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Kevin Smith

@terminator_training

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🇺🇸 Former Green Beret
🏋️‍♂️Coach to current and aspiring Special Operations soldiers
Hybrid Strength | Endurance | Tactical Fitness & Nutrition

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We get a couple dozen Qs or more every week about how to select a program.

Here’s a breakdown.

All these products are on sale right now too!

link in bio. SOF25 for 25% off!

Any questions? Drop below👇 by @terminator_training

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6 days ago

The PSPS epidemic is a tough nut to crack.

I’ve heard from guys following selection prep programs as far as 3 (THREE) years out.

Not ideal.

Why? Several reasons. Here’s a few:

1) Selection prep is longevity unfriendly.

2) Selection prep training is specific, not broad. By default, this detracts from other areas of fitness (being selection-ready = LACKING fitness in other areas that aren’t ideal to lack fitness in most of the time).

3) Points of diminishing returns waiting to happen—gains peter out with repeated exposure to the same stimulus.

Reality: you don’t need to be selection ready till…your selection date.

Whether or not you’re a PSPS type, this post can help you periodize a training year leading in.

The principles are universal.

Phase 1: Build general fitness with a slight endurance bias. (If your endurance is very bad, more than ‘slight’).

Fat to lose?

Start now. Most guys have (a lot) more to lose than they think. And it’ll take (a lot) longer than they think (if done right).

Don’t cut carbs. A calorie deficit—not a carb deficit—is the way.

Phase 2: Transition to slightly more specificity, targeting your weaknesses. But don't ditch general preparedness yet.

Still fat to lose? Don’t wait. Still eat as many carbs as possible once fat & protein minimums are met.

Phase 3: Hit the last 3-4 months hard with highly intentional, SFAS-specific training.

Still fat to lose? You waited too long. But if it’s a limiter still, keep the deficit mild and NOT low carb.

Everyone else: maintenance calories at minimum. Slight surplus if you’re weaker/skinnier.

Whether you follow TTM programs or not, use this to guide your training decisions.

Link to programs mentioned in bio.

Go crush.

#sfas #greenberets #specialforces #selectionprep #army by @terminator_training

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6 months ago

If you can master these 6 traits, you’ll be hard to beat (not just in SF, but virtually anywhere).

So many people still think traits are purely the sum of nature and nurture.

Nope.

They’re just a series of skills that can be reverse-engineered into a trait.

And guess what’s cool about skills? You can learn and develop them.

The reason most people lack these traits is not because they don’t know how.

It’s because cultivating them requires:
-The self awareness that you lack skill in an area
-The humility to admit you need work
-The discomfort, time and effort it takes to learn the skills
-The grit and persistence to maintain them

And these are things most people are unwilling to do, even though they know how.

On one hand, this is empowering. It means the bar for excellence is low.

On the other hand, it may be a gut punch. Because it’s a reminder you’ve got your work cut out for you.

Lacking in these areas as an aspiring GB?

I sure AF was as a 21 year old 2x college dropout off the streets.

But now you’ve got the recipe.

May wanna get to work.

#specialforces #greenberets #SFAS #character #traits #confidence #curiosity #agency #charisma #tenacity #specialoperations #SOF by @terminator_training

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a year ago

I’d wager a pretty penny that in most SOF selection classes…

at least half the dudes who don’t make it were a couple low hanging fruits in prep away from making it.

Guys.

It’s not complex.

Unless, of course, you make it that way.

The best ways to make your prep miserable and ineffective?

- Overdo TF outta training
- Train for mostly the wrong things while you’re at it
- Eat like you’re doing neither of the above
- Restrict yourself of the most important macro for all of it
- Prepare diligently for the mental gymnastics olympiad
- Prioritize social media and video games > sleep
- And to top it all off, don’t forget to reinvent the stretching and mobility wheel!

Need some help?

We got you.

Our programs and ebooks have helped put hundreds of soon-to be and current SOF guys on the straight an narrow.

No BS.

No shortcuts.

No shenanigans.

Just training, eating, sleeping, and acting like the future SOF stud you claim you wanna be.

This is the TTM SOF bundle.

And till the end of the month it’s all 25% off with the code SOF25.

Link in bio. by @terminator_training

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15 hours ago

Tough to boil it down to 10 (ok, a few more than 10).

But here’s my list.

If you’re to read these books…nothing will happen.

That’s right. Nothing.

Reading books doesn’t = becoming more successful/smashing your goals/reinventing yourself.

It just means you now know how to to these things.

But knowing more things doesn’t mean shit.

Plenty of people are exceptionally well-read in the PD space.

Most have absolutely nothing to show for it…besides thousands of $ wasted on books.

The difference? Implementation.

Books can be the highest ROI investment imaginable. But only if…

you implement what you learn. Then rinse and repeat for 6 months, a year, 5 years, a decade, and so on…

Do this and big things will happen.

Don’t do it? Yep, nada.

That’s literally the ONLY difference between dreamers/dabblers/wannabes and doers/winners/achievers.

To be clear, don’t try to implement everything from all the books.

Just 1-3 things that apply to you most.

