Customer Reviews

Maximum Fitness : The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Cross Training

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the best all around fitness guide that I have ever seen or used. Unlike other similar (Navy SEAL workout) books, this book goes well beyond the BUD/S warning order that is freely available on the internet. The best part of the book is the detailed weekly workout charts, which start off really slow which is good if you are out of shape (like I was).

The only drawback of this book that the workouts can be a little confusing, and it doesn't seem like a lot of effort was put into making the instructions easy to understand (I think another reviewer mentioned this). It is particularly unclear when it is appropriate to take rest between exercises. However, if you use some common sense, these problems are easily overcome.

Another great thing about this book is that the training is broken down into four 13 week phases, each with a specific goal.

1st Phase - general fitness
2nd Phase - mostly cardio and endurance (run/swim/bike)
3rd Phase - weights, PT, and cardio mix
4th Phase - mostly strength training

After completing the entire program, you can go back and concentrate on the phase that best suits your goals. Overall this is the best overall fitness book I've ever used, and the LAST one I'll buy for a long time.

This is definitely a great book. I have workout books, which includes the marine corps 3x fitness program, but I've never had another book like this one. This one has it all. Variety, Almost every workout, if not all of them, is different, except when it tells you to repeat previous days (which is very rare). So, you won't get bored with this book. Good illustrations, the pictures in this book are perfect. They couldn't get any better, the paper is nice which makes quality photos. Hard, this is probably the hardest workout program ever. At least out of all the ones I've tried. As the weeks go on, the trials get harder and harder, until the 13th week which is the final test for the 13 week programs. There are 4 programs. They are each 13 weeks long equalling a 52 week workout plan, 1. Calisthenic Base Cycle (no weights), 2. Hardcore PT (Physical Training) Running, Swimming, Biking, 3. Weights/PT/Cardio mix, 4. And the loading phase which is hardcore weight lifting. This book is for everyone, Men, Women, and Teens. This book is also very explanatory. It shows and tells you everything you need to know (how do do certain excercises and stretches, how to go about the order of events in a workout, etc.) This book also has a section on nutrition. It has everything from vitamin descriptions to the foods to eat to get the vitamins you need. This also includes weight loss. Now, that I've got you totally believing that this is the book for you, here's the letdown. You have to be in at least decent shape to be able to do this book. You can be the judge on that. I recommend doing a lot or stretching. Stretching helps the muscles with their every function. So before this books arrives at your house, stretch for 30 minutes a day to get your muscles used to it. The other excercise I recommend is running because it gets the heart going and gets you to use your lungs to a more than normal extent. While going through this book, you may find an excercise that you do well, like pushups for example. If the book tells you to do a specified amount don't do more, no matter how easy it is. All of this equals the best workout of anyones life. If you can survive it, it will reward you like nothing else. I am a teenager who has finally found the right thing for myself. I recommend this book to everyone. I hope this review helps.

An EXCELLENT fitness work! REVOLUTIONARY, Must Have!!!

This book is designed for ANY person of ANY athletic ability including FEMALES that want to be in the best overall shape possible. Whether you are a lifter, runner, swimmer, cyclist, PT-er, or neither you will gain valuable insight into your field and into the benefits of CROSS TRAINING. It is a scientific and fun 52-week program that will allow you to be as fit as a Navy SEAL and revolutionize your understanding of fitness. These are the same workouts that he used to train candidates who successfully completed Navy SEAL training.

The workouts and techniques can be modified to your level, even if you cannot do a single pushup, pullup, or dip. However, it can also be more challenging than Mr. Smith's 12 week Navy SEAL workout. MALE or FEMALE, this will allow you to perform several pullups or complete a TRIATHLON. I definately recommend purchasing this book if you are interested in being seriously fit and looking good.

I have seen dramatic results both in myself and in many other people.

Good Luck!

