This article provides essential guidelines for athletes beginning a strength and conditioning program that ensures safety and productivity of the training sessions.
The purposes of assessment are to gather baseline data and to provide a basis for developing goals and effective exercise programs. Gathering and evaluating the various pieces of information give the personal trainer a broader perspective of the client. The process and the data collected assist the trainer in identifying potential areas of injury and reasonable starting points for recommended intensities and volumes of exercise based on the goals and fitness outcomes.
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NSCA Member Spotlight: Lee Brown shares his path into tactical strength and conditioning, firefighter research, and how NSCA engagement has elevated his career.
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Join 2026 NSCA Tactical Annual Training in Orlando for evidence-based tactical human performance education. Learn hands-on, explore new tools, and earn 2.0 CEUs
This article examines how plant-based diets can effectively support athletic performance. Visit NSCA online to learn more about exercise science and nutrition research.
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Understanding how the body adapts to the overload of aerobic exercise is critical to designing effective exercise training programs, monitoring exercise responses and progress, and assessing training outcomes.
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Supplements that claim to boost nitric oxide have not been proven to be all that effective since the actual conversion in the blood cell is rather complicated and requires oxygen, which is usually in short supply during exercise or at high altitude. So how does an athlete boost their nitric oxide production?
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.
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