Joe Stumpf snaps the 115-pound barbell up to his chest and swiftly lifts it over his head, holding it with gritting teeth and locked arms as sweat streams down from his gray hair line.
The barbell hits the ground in a clang seconds later. After eight reps, the 54-year-old businessman dressed in camouflage pants rushes to the next excruciating exercise. Stumpf is one of a growing number of Americans putting themselves through gruelling fitness programs modelled after Navy Seal workouts as interest in the elite military unit has soared since one of its teams killed Osama bin Laden. Everyone these days seems to be dreaming of what it's like to be a Seal, know a Seal or at least look like one.
Book publishers say they cannot order the printings of the memoirs of former Seals fast enough, while people are dialling 1-800-Hooyah! like mad to get their hands on T-shirts emblazoned with the Seal insignia and sayings like: "When it absolutely, positively must be destroyed overnight! Call in the US Navy Seals."
Awe over the covert operation is even putting the city of Fort Pierce, Fla, on the map for vacation destinations. The city's National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum - the only museum dedicated to the secretive Seals - has been flooded with calls from people planning to visit.
But nothing short of joining the Seals offers a more true-to-life taste of their toughness than the workout places run by ex-Navy commandos.
"Every little boy has got a Seal in them," Stumpf joked after completing one of the workouts. Former Navy Seal Cmdr Mark Divine said his business has been inundated with inquiries since the raid. Most have been from public caught up in the excitement over the surprise attack on bin Laden. He said military candidates aren't showing interest and Navy officials say visitors to recruiting centers have not spiked. (AP)
