This excerpt explains the role that lactate plays in exercise metabolism and how that information is useful for athletes to predict things like pacing, fitness, and efficacy of training programs.

For Keith Swift, coaching is completely effort based, but it starts with camaraderie and education. As Director of Strength and Conditioning at Wofford College, his philosophy is clear: educate, heal, and enhance. While playing collegiate football and studying exercise science, Swift learned early to question the “why” behind training and encourages his student-athletes to do the same. At an academically rigorous institution, his educational focus fits right in, fostering curiosity, technical precision, and peer coaching. Swift shares how his experiences across professional baseball, the private sector, and collegiate programs each shaped his foundation while making it his own. Amid collegiate challenges — from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer portal to the growing authority of student-athletes — Swift holds firm that “there is no substitute for hard work.” His goal is simple: help student-athletes leave with both a degree and a championship ring, setting them up for success in sport and life. Reach out to Coach Swift on Instagram: @worqueowt and @wofford_strength, Twitter/X: @CoachSwift93, LinkedIn: @keithswift, or by email: swiftkd@wofford.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Discover how salaries have evolved across collegiate athletics and other work settings in strength and conditioning in the 2025 NSCA Salary Survey at NSCA.com/Salary.

While a basic fitness assessment will always be a part of a comprehensive client assessment, there is an array of more sophisticated tests and measures that are available to the personal trainer today.

This column from TSAC Report 76, examines the performance benefits of supplementing creatine monohydrate for tactical athletes. Visit NSCA online to learn about nutrition, and performance fitness.

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.

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.

This article features the recharge skate—an in-season hockey conditioning drill, designed by the authors, to maintain hockey-specific energy system fitness throughout the competitive season.

Although most resources on program design review the foundational scientific principles of training, they often fail to provide practical strategies that strength and conditioning professionals need in order to apply these principles successfully. To help bridge the gap between science and application, this article provides a simple and practical, step-by-step system for applying the scientific principles of training into the program design process.

This article describes the transition from the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) to the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), as well as the detailed events that make the ACFT.

This article highlights the scientific evidence on exercises like the seated leg extension, leg curl, and adduction machines to highlight their potential benefits on enhanced performance and potentially reducing injury risk.