Night after night, Cirque du Soleil’s performing arts athletes defy gravity and expectations — executing elite-level feats across 480 shows annually. Maintaining peak performance requires more than talent; it demands strategic preparation, adaptability, and trust. Channeling backgrounds in dance and martial arts, married coaching duo Mike and Jade Esmeralda bring a philosophy of continuous improvement to Cirque’s collectivistic infrastructure. Preparing performers with diverse training experiences, they connect on an artistic level to balance readiness with creative expression. From applying RAMP (Raise, Activate, Mobilize, Potentiate) warm-ups for mitigating injury risk to tactical load carriage insights for LED costumes, the Esmeraldas leverage parallels across high-performance environments. Strategies for Cirque’s “valuable human artistic assets” must enhance durability, manage load, and support longevity in an unpredictable, physically — and psychologically — demanding profession. Jade’s evidence-based journalism also combats social media misinformation. Discover how they adapt daily, build buy-in across cultures, and redefine training for a one-of-a-kind population. Connect with Mike Instagram: @m.b.esmeralda, and LinkedIn: @michaelesmeralda, and Jade on Instagram: @jadesmeralda_ | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Discover more stage-specific strategies in the NSCA Performing Arts Special Interest Group on LinkedIn. See some of these impressive feats mentioned in this episode performed by Cirque du Soleil athletes on Instagram at @cirquedusoleil and @cirquedusoleilcasting.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science briefly explains the force-velocity-power profile and how it can give strength and conditioning coaches a more holistic view of athletes.

This excerpt from Strength Training describes the hormone response to exercise and their functions within the human body.

This excerpt explains the importance of optimal nutritional strategies in conjunction with good sleep hygiene and how that can help mitigate damaging effects of deployment and shift work on performance.

This excerpt briefly discusses components of interval workouts, including recommended volume and intensity, to increase overall endurance in athletes.

This excerpt from Developing Agility and Quickness explains a twelve-station agility circuit for basketball athletes.

This section from the book, Developing Endurance, gives an overview of how to plan and develop a program for endurance athletes by following four steps.

Fitness testing uses a battery of protocols recognized by the scientific community as both reliable and valid, and it measures important fitness constructs such as aerobic endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, power, agility, flexibility, and balance.

The power clean is similar to the power snatch but with two major differences. Firstly, the final bar position is at the shoulders, not over the head, and secondly, the grip is approximately shoulder-width apart, whereas the snatch has a considerably wider grip.

Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity, so this phase of sprinting is critical for changing directions as rapidly and efficiently as possible. Optimal technique for linear sprinting in the acceleration phase involves four factors that maximize stride length and frequency.