2023 NSCA National Conference

Enjoy breakfast and coffee/tea with the exhibitors in the hall. 

1. A historic and humorous look at my 44 year journey with the NSCA. Don't let the truth spoil a good story.

Lecture

Lecture Sponsored by Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance

1. Discuss the importance of creating meaningful learning opportunities in strength and conditioning education that lead to quick application of course concepts and help students develop crucial problem-solving skills.
2. Focus on the creation of applied learning opportunities, while providing examples from several courses that are often in academic programs for future strength and conditioning and fitness professionals.

Lecture

1. Cover the pathomechanics of lower back pain, particularly how traditional strength training contributes to the process.
2. Provide rules to follow so coaches and athletes will be able to effectively train whilst lowering the risk and incidence of lower back pain and injury.

Lecture

1. Provide practical strategies for participants to build a thriving business or coaching practice.
2. Share lessons learned as a career firefighter and business owner to inspire coaches and entrepreneurs to conquer adversity.
3. Guide participants in leveraging personal strengths and expertise to stand out in a crowded industry.

Lecture sponsored by NSCA Women's Committee

1. Explain why hydration might affect body composition determined by bio-electrical impedance.
2. Explain how increased muscle mass might affect body composition body determined by bio-electrical impedance.

Lecture

1. How to coach springing mechanics in a team setting.
2. How to incorporate jumping, changes of direction, the ball.
3. Considerations for volume, frequency, recovery, placement relative to games.

Lecture

1. Attendees will be able to design effective general strength circuits.
2. Attendees will be able to properly utilize general strength circuits in long term training plans.

Hands-On sponsored by Perform Better

1. Identify the limitations of cold water immersion and other popular cryotherapy interventions in athlete recovery.
2. Describe the application of phase change material cooling in athlete recovery highlighting the practical and phsiological advantages.
3. Describe the basic applied science and field testing evidence base for phase change material cooling in athlete recovery.

Research

1. To discuss the role or weightlifting exercises and their derivatives when training non-weightlifters.
2. To explore the acute effects of exercise and load selection on force, velocity and power.
3. To discuss the improvements in athletic performance when appropriately using weightlifting exercises.

1. Discuss the updated Youth Physical Development model 2.0.
2. Critically examine the pediatric literature that has helped shape the design of the updated model.
3. Discuss the ways in which the updated model is being applied within the practical setting.

Lecture

1. Understand the history and methods of human skeletal muscle fiber typing.
2. Appreciate the differences in fiber typing methods and how that influences interpretation of the data.
3. Be introduced to how fiber types can influence sport and exercise performance.

Research

1. Describe the different types of BFR training technologies and their potential impact on the safety of blood flow restriction exercise.
2. List the three major safety concerns with use of blood flow restriction.
3. Identify approaches/techniques that can likely enhance blood flow restriction safety before and during BFR training.

Lecture

1. Describe and establish the fundamental concepts of physical testing.
2. Explain how to develop testing batteries that can optimize the physical development of athletes.
3. Provide recommendations for the selection of tests, outcome measures, technology, and how to maximize associated data.

Lecture

1. Understand the process of reverse engineering and how it can be used to support strength and conditioning planning, programming, and periodization.
2. Example how reverse engineering can be applied to support the development of an agile athlete.

Lecture

1. Engage in the concept of breath sample collection and analysis as a new non-invasive measurement of metabolism.
2. Understand potential of VOC analysis as it pertains to their area of research or clinical practice.

Research

The Data Blitz will consist of individuals that the NSCA Foundation has supported with Grant funding and allow them to present their research results from the funded study. The Data Blitz will be a series of 5-minute fast-paced talks, each covering just a bite-sized bit of the NSCA Foundation funded research.

1. Participants will understand how the actions at the foot create a full-body, efficient, neuromuscular chain reaction through all three planes of motion.
2. Participants will learn how pronation is not exclusive to the foot, but how each joint has a specific role to play in decelerating mass, momentum, and ground reaction force.
3. Strategies will be shared to reinforce proper joint coupling relationships to help reduce compensations and the likelihood of recurring non-contact injuries.

Lecture Sponsored by Perform Better

1. Describe the anatomy of the knee, growth and development of youth, and common knee injuries sustained by youth athletes.
2. Identify guidelines for referring athletes to medical staff.
3. Describe program modifications for youth athletes with knee pain. 

Lecture

1. Learn basic techniques in the MMAFx Hand Speed & Conditioning Training Program.
2. Learn basic drills in the MMAFx hand skills training program that will help improve coordination and athleticism a coach or trainer's clients and athletes. 
3. Learn how to initiate and implement the MMAFx program with their clients and athletes.

Hands-On

1. Research and analysis in the applied environment is challenging and noisy relative to the sterile environment of the laboratory.
2. The objective of this talk will be to provide a framework for setting up a research and analysis department within the team sport environment.
3. The speaker will discuss how to engage decision-makers in the research process and build a system for answering questions and sharing research conclusions, while providing real-world example.

Lecture

1. Participants will walk away with different startegies on how to get into athletic administration.
2. Participants will learn more about the NCAA and NSCA resources.

