Football requires very fast, high-intensity, and high-impact movement patterns with each position requiring various movements and speeds. This article reviews how coaches are currently observing movement, and offers a framework on how to identify and improve movement in each player without over-coaching movement patterns.

This article builds upon a previous article on the potential benefits personal trainers can offer clients by combining both cognitive and physical training.

The purpose of this article is to provide strength and conditioning coaches with practical knowledge from the framework of self-determination theory to facilitate student-athlete motivation within the weight room across varying sports.

This article examines training from collegiate lacrosse programs and how this data can be used to develop data-informed recommendations and refine current approaches towards preparing military and tactical personnel for the Army Combat Fitness Test.

This article describes the transition from the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) to the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), as well as the detailed events that make the ACFT.

By examining a practical approach to programming fundamentals based on a needs analysis and training objectives relative to the program, a foundational plan can be laid that may lead not only to the appropriate progression of a given officer but also to the mutual satisfaction of the trainer and trainee alike.

This column outlines a combat readiness framework that integrates physical conditioning to strengthen cognitive performance. Visit NSCA online to learn more about tactical training and mental health.

Elite sport often gets more attention, but youth training gives strength and conditioning coaches an earlier chance to build athletes’ competence and confidence. Kelli Brightwell specializes in youth development and brings more than a decade of sports training experience, including four years at Michael Johnson Performance. Brightwell defines peak height velocity as the period during which height increases fastest. She then explains why its timing can differ among teammates of the same age. So what should strength coaches test, and what do the results mean? The answer changes with each athlete’s maturity and training experience. Brightwell addresses the growth-spurt “awkward phase,” when familiar movement patterns can break down as an athlete adjusts to a changing body. She also considers how sport sampling can expand children’s range of physical skills and help them discover what they enjoy. Learn how maturation can affect movement, testing, and programming — and why young athletes need foundations before specialization.

This three-part series shows how personal trainers can create a physically literate cradle-to-grave culture for all, with LTAD as the framework.

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the most current work that has been done in examining various dietary approaches to improving markers of cardiometabolic health and performance among high-stress occupations, such as firefighters, as well as the need for additional work in this area.