This article provides a first-hand account of the usage and benefits of dumbbell training programs with athletes.

This article sets out to address and dispel these myths, offering evidence-based insights into the significance, safety, and multifaceted benefits of strength training for youth.

Various aspects of resistance training, such as specific exercises chosen, workout structure, resistance used, volume (repetitions and sets), rest intervals between sets, and training frequency, can be manipulated to mold the strength training program to best meet an endurance athlete’s goals.

This article discusses the influence of lower-body power on soccer performance in collegiate female soccer players. It also covers testing for muscular power qualities, different training modalities to use, and sample training programs as examples.

Since traditional sport-specific training or exercise programs do not create enough stimulus to improve the function of the respiratory muscles, the rationale to introduce respiratory muscle training (RMT) emerged. RMT is associated with improved endurance performance and pulmonary function, and it reduced respiratory fatigue, perceived exertion, or breathlessness. The purpose of this article is to provide coaches with tools to select the appropriate form of RMT in the context of the athletes’ needs, using appropriate methods, techniques, devices, and testing protocols. The video abstract is presented in Supplemental Digital Content as SDC 1

Dietary fat has both long-term and short-term effects on an athlete and athletic performance. “Fat loading” as a strategy to improve athletic performance remains unproven.

Strength and conditioning professionals must be proactive in fighting the challenges associated with time constraints and overtraining with their youth athletes. By applying the strategies explained in this article, a strength and conditioning professional can help a youth athlete perform at a high level when it matters the most.

This article consists of five assessments that could be utilized by the tactical facilitator to measure upper- , lower- , and total-body power in law enforcement officers (LEOs). Although the focus of this article is LEOs, the assessments could also be used for other tactical populations.

Read the NSCA’s commitment to safer youth sports as we endorse Project Play’s ACL Pledge, advancing evidence-based education and training to reduce injury risk.

This excerpt from Developing Agility and Quickness provides a needs analysis for field hockey and possible program design options for optimal performance outcomes.