There is no argument that periodization is successful, and that different models can be applied with success in different fashions. The question of how shift work really affects a periodized program—more specifically firefighter shift work—is less clear.

This NSCA Coach article focuses on the in-season resistance training and mobility exercises designed for the 100-m sprint track and field high school athlete.

This article takes a closer look at training strength and stiffness in connective tissues.

The purpose of this article is to help both personal trainers and clients with seven main concepts within exercise physiology that will improve training effectiveness and assist in explaining the body’s response to exercise.

There is growing evidence that polarized endurance training is a promising method for optimizing a tactical athlete’s cardiovascular system, preparing for physical performance tests, allowing for a more full recovery during deployment, and allowing for safer return to duty after injury or deployment.

This article contains a sample progression to use with high call volume fire departments to help maintain mobility while building job-specific strength and avoiding a hyper-fatigued state.

Concurrent training (CT), which combines resistance exercise and energy systems conditioning, is the default approach to preparation in high-intensity intermittent (“stop and go”) team sports. This review provides an overview of CT, emphasizing its complexities and challenges in managing fatigue and optimizing performance. These complexities are specifically compounded by the variability in game demands across the season, where the presence of intensified and nonintensified competition periods necessitates a flexible and adaptive training approach. In this context, there are essential training variables to consider, including intensity, volume, session order, and recovery intervals between sessions. In addition, nontraining variables such as travel, sleep, and nutrition play a role in the fatigue experienced while training and competing. These variables interact to influence acute performance and training adaptations and can be strategically adjusted by strength and conditioning practitioners. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive understanding of fatigue management for practitioners in team sports, emphasizing the complexities and challenges of CT and offering simplified practical recommendations for adjusting training variables within any given microcycle.

Monitoring training load is essential for determining if athletes are adapting positively or negatively to their training program. This article goes over the various measurement metrics and includes recommendations to monitor training load for football athletes.

This article will review the latest evidence regarding optimal rest intervals, and the science behind them.

This article highlights some of the benefits, components, and training methods involved with time-efficient training.