While exercise is safe for most participants, many screening strategies have been implemented to reduce the likelihood of injury, and possibly death, from exercise. This article shares an objective strategy for selecting an appropriate assessment method based on a client’s resistance training status and experience.

Rob Orr, co-lead of Bond University’s Tactical Research Unit, explains the differences in load carriage requirements and contexts between different tactical forces, and how to prepare tactical personnel for load-carriage tasks. This session from the NSCA’s 2018 Tactical Annual Training also looks at how to employ fitness assessments to determine future load carriage requirements.

Learn how to individualize a group training session to ensure that all athletes are training at the same intensity. In this session from the NSCA’s 2017 Coaches Conference, Mick Stierli explains how to prescribe individual training for athletes at differing levels of fitness, and the importance of prescribing individual training intensity during conditioning sessions.

In this session from the 2019 NSCA National Conference, Gary Boros, Associate Director of Sports Performance at the University of Denver, and Chris Jarmon, Sport Performance Coach at Landow Performance, discuss the understanding of the science and research behind blood flow restriction (BFR); connects research insights in performance, rehabilitation, and general fitness; and discerns the ideal use cases, equipment, and training protocols for BFR.

Learn how to cultivate a client-centered coaching mindset. In this session from the NSCA 2017 Personal Trainers Conference, Matt Berenc, Director of Education for Equinox Fitness Training Institute, explains how to create an optimal learning environment for the client in the training session and develop an authentic coaching presence and style that meets the needs of both the client and personal trainer.

During 2018 TSAC Annual Training, the NSCA’s own Tactical Strength and Conditioning Program Manager, Nate Palin, discusses his personal and professional take on running in the military setting. Here Palin identifies the pros, risks, and shortcomings associated with run-centric physical training for special operations forces, as well as discusses more safe and efficient strength and conditioning alternatives to running-based fitness programs for these tactical operators.

Exercise is an underutilized therapy for the treatment of cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression. While exercise shows more promise for the prevention, rather than the treatment, of Alzheimer’s disease, exercise therapy compares favorably to the most common treatments of depression (psychotherapy and antidepressants).

Identify methods of prioritization and individualization within the training week plans to make training specific for individual athletes within the team setting. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 National Conference, Ashley Jones explains how to design effective week plans for each of three major phases of a training year, and describes the format and content of key training areas of speed, strength, and fitness within each training phase.

Coaches can help children and adolescents develop athletic ability by including motor skills training into sports practice and training. This approach is called integrative neuromuscular training.