The purpose of this article is to present the reader with the prescription of a daily specific stretching routine that can help athletes avoid the onset of injuries and chronic pain in muscle-tendon structures of the lower extremities.

The expression of mechanical “muscle power” and the advanced training methodologies used to optimize it are explained by Duncan French in this session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference. By overviewing training strategies utilized with world-class athletes, this session links science with advanced training techniques designed to augment muscle power.

This infographic reminds coaches of the importance of in-season strength training programs for maintaining physical capabilities and sport performance, while decreasing the overall risk of injuries in athletes.

HRV is thought to provide objective insight into understanding fatigue, “trainability,” and “readiness” to perform in athletic populations. Evolving access to HRV data may enhance the understanding of individualized fitness and training responses in tactical athletes.

This article provides a first-hand perspective of different approaches strength and conditioning coaches can take when they need to produce a highly competitive athlete, but their financial resources are limited.

This article examines why the Romanian deadlift (RDL) provides a suitable in-season strength training application, explores the interlinked relationship between the demands of practice and resistance training, and identifies how the RDL functions with other lower-extremity exercises.

The purpose of this article is to examine components that affect speed to determine the degree that speed is governed by skill versus genetic factors.

In this practical session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference, Jimmy Radcliffe explains how to integrate strength and speed complexes and plyometric progressions into periodic progressions. Radcliffe is well-known for authoring “Functional Training for Athletes at all Levels” and “High-Powered Plyometrics.”

Learn practical programming ideas to implement in youth speed training programs. In this session from the NSCA’s 2017 National Conference, Lance Walker explains how to leverage the differences between starting, acceleration, and maximum velocity dynamics (movement preparation) and plyometrics. Learn about the most common errors made by young athletes when training linear speed with practical tools, teachings, and contextual cues.

Identify methods of prioritization and individualization within the training week plans to make training specific for individual athletes within the team setting. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 National Conference, Ashley Jones explains how to design effective week plans for each of three major phases of a training year, and describes the format and content of key training areas of speed, strength, and fitness within each training phase.