From the 2022 NSCA Tactical Annual Training, discuss trauma and the nervous system of tactical personnel and how coaches can be trauma-informed in the weight room

Have questions about registering for an NSCA exam and how COVID-19 has impacted the testing process? Need information about exam extension and cancelations? We aim to keep our community informed as we adjust to meet the guidelines in an effort to keep you safe.

The NSCA is committed to provide helpful resources by partnering with the experts in Anti-doping to ensure athlete safety and promote safe sports.

This is the NSCA’s Coaching Podcast, where strength and conditioning coaches share their experience, lessons learned, and advice about how to thrive in a highly competitive profession.

Purchase the 2023 RSCC renewal course. - Achieve a minimum of 70% to renew your RSCC designation and earn 0.6 CEUs towards your certification.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association was founded in 1978 with 76 strength coaches from across the country with the common desire to network, collaborate and unify the profession of strength and conditioning. Since its inception, the NSCA has grown to nearly 30,000 members in 72 countries and become the leader in the research and education of strength and conditioning professionals. Take a tour of the NSCA’s past and learn more about how it became the institution that it is today.

Puberty is a critical period for young athletes, characterized by significant physical, psychological, and social changes. During puberty, young athletes experience the adolescent growth spurt at the same time as intensified training regimens, which can affect performance, injury risk, and overall health. Systematic training can improve physiological and performance outcomes, but the increased training volume and changes to the body during adolescence can also heighten the risk of injuries. This article discusses the injury risks associated with adolescent growth and provides comprehensive recommendations to mitigate these risks. Key recommendations include limiting training hours to the athlete’s age, monitoring growth and maturation to adjust training loads and content, and incorporating and modifying consistent strength and conditioning prescriptions. In addition, optimal nutrition, sleep, and interdisciplinary planning among coaches, parents, and stakeholders should be emphasized to support young athletes’ holistic development and well-being during the adolescent growth spurt.

It is well known that moderate exercise during pregnancy benefits maternal and fetal well-being. The benefits of more vigorous exercise for pregnant women are less clear. The boundaries of safe exercise during pregnancy remain a matter for continued research, which is important to the growing number of female athletes who plan on becoming pregnant. The purpose of this article is to discuss the existing research related to the physiological concerns of the pregnant endurance athlete specifically. Because endurance training includes prolonged and repetitive exercise bouts at varying intensities, topics will include the effect of high-intensity exercise on uterine blood flow and thermoregulation, metabolic, and musculoskeletal changes in pregnancy.