In this session from the NSCA’s 2017 Personal Trainers Conference, Andy Galpin teaches a unique approach to exercise selection that reduces programming time while allowing the selection to be individualized based on client needs.

From the 2020 NSCA Alabama Virtual State Clinic, Christina Myers discusses the benefits, training considerations, and exercise selection factors for maximal strength training, as well as how these techniques improve sport performance.

Specificity of training involves an analysis of physiological, anatomical, and psychological needs for an activity. This article explains how to create a well-designed program that takes exercise specificity into account.

The primary focus of this article is to provide personal trainers with an evidence- and practice-based approach to exercise selection and implementation in those with low back pain.

While exercise is safe for most participants, many screening strategies have been implemented to reduce the likelihood of injury, and possibly death, from exercise. This article shares an objective strategy for selecting an appropriate assessment method based on a client’s resistance training status and experience.

Training to move heavy weight over a distance presents the participant with a unique set of physical challenges not typically seen in other training programs. However, there is a greater risk for injuries if appropriate training is not engaged in prior to the event.

This article provides a narrative of the effects of a five-week strength and conditioning program on collegiate female volleyball athletes and shows the potential benefits that may occur in lower-body performance.

This article provides a narrative of the effects of a five-week strength and conditioning program on collegiate female volleyball athletes and shows the potential benefits that may occur in lower-body performance.

Explore the applied sport science research process in college baseball, and how academic research can be optimized to benefit player programming. This episode features Dr. David Szymanski, the Director of Baseball Performance at Louisiana Tech University, and co-editor of the recently published book NSCA’s Strength Training for Baseball. Hear about Szymanski’s career path, from college baseball player to coach and sport scientist. This episode covers a wide range of relevant topics, including exercise selection, performance technology, student pathways, and the emergence of performance director roles across Major League Baseball (MLB). Find David on Instagram: @drdavidszymanski or at his program website: LA Tech Sport Science| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This article provides the first academic history of the barbell back squat and its evolution from a bodyweight exercise in the 19th century to a loaded exercise used for a variety of purposes in the present age. In doing so, the article highlights three key drivers in the evolution of the back squat—changes in equipment, the diversification of strength sports, and scientific communication concerning the safety and efficacy of the movement. The goal of this article was not to provide a dry and irrelevant history but rather to stress the complexity of the squat’s prominence within fitness programs and the need to hold a nuanced view toward the “optimal” way to approach this movement. It examines how the movement evolved from being primarily done on the tips of one’s toes, to a loaded movement on tippy toes, to a flat-footed movement. By contextualizing the back squat’s history, this article challenges rigid notions of “correct” squatting technique and encourages a more nuanced understanding of exercise selection in strength and conditioning practice. It concludes by highlighting the importance of critically examining the social construction of knowledge in fitness and sport, and the value of historical perspective in informing contemporary training practices