trying to bring out your why: Key Strategies to Find Your "Why" (and Develop It) (See more - click here for full article)

At BUD/S, running in the sand at the beach is one of the toughest things to get used to, especially if you are working on a running weakness. The student body of each BUD/S class comes from all over the United States, and most do not have the ability to train on the beach like some will. This requires additional running ability (not just average) and plenty of practice with other types of running that make it harder. The good news is that the 4-mile timed runs that are tested each week are on a hard-packed, low-tide beach. However, many of the class runs will be done directly on the soft sand, over dunes, and on very soft dirt roads, which they call the Demo-Pits road. Depending on what phase you are in, you may find rucking on this terrain ever more challenging. It pays to do both in your BUD/S prep running/rucking program. For more ideas check out: https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/soft-sand-running-workouts-and-alternatives-when-no-beach-is-available

Identify as a BUD/S Student Who Never Quits - It is Not Even a Thought The Evolution of Success When Challenged with Hard Goals Recent studies on U.S. Navy SEAL training - Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) reveal that psychological, mental, and identity traits often serve as better indicators of success than physical strength alone. Research shows that candidates who cultivate a new identity as a successful BUD/S student quickly, maintain their humor, and practice a "never quit" mindset are less likely to give up, even in the face of pain, cold, or exhaustion of the day-to-day grind that is SEAL training, thereby significantly increasing their chances of completing the training. READ MORE... https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/identify-as-a-bud-s-student-who-never-quits-it-is-not-even-a-thought

Good morning, I was curious what programs would you recommend from your site to improve my numbers if trying out for something like the Counter Assault Team? Push-ups: 69 Sit-ups: 53 Chin-ups: 12 1.5 mile: 12:09

When you go to bed tonight, remember that a group of young men will be staying up all night training in the cold waters off San Diego. They will continue this constant movement until Friday, around noon. Use their efforts to help you get up out of bed tomorrow and get to work - whatever that work is. Here is my hell week story (as well as the year prior to that week of preparation): After reviewing my article archives -- and, more specifically, my Navy SEAL-related articles -- I realized I have written about how to get to BUD/S and what workouts will help you make it through BUD/S, but I never wrote about Hell Week. I received an email this week asking about my Hell Week. It reads, "Stew, do you think SEAL training Hell Week is still as hard as when you were going through BUD/S?" Of course, any old frogman will tell you his Hell Week was the toughest ever, but I have to say that I have seen several Hell Weeks since I graduated from BUD/S in 1992 and they still suck. After talking to some recent BUD/S graduates, we shared Hell Week stories that were as similar today as they were 20 years ago. This article is going to try to explain to those who have not been through Hell Week what it is like and why it is one of the most successful tools in Navy SEAL training in determining a student's desire to serve. First, My last two years of preparation: My last two years at the Naval Academy were spent busting my butt preparing for SEAL training. My 1991 USNA classmates who wanted to go to BUD/S totaled about 50, yet there were only 20 slots. We trained together often during those years prior to graduation. After hearing stories from the USNA Class of 1989 and 1990 BUD/S students as they progressed through BUD/S, we got excited to challenge ourselves like our mentors did.