Maximum Fitness: The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Crosstraining is the latest offering by Stewart Smith, a former US Navy Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) officer. Previously, Stewart wrote “The Complete Guide toNavy SEAL Fitness.” (Hatherleigh:1998). Maximum Fitness picks up where this last book leaves off. While the last book featured the 12-weeks to BUD/S (Navy SEAL initiation) workout, this book gives you more than just the preparation training to enter the Navy SEALs! Stewart Smith, a Naval Academy graduate, has been at it for more than a decade. Many would-be SEALs successfully negotiated the SEAL Training program (considered the toughest military training in the world) by using Stew Smith’s methods and training philosophy. In fact, Stew wrote theBUD/S Warning Order (a paper outlining a bare-bones workout and gives aprospective SEAL a heads-up) which is prominently featured on Navy recruiting pamphlets and the official Navy SEAL recruiting website. Therefore, it was no surprise that the Navy tapped Stew to be on the Naval Academy’s Physical Education department so he could train and mentor the prospective midshipmen who wished to become SEALs. Stew is no armchair commando or an empty academician – he knows what works and doesn’t!

Stewart Smith brings all of his knowledge and experience in Maximum Fitness. This unique publication is a compendium of physical fitness. Lavishly illustrated with picture demonstrations, tips and ideas, it is a must-have for those who want to be in the BEST possible shape of their life. What does Maximum Fitness offer that others do not? It is a richly detailed 52-week (one calendar year) progressive program that uses cross-training and periodization as the core of its philosophy. Four 13-week cycles build you into peak physical condition that will spill into other areas of your life giving you confidence, power and attitude to deal with the give and take of modern life. You could use it to train for a hitch with the Navy SEALs, or you could use it just to be in the best shape of your life! The first 13-week cycle is a calisthenics ( body-weight only) base workout that prepares you for the second thirteen weeks. The second cycle is truly hardcore; it combines high-repetition calisthenics (body-weight only) exercises with running, biking(stationary or non-) along with swimming. This cycle alone will get you into dynamite shape, but the program doesn’t end there. Just so you don’t get bored and lose interest, Stewart now insists on adding weight-lifting to the mix of calisthenics, running, swimming and biking. This is centerpiece of the third cycle. The capstone cycle is the fourth and final evolution: strength training.This cycle uses low reps with heavier weight. You are now doing minimal cardio-training. The beauty of this comprehensive program is such that you could start at anytime and go through the four cycles. Or, you could time the cycles with the seasons. For example, you could save the strength program for the winter when the motivation to run outside is minimal. There is even a chapter on diet and nutrition that analyzes the popular diets. Stewart even gives you time-saver workouts (when time is short) and he shows service men and women how best to ace the military/government Physical Fitness Tests. No matter who you are, Maximum Fitness has something to offer you on the journey toward optimal physical conditioning through a combination of ingeniously paired routines embracing calisthenics, free weights, running, swimming and biking. Thanks,Stew Smith, for serving our country and for writing this book!

Another gem from Stew Smith. This slightly oversized book is well put together. There are photos of Stew throughout the book, demonstrating every single exercise. No more reading vague descriptions, and not knowing if you are doing them correctly. The graphical layout of the book is superb. I wasn't aware how important layout was until I saw this book. Clean and crisp. The workouts are phased over 52 weeks, with each quarter of the year devoted to one of Stew's principles. You start off with a baseline in flexibility which you think is easy, but Stew increases the challenge and intensity. You are eased into it. You move from flexibility to a cycle of SEAL type of training. Remember, SEAL is in the sub-title? Stew also throws in weight training for fall and winter months. Get the idea? A little bit of everything for everybody. This book makes Stew your personal trainer. He provides the guidance and structure. Stew's exercise cycles can get tough, but you build up the confidence towards them in the progressive schedule. One day you will amaze yourself on how much you accomplished. I used his previous SEAL Fitness book, moved from an intial 3 pull-ups and now I am at 25. 30 on a good day. It took time but I did it. This book uses that same approach from his SEAL book, BUT with greater variety of workout possibilities. The back of the book has all the workouts in detail for every week of the year. Copy a page, stick it in your gym bag. The first half of the book explains the exercises. Another great feature in the back of this book is a Nutrition and Weight Management section by co-author, Laurel Cutlip. Good summaries on vitamins, minerals, and food groups. Learn what a serving really means, how to read nutrition labels, understand food additives? Again the layout is stellar. Fad diets of all types are analyzed. A section on food supplements. If you think you have no time for a workout, another section shows you how much you can accomplish in less than thirty minutes. Similar to Stew's TV workout book. Want to smoke your military PFT, another section on tips and straetgy. More and more information with consistently great presentation. Seriously, if you are an athlete or beginner, you will not get bored with this book. There is no way you can. Stew has you training across several disciplines (cross-training) so you develop broad skills. Competitive athletes out there can hone specific skills (back of the book has speed improvement tips). I spent a bit of time reviewing this book because it is worthwhile. The quality layout is amazing. Stew and the authors provide a great book at a great price. Go visit the book in your bookstore and see the layout I'm praising here. The book also mentions Stew's web site at www.stewsmith.com

