High-intensity strength training paired with explosive, high-velocity movements is suggested to enhance endurance performance. It is recommended that a practical approach be taken when implementing this model of strength training, which would involve a thorough preparatory period.

Congratulations to the NSCA's 2022 winners! This page is updated as new award winners are named throughout the year.

This article is the first of a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical communities.

The extent to which a special operator’s training schedule can be planned in advance is often limited due to their unpredictable operational demands. However, there may be opportunities to plan for specific training during certain periods.

Dr. Tim Suchomel, Assistant Professor at Carroll University and Wisconsin State Director for the NSCA, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the emerging role of sport science in strength and conditioning. Topics under discussion include Suchomel’s growing involvement with the NSCA, as well as weightlifting derivatives and their benefits for more individualized performance adaptations. Find Dr. Suchomel on Twitter: @DrTSuchomel or Instagram: @drtsuchomel or NSCA Sport Science and Performance Technology Special Interest Group | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

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 article, tailored to individuals who do not have access to traditional equipment, will explore the exercise methods that less-impacted populations utilize during the shutdowns, and examine how those training effects can benefit strength-, power-, and hypertrophy-minded athletes.

The purpose of this article is to help bring awareness of athletic recovery by useful fatigue monitoring and managing tools, such as external and internal load examples.

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.

Football is a high intensity collision based sport that has an inherent risk of injury in both competition and practice. The focus of ACL injuries and the development of injury prevention programs have been key in the development of youth athletes to keep them participating in sport with reduced risk of injury.