Squash demands speed, strength, and control at the edge of human range — but still suffers from a massive stigma around heavy lifting and underuse of strength and conditioning. Brigita Roemer is leading the shift as Director of Strength and Conditioning for U.S. Squash, where she oversees all off-court physical development. After suffering a devastating injury as a track and field athlete, she discovered strength and conditioning when a biomechanics team “put [her] back together,” setting her on a linear path in the profession. Assigned to a sport she had never heard of before, Roemer began by emphasizing injury risk reduction, full range of motion, and “strength at length” to meet squash’s extreme movement and deceleration demands. With frequent connective tissue injuries like sprains and strains, athlete availability remains a top concern. By prioritizing continuing education and building relationships, Roemer has helped U.S. Squash make history — on the path to LA 2028. Connect with Brigita on Instagram: @brigey_lux | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Elite strength and conditioning pros like Brigita Roemer rely on NSCA events to stay sharp, grounded, and connected. Join them at the 2025 NSCA National Conference (NSCACon) this July 16–19 in Kansas City, MO.

This article discusses how personal trainers can utilize the strength zone training system in order to develop true full range of motion strength, and thus help clients perform better and further reduce injury risk.

Two factors that determine running speed are stride cadence and stride length. Because athletes propel themselves forward only when their foot is in contact with the ground, the stance phase of the running stride should be the focus of speed enhancement programs.

This article provides considerations for preparing firefighters for the physical and psychological demands of their job, including pre-operational work specific training during their rest times.

Brad Schoenfeld, MS, CSCS, CSPS, NSCA-CPT provides a brief overview of Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) and its impact on fat loss.

Knowledge of metabolic rate can help athletes as well as health-conscious people improve their exercise performance or obtain the fat-to-lean-mass ratio optimal for their personal situations. Two examples of how this works follow.

Emily Nolan shares insights into the integrated rehabilitation processes within Australia and New Zealand high performance sport systems in this session from the NSCA’s 2018 Coaches Conference.

There are numerous complexities involved in teaching the Olympic-style lifts. This article explains one way to teach the power clean progression and some coaching cues that can be used to teach sport or tactical athletes in a group setting.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the different opinions regarding the validity of early sport specialization as opposed to diversification, specifically the effect these two methods have on injuries, motor development, skill acquisition, and social and psychological aspects.