Access the video collection for the 2018 Hammer Strength West Regional Clinic.

The Private Sector Coach of the Year Award, previously known as the Personal Trainer of the Year Award, recognizes an NSCA-certified professional working in the private sector who demonstrates exceptional impact in client outcomes, application of evidence-based practices, advocacy for the strength and conditioning profession, and significant contributions to the NSCA.

This column from the TSAC Report explores the impact of physical fitness and cardiovascular disease risk factors among firefighters and law enforcement officers. Visit NSCA online to learn more about tactical fitness.

As an international professional community that supports athletic performance and health, we recognize how we are all impacted by the worldwide coronavirus outbreak. This page has been developed to keep you updated on NSCA’s efforts and activities.

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.

This article is part of 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.

Bo Sandoval, Director of Strength and Conditioning for the UFC Performance Institute, walks through weightlifting examples used to elicit changes in the force-velocity curve.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Foundation Board of Directors recognizes Joseph P. Weir, PhD, FNSCA, as our prestigious 2025 Legacy Scholarship Honoree.

The physiological response to breath holding includes bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction, which contrasts with that of exercise which includes tachycardia and peripheral vasodilation. This raises the question as to what the physiological response is to breath holding during exercise. During low-intensity exercise, the breath holding response of bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction prevails over the exercise response of tachycardia and peripheral vasodilation, but nevertheless the exercise may be sustained. Due to the lack of availability of extrinsic oxygen (O 2 ) from the atmosphere during breath holding, the energy demands can be met by increased reliance on intrinsic O 2 stores (i.e., O 2 that was in the body before the breath hold) via increased O 2 extraction at the muscle compared with exercise while breathing, or increased contributions from anaerobic energy systems. During high intensity exercise of short duration, the exercise response may prevail over the breath holding response due to the increased parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic drive of higher intensity exercise. If breath holding during high-intensity exercise was sustained for long enough, the breath holding response may eventually overcome the exercise response, although this may be difficult due to the inverse relationship between exercise intensity and breath hold duration.