Erik Hernandez, Associate Director for Strength and Conditioning-Olympic Sports at the University of North Carolina, helps coaches simplify the rehabilitation process and shares ideas for return-to-play at the 2023 NSCA Coaches Conference.

What training approaches are efficient and effective at developing functionality and resiliency at the core? The answer lies within an intelligent, systemic, multi-method approach to training the core, including an eclectic set of training tools to individualize specific needs of athletes.

The goal of this article is to understand contralateral and ipsilateral loading, how to set-up loaded carries, electromyography activity during exercises, and how to apply these exercises into the strength training program.

This is an excerpt from NSCA's Essentials of Sport Science by NSCA -National Strength & Conditioning Association, Duncan N. French & Lorena Torres-Ronda.

The countermovement jump (CMJ) is one of the most used performance assessments in strength and conditioning. Although numerous studies discuss the usability of different metrics in this test, this is often performed within the context of a specific aim. However, to our knowledge, no information currently exists providing practitioners with some over-arching recommendations on which metrics to choose when the purpose of using the test differs. This article discusses how the metrics selected to monitor during CMJ testing may differ when aiming to use it as a proxy for athletic performance, as part of neuromuscular fatigue monitoring, or as part of a test battery for return to performance in injured athletes.

This article explores the process and reasoning behind integrating an athletic trainer within a fire department to provide clinical care and injury prevention protocols.

This article highlights the key benefits of deadlifts in exercise therapy, addressing the often-overlooked issue of low-back pain in strength and conditioning.

Certified Special Population Specialists® (CSPS®) are fitness professionals who, using an individualized approach, assess, motivate, educate, and train special population clients, including those with chronic and temporary health conditions. Become a certified personal trainer, then pursue this advanced personal trainer certification. CSPS® individuals train clients with medical conditions such as metabolic disease, autoimmune disorders, cancer and cardiac arrest, and address the needs of prenatal and postpartum personal training clients.

This article provides a personal perspective on the art of coaching that stems from acquired knowledge, education, and real-world application through professional sports experience from working in human performance.