Mark Abel, PhD, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D

Mark Abel is an Associate Professor and Director of the Exercise Physiology Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at the University of Kentucky and Adjunct Research Fellow at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. Abel conducts research to improve safety, health, fitness, and occupational performance of firefighters and law enforcement officers. He also teaches undergraduate courses in strength and conditioning and graduate courses in high performance coaching and tactical strength and conditioning. Additionally, he has served as a firefighter. He received the National Strength and Conditioning Associations (NSCA) Tactical Strength and Conditioning Practitioner of the Year Award and Senior Investigator Grant to conduct research on firefighters. He served as the inaugural member of the NSCAs Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F) Certification Exam Development Committee and the TSAC Special Interest Group (SIG). He has served as a contributor and reviewer for the TSAC Report for over seven years. Abel also owns Tactical Fitness Institute, LLC, which develops legally defensible physical ability standards for fire department and law enforcement agencies.