Ground-based free weight lifts, especially the explosive Olympic-style lifts, are highly recommended for athletic conditioning for the core muscles. They can provide a moderately unstable stimulus to augment activation of the core and limb muscles, while still providing maximal or near maximal strength, velocity, and power output.

Building athletes who are strong, healthy, and resilient requires more than sets and reps, starting with a shift in mindset. Christi Edson, Head of Performance for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), shares how she integrates strength and conditioning with sport science to sustain athlete health and performance. She reflects on the field’s evolution from the well-known “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” program to a training culture emphasizing resilience, active recovery, and durability. Drawing from her experience coaching high school athletes to NWSL professionals, Edson highlights the adaptability and creativity coaches need. Those qualities help her to develop athletes who can thrive through a demanding 11-month season. She details how tools like GPS, force plates, and velocity-based training sharpen communication and reshape expectations in the gym. Her story points coaches toward the future of athlete development: collaboration, precise load management, and long-term health as the foundation of strength. Connect with Christi on Instagram: @christiedson and LinkedIn: @christiana-edson | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Read the article, “A Creative Mind in the Professional Development of a Strength and Conditioning Coach,” from NSCA Coach, 11(1), February 2024 — referenced in this episode’s return-to-play discussion. NSCA Members enjoy full publication access. Interested in bridging coaching and sport science? The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist (CPSS) credential can help you expand your qualifications, open new career paths, and strengthen cross-department collaboration.

World renowned Olympic training coach, Dan Pfaff, discusses how coaches can become a better performance supplier when managing athletic injuries. Pfaff also explains how to reduce lost time in practice and competitions, as well as how to reduce acute and chronic injury factors.

In this hands-on session from the 2018 Tactical Annual Training, Joel Raether, owner of Authentic Performance, discusses strategies and exercises he utilizes to improve trunk performance and resiliency, while subsequently demonstrating his progressions and regressions for these exercises.

Examine the benefits of heavy effort training and where it fits in a tactical training program. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 TSAC Annual Training, Matt Wenning explains a safe and effective approach to training tactical athletes using maximum effort training.

Bo Sandoval, Director of Strength and Conditioning for the UFC Performance Institute, walks through weightlifting examples used to elicit changes in the force-velocity curve.

Learn how to recognize and treat muscle dysmorphia in your athletes. In this session from the NSCA’s 2017 Personal Trainers Conference, James Leone covers many facets of athlete muscle dysmorphia, including the clinical features, identifying at-risk populations, using assessment tools, managing athletes suspected of having muscle dysmorphia, and how to treat it using a team-based approach.

This Personal Training Quarterly article shares ways that personal trainers can help clients develop a growth mindset for success in their physical fitness. Visit NSCA online to read more on health science and fitness news.

The NSCA offers an Exam Prep Live Clinic for individuals preparing for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam. The CSCS Exam Prep Live Clinics are offered in three formats: 2-Day and 3-Day options with a blend of classroom lecture and hands-on training. Additional Clinics are added to the calendar every 2-3 months.

This article examines the effects that are commonly experienced by people who have undergone knee replacement surgery as well as the exercises that can help them regain functionality.