The purpose of this article is to identify and discuss the difficulties that can arise when performing physiological-based research with firefighters.

Two factors that determine running speed are stride cadence and stride length. Because athletes propel themselves forward only when their foot is in contact with the ground, the stance phase of the running stride should be the focus of speed enhancement programs.

Soldiers must be physically prepared to meet a broad range of challenges. This article is designed to help identify risks and discuss recommended strategies to implement in order to minimize those injury risks at the company, commander, and soldier level.

Concussion is a concerning injury and recovery can last days, weeks, or even months. Becoming familiar with post-concussion symptoms and the ensuing health-related sequelae is essential for those aiming to optimize the physical performance of tactical athletes.

This excerpt from Strength Training, Second Edition briefly details hormones and their role in the human body.

This column from TSAC Report 76, examines the performance benefits of supplementing creatine monohydrate for tactical athletes. Visit NSCA online to learn about nutrition, and performance fitness.

Not all smoothies are made the same, and due to the nature of process (i.e., mixing of ingredients), oftentimes the nutritional information provided may not be exactly reflected

Take a deep dive into force plate research and trends with “Force Plate Coach”, Dr. John McMahon from the University of Salford in England. In this episode, John discusses his path from Royal Marine Commando into strength and conditioning and biomechanics teaching and research. Listen in as John connects with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, on the past, present, and future of force plates in sport and the ways we can improve our testing and evaluation of athletes. This episode mentions the following paper from NSCA’s Strength and Conditioning Journal: McMahon, JJ, Suchomel, TJ; Lake, JP, and Comfort, P. Understanding the Key Phases of the Countermovement Jump Force-Time Curve, Strength and Conditioning Journal 40(4): 96-106, 2018 Find John on Instagram: @forceplatecoach, on Twitter: @ForcePlateCoach, and on YouTube: @ForcePlateCoach| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This article provides considerations for preparing firefighters for the physical and psychological demands of their job, including pre-operational work specific training during their rest times.

When isolating aerobic capacity as a determinant of performance, traditional interventions have focused on increasing an individual’s VO2max. Based on the large acute improvements from a single positive psychology research study, investigations into the application of integrated psychophysiological strategies to optimize performance should be explored.