I promise, even if you just read and apply these books, you’ll outperform every person you know.

Exponentially.

It’s that simple.

It’s just not easy.

But that’s the point. If it were, everyone would do it.

Some Honorable Mentions
Essentialism - Mckeown
The Slight Edge - Olson
Crucial Conversations - Patterson et. All
The Obstacle is the Way & Ego is the Enemy - Holliday
Outwitting the Devil - Hill
The Charisma Myth - Cabane
Grit - Duckworth
The Power of Now - Tolle

P.s. BTE (last slide) is on sale, but not for much longer!

SOF25 for 25% off.

It also includes about 70 more of my top books in PD and business realm. by @terminator_training

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2 days ago

Help me end IUBS.

This is literally the entire recipe.

But you actually have to follow it, which is evidently the hard part.

Anyhow…

Send this to a bro who needs a slice of humble pie (everyone reading this knows at least a handful) by @terminator_training

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4 days ago

If you’re on a meaningful path in life, you’re gonna catch some criticism.

But here’s the thing…

you’ll never catch it from someone ahead of you.

Someone who’s been thru the stage of the journey you’re in right now.

Someone who’s overcome the obstacles you’re facing now.

Only from those who wish they could do what you do, think like you think, look like you look, eat like you eat, train like you train, take risks like you take risks, earn like you earn, succeed like you succeed, etc…

But are entirely unwilling to put the effort in required to get there.

Instead of taking the L, they attempt to make themselves feel better by bringing you down.

This wasn’t as much of a thing a couple decades ago.

But thanks to social media, anyone with a keyboard or phone can chime in with their 2 cents.

But when you remember who it’s coming from and why, it’s much easier to or take it as confirmation you’re on the right path, rather than let it upset you.

Keep smashing. by @terminator_training

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5 days ago

TBT

This photo popped up on my phone mems today from > 10 years ago.

Downtown Co Springs at the 10th SFG ball (the one and only ball we ever went to)

This was before my beautiful date @monica_m_smith and I were even engaged!

Who’d have thunk 10 years later we’d have a 6 week old boy who’s #1 goal in life is milk deletion🤷‍♂️

Wild stuff.

Formal events like this aren’t really my thing. But from what I recall it was a good time.

And at least we got this classic pic to look back on for years to come. by @terminator_training

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6 days ago

Running a respectabe 2 and 5 mile is simple.

But for some, not easy.

Struggling to run? TBH, most people do.

But…

Sorting yourself out is a real possibility.

But it involves a bit of intentionality and a swallowing of the ego.

Need assistance?

Check out the TTM 2&5 Mile Program.

Guys routinely slash double-digit minutes off their 5 mile and 4-5+ off their 2 mile on this plan, despite running less than they were before. (Results vary)

It’s on sale right now (along with the whole SOF bundle) with the code SOF25.

Link in bio. by @terminator_training

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7 days ago

Tame that shit.

Wanna achieve big things but still need to sort yourself out?

Check out: Be The Exception

Likely the most comprehensive, practical, immediate results-producing personal development Ebook on the internet.

Right now it's 25% off with the code SOF25

BTW - whole SOF bundle is included!

Links in bio. by @terminator_training

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8 days ago

When was your last unicorn sighting? by @terminator_training

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9 days ago

Virtually everyone in the tactical community loves themselves a good metcon.

And ironically, they’re usually doing more harm than good.

Because virtually no one considers 2nd and 3rd order effects when it comes to their training.

But that’s why I have a job!

Metcons can be especially disruptive if
- The athlete is training for a specific goal like faster run times, selection, strength gain, etc.
- The athlete is in a high stress period of their life and/or the job demands are high stress (most of the year)
- The athlete is more weathered/banged up
- The athlete is prioritizing them > strength training and basic endurance work
- Athlete recovery is already limited due to excessive training load and/or lifestyle debauchery (very common)
- The metcon is poorly programmed. Which is typically a package deal (unicorn rare to see a reasonable one.)

Poor programming examples:
*Too many per week. I’ve seen as many as 5 metcons/wk in tactical programs. This shouldn’t even be legal to sell. (I have a 1/week limit w/ a no-metcon wk every 3-5 wks when I include metcons. And only include them in certain programs)
*Too long (it’s not uncommon to see 60-90 min AMRAPS🤦‍♂️)
*Loaded with high skill movements that should not be done under fatigue EVEN BY PEOPLE WITH SKILL in the movements (but let’s be honest, most tactical bros ‘clean’ looks dirty AF. Snatch? Yikes dude.)
*Loaded with high impact movements (power training under fatigue does almost nothing besides increase injury risk — backwards box jump offs, anyone?)
*Poor training week placement - e.g. Sandwiched between other very high CNS demand/mental stress training
*Random, non-specific movements that have nothing to do with the athlete’s goals

There’s more nuances to programming, but these are the common offenders.

This idea always ruffles feathers.

But I’ve yet to hear a valid, nuanced argument as to why high metcon focus is a smart idea for this population. (I’d even except 25% of the nuance included in my argument against them.)

Best bet for long term success and on the job effectiveness: Use sparingly. If at all. by @terminator_training

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9 days ago