This really is an excellent book that succeeds in providing a series of programs that are both motivating and result oriented. I therefore have to agree with the numerous other reviewers that sing Stewart Smith's praises. I have two complaints about this book, however, that focus mainly on production:
1) The quality of the binding is atrocious. This would not usually be a big issue, but as the workouts are broken down to the day, this book ends up getting quite a bit of use. By the fourth week, the pages began to come apart, and I am now left with a pile of looseleaf.

2) The daily workouts are sometimes confusing and frequently error filled. I suppose you could call this picking nits, but given that the daily workouts really form the core--and the most valuble portion--of this book, I view the attention given to writing up these work-outs really lacking. The finished product would have been a lot more classy if more effort were put into editing and proofreading, rather than producing a dozen pages showing every concievable variation of sit-up

Don't get me wrong--I am psyched I purchased this book. I have gotten amazing results, and the concept of breaking one's workout into different phases through the year is powerful. It's just that the production values of the book do not match the ideas it contains

Not a lot of books of this topic dare to start off by giving you the bottom-line facts: if you decide you want to be as fit as you can be, you will work for it. The book is deprived of any sales-talk or hype/false promises. Rather it gives an insight in what it takes to complete the loop to maximize your work outs, and become fit beyond your belief. This no-BS approach works, and is a hell of a lot more credible than some of the other publications out there (like "Body for Life"). The exercises are basic, but with some good variations. Some small programs especially for when traveling, or when low on time to do a full work out. The nutricion chapter has an interesting section on vitamins and minerals, though an improvement may be to explain how some combinations need to be made to counter some effects. Like fiber takes out calcium, so when eating fiber it is best to do so with calcium enriched milk; info like this can help the athlete to better compose their meals.
My introduction to Stewart Smith was his 12 week program for BUDS, which I completed. During which I found out more about my body and mind and their capacities, then during the 15 years of sports and training I've done prior. Stew simply changed my life. His book can help you build up to this 12-week program, and/or help you sustain the stamina level acheived by it. Okay: it will not make you bulky and buff, and truth granted: in my gym there are guys with a more impressive frame than mine. But can they do 5 sets of 100 push ups, followed 5 sets of 50 pull ups, with a 1 minute pause in between, and then run 10 miles in an hour? I never get them to take up the challenge...
If you are ready to take up the challenge of dedication and focus, within a year of your time, you will not recognize yourself anymore, and everyday you will be amazed on how much stamina, strength and determination you have! Change your life, let Stew be the guide.

I bought Stew's 1st book & it really helped me get back into shape. Eagerly, I bought this one but was disappointed. It's a re-hash of what is in the 1st book with cycling and weights thrown in helter-skelter. The workouts were difficult to follow.
His 1st book was terrific. This one isn't.

I am glad I purchased this book. I needed something to refresh my memory on calisthetics;free weights and some weight machine training. This book has great pictures although a few were out of sequence ( easy enough to see when you go by the written instructions) Where the book falls short is in the 52 week training program. It is very difficult to interpret what is meant...He calls some exercises by a different name than is shown on the picture. 1st day-regular crunch-nowhere to be found. There is no table of contents ( the first thing I had to make) so when he lists an exercise you have to hunt it down! He uses swimming as part of the program..not everyone has a pool; I would have liked a substitute.But the pictures have me hooked and I am well into training using this book as a guide.

Stew's latest book, Maximum Fitness, is a superbly done and well researched book offering the most detailed, creative, and decent workout yet. The 52 week program keeps you going strong all year long, changing up routines, offering numerous optional workouts, suggestions, and guidance along the way. Having completed the 12 Weeks to BUD/S workout, I can definitely attest to Stew's knowledge and expertise in physical training. Trust me, if you stick with his guidelines, you will see awesome progress no matter where you are, hard core SEAL wannabe or beginner just looking for a workout. The stretches and exercises are clearly described and shown through large photos. The workouts vary. Stew offers many hints and tips to push you throughout the book. There is nutritional advice as well. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book.