This article is the eighth in a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning communities. On this occasion, the focus is on new research presented at the 2016 NSCA National Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 7 – 8, 2016.

The goal of this article is to overview the most evidenced-based recovery strategies that are promoted in United States Air Force Special Warfare.

Elite sport often gets more attention, but youth training gives strength and conditioning coaches an earlier chance to build athletes’ competence and confidence. Kelli Brightwell specializes in youth development and brings more than a decade of sports training experience, including four years at Michael Johnson Performance. Brightwell defines peak height velocity as the period during which height increases fastest. She then explains why its timing can differ among teammates of the same age. So what should strength coaches test, and what do the results mean? The answer changes with each athlete’s maturity and training experience. Brightwell addresses the growth-spurt “awkward phase,” when familiar movement patterns can break down as an athlete adjusts to a changing body. She also considers how sport sampling can expand children’s range of physical skills and help them discover what they enjoy. Learn how maturation can affect movement, testing, and programming — and why young athletes need foundations before specialization.

This article serves to educate strength and conditioning coaches on the influence exercise can have on the various hormonal pathways that are impacted by polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), including insulin resistance, cortisol, testosterone, follicle-stimulating, and luteinizing hormones.

This Kinetic Select excerpt from the Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Fourth Edition describes the results from electromyography (EMG) studies on the neural adaptations to anaerobic training.

The purpose of this article is to help both personal trainers and clients with seven main concepts within exercise physiology that will improve training effectiveness and assist in explaining the body’s response to exercise.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Guide to Sport and Exercise Nutrition explains branched-chain amino acids

By understanding the means by which athletes encounter risk, strength and conditioning professionals can integrate exercise programs that may offset one of the steps toward injuries.

Various aspects of resistance training, such as specific exercises chosen, workout structure, resistance used, volume (repetitions and sets), rest intervals between sets, and training frequency, can be manipulated to mold the strength training program to best meet an endurance athlete’s goals.

This article provides guidance on designing strength and conditioning programs for male collegiate trampolinists by combining the available sport science with practical coaching experience.