Lecture sponsored by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

1. Examine the progressive programming of an initial 3 day per week basic level of fitness circuits, through performance level of fitness training program.
2. Explore a model of resistance training skills literacy through specific competencies and progressive movement skills.
3. Consider a progressive series of performance assessments that include the non-linear periodization of traditional lifts and their variations.

Hands-On

Do you put the same amount of effort into your Biographical Sketches and Philosophy Statement as you do your research? If not, you may want to reconsider. Grant Reviewers and Hiring Managers take Bio Sketches and Philosophy Statements into high consideration when awarding funding and hiring positions. Use these 50 minutes to learn how to write (or re-write) your bio sketch and philosophy statements to ensure they are an excellent depiction of your abilities so you can secure grant funding, or a job!

1. Discuss the benefits and limitations to eccentric training and how they may impact hypertrophy, strength, and power adaptations.
2. Highlight previous and current research findings that may influence eccentric training programming decisions.
3. Provide programming examples of different eccentric training methods to benefit hypertrophy, strength, and power.

Lecture

1. Critically examine the kinetic and kinematic determinants of the drop jump.
2. Process sample kinetic data to extract discrete variables as indicators of injury risk and physical performance.
3. Discuss suitable training interventions based on the outcome of kinetic analysis of drop jump performance.

Lecture

1. Apply the principles of resistance training programing to adolescents with knee pain/injury.
2. Select, modify, and coach exercises used in the treatment of lower extremity pain/injury in the acute, subacute, and return-to-sport phases of rehabilitation.

Hands-On

Enjoy lunch with the exhibitors in the hall.

1. Evaluate 'effective' decision-making processes within the strength and conditioning environment.
2. Identify specific challenges that impact a strength coaches ability to make informed and impactful decisions relating to athlete development and program design.
3. Review critical decisions that influence the success of training interventions for both strength/power and conditioning.

Lecture

1. Review the methods of deriving the critical speed, distance prime (D’) and designing prescription equations.
2. Learn the applications of physiological and psychometric metrics of internal load.
3. Describe high-intensity interval schemes and their influence on perception of internal load.

Lecture

1. Identify common mistakes in communication among human performance teams.
2. Identify common mistakes in communication between human performance teams and stakeholders, such as athletes, coaches, and administrators.
3. Address how poor communication limits the application of research to practice.

Lecture

1. Learn about various categories of probiotics, how to read a probiotic label, current research regarding the efficacy of probiotic supplementation for the promotion of health and athletic performance in both endurance and strength/power athletes.
2. Which strains have been shown to be beneficial in healthy athletes/active adults.

Lecture

1. Review the characteristics of each eccentric training method discussed in the lecture portion.
2. Provide live force data collection demonstrations of each eccentric training method.
3. Provide programming recommendations based on the live demonstrations.

Hands-On

1. Recognize contextual/psychosocial limitations in prior work.
2. Learn current norms for data collection, reporting, and acknowledgment of psychosocial influences in research.
3. Recommendations on measures that can be used to move toward increased specificity and identification of influences on training as being due to sex assigned at birth, self-assigned gender identity, or psychosocial, as well as their interaction will be presented.

Research

1. To explore how force production underpins athletic performance.
2. To discuss appropriate methods of evaluating force production to inform training priorities.
3. To describe approaches to enhance specific force production characteristics.

Lecture

1. Understand the relationship between sleep, recovery and adaptation as they relate to common client goals.
2. Provide a practical framework to assess and screen for red flags within sleep for coaches.
3. Introduce a coaching system alongside practical strategies that can be implemented right away.

Lecture

1. Describe the utility of blood flow restriction in athletic and clinical settings.
2. Evaluate methodological approaches of blood flow restriction.
3. Discuss potential neurophysiological underpinnings of blood flow restriction.

Research

1. Identify and characterize the nature of the transfer of training to on-field, -court, and -mat performance.
2. Learn how to use single-subject (i.e., athlete) analysis to obtain rigorous, valid, and reliable results for enhanced training management.

Lecture

***Limited availability - additional purchase - RSVP required***

Sponsored in part by Matrix

1. Identify where training is currently and where it is going.
2. Explore the influence of new concepts and bridge them with previous ones.
3. Keep asking "Why" these methods are optimal.

Lecture

1. Identify previous research in support of strength and conditioning in the dancer population.
2. Classify components of a needs analysis in dancers who compete in various forms.
3. Develop general concepts of strength training and conditioning principles to adequately prepare dancers for their competition season.

Lecture

1. To highlight the complex nature of performance and the flaws in our current approaches.
2. To encourage the development of a systems based approach to performance enhancement.
3. To highlight how this approach opens up muliple new avenues via which to enhance ones own performance as well as that of the athletes.

Lecture sponsored by Perform Better

1. Recognize signs and symptoms of RED-S within athletes.
2. Describe the role of the strength coach on the treatment team.
3. Define appropriate fueling for athletes.

Lecture

1. Attendee's will learn how strength influences performance as well as how to know when other aspects of training should be prioritized. 
2. Attendees will also learn the most effective methodologies to enhance strength in different time periods, as the time period will often dictate the appropriate methodologies.  

Lecture

1. Distinguish between power rehearsal and training that tends to not be as effective.
2. Answer the questions to why certain methods are and are not as optimal.

Hands-On

1. The use of technology and visualization to manage athlete health and performance.
2. Individual athlete load management and program design.

Lecture