Meet Tara De Leon, a former collegiate strength and conditioning coach who now works as a personal trainer in Edgewater, MD. De Leon shares insight with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, and episode co-host, NSCA Personal Training Program Manager, Blake Brightwell, on alternate routes for strength and conditioning coaches through personal training, group fitness, and private sector coaching. This episode discusses the “coaching identity” as it exists and impacts coaches’ beliefs across various stages of professional development. With the growth of the strength and conditioning field, De Leon challenges us to expand our thinking and perceptions around personal training, while holding true to our values and expertise as coaches. Regardless of your current role in the profession, learn more about how the NSCA can help you grow your career. You can connect with Tara on Instagram: @tara_de_leon_fitness or tara@edgewaterfit.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This excerpt will briefly discuss the importance of exercise, dosage of the supplement, efficacy, body mass changes, and adverse effects of creatine.

While a basic fitness assessment will always be a part of a comprehensive client assessment, there is an array of more sophisticated tests and measures that are available to the personal trainer today.

This article considers some of the main differences between the training of Olympic weightlifters and the use of Olympic weightlifting exercises in strength training for sport.

Rushing into administering a training program can greatly hinder long-term gains for the client. This article explains the key components of the client interview, or as it is commonly referred to, “success session.”

David Crump describes strategies on client retention and how to make memorable experiences for your client as a personal trainer.

This article summarizes the relevant literature regarding post-workout nutrient timing and its importance to training adaptations, specifically increasing skeletal muscle hypertrophy and replenishing skeletal muscle glycogen stores.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Guide to Sport and Exercise Nutrition briefly analyzes some of the research behind creatine and its application to sport performance.

This article contains examples of how to periodize training programs to help aerobic endurance athletes reach their peak condition at the appropriate time of the year.

Law enforcement officers can experience psychological and physical stress in most of every part of their day, even starting from the first day of the academy. This article looks at Heart Rate Response in relation to stress, and interventions to manage stress through the academy.