Altering set configurations during a resistance training program can provide a novel training variation that can be used to modify the external and internal training loads that induce specific training outcomes. To design training programs that better target the defined goal(s) of a specific training phase, strength and conditioning professionals need to better understand how different set configurations affect the training adaptations that result from resistance training. Traditional and cluster set structures are commonly implemented by strength and conditioning professionals as part of an athlete’s resistance training program. The purpose of this review is to offer examples of the practical implementation of traditional and cluster sets that can be integrated into a periodized resistance training program.

Concurrent training (CT), which combines resistance exercise and energy systems conditioning, is the default approach to preparation in high-intensity intermittent (“stop and go”) team sports. This review provides an overview of CT, emphasizing its complexities and challenges in managing fatigue and optimizing performance. These complexities are specifically compounded by the variability in game demands across the season, where the presence of intensified and nonintensified competition periods necessitates a flexible and adaptive training approach. In this context, there are essential training variables to consider, including intensity, volume, session order, and recovery intervals between sessions. In addition, nontraining variables such as travel, sleep, and nutrition play a role in the fatigue experienced while training and competing. These variables interact to influence acute performance and training adaptations and can be strategically adjusted by strength and conditioning practitioners. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive understanding of fatigue management for practitioners in team sports, emphasizing the complexities and challenges of CT and offering simplified practical recommendations for adjusting training variables within any given microcycle.

This Personal Trainers Quarterly article shares considerations to counteract the decline of muscular fitness in older adults. Visit NSCA online to read more on corrective exercises, health, and fitness

This excerpt from Developing Power discusses neuromuscular training for youth athletes.

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.

This infographic introduces velocity-based training (VBT), and is the first of a three part series explaining the theory behind and application of VBT.

Recent research has developed new ways of approaching macronutrient ratios that challenge the conventional way of thinking. This article takes a look at what is usually recommended for athletes, as well as different lower carbohydrate variations.

Canoe slalom requires technical ability, well-developed energetics, a high level of maximum force production, and range of movement to perform a variety of complex paddle stokes, while maneuvering through a challenging whitewater course. The strength and conditioning (S&C) coach should provide strategic direction across a network or department including S&C coaches working toward identified outcomes and measures. S&C coaches should collaborate with a multidisciplinary support team (i.e., sport coaches, physiotherapists, physiologists, etc.) to develop a technical framework. The technical framework may allow for development of training strategies that provide a clear breakdown of the outcomes, adaptations, exercises, and testing methods. The current article articulates this process related to a canoe slalom national performance program. You must pass this quiz (by answering at least 7 out of 10 questions correctly) to earn 0.2 CEU in Category D. Upon passing, your CEUs will be recorded automatically. You are given only ONE attempt per purchase to pass the quiz.

Learn how the use of force plates can provide daily insights in the training process, and how to adapt these principles for other methods that do not involve force plates. In this session from the NSCA’s 2018 Coaches Conference, Cory Kennedy also discusses the prerequisites for developing a coaching “intuition.”

The aging athlete and office worker are both being cramped into body positions that not ideal. People in these situations could greatly benefit from some daily exercises to perform to overcome these issues. In this hands-on session, attendees will be given some simple movements that can be adapted for anyone and any situation.