Velocity-based training (VBT) is an increasingly popular programming strategy used by strength and conditioning professionals to develop their athlete’s ability to express force rapidly. To implement the varying forms of VBT effectively within their training regimes, strength and conditioning professionals need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of strategies, such as predicting 1 repetition maximum using the load-velocity profile, modulating training loads using the load-velocity profile, and controlling training volume using the magnitude of velocity-loss. The aim of this review was to highlight these strengths and weaknesses and then provide practical examples of when each programming strategy may be most effectively implemented.

Mike Israetel discusses where strength training overlaps with hypertrophy training, and how you can get the best of both training methods.

The NSCA has built a collection of resources to help our community of strength and conditioning professionals and athletes safely return to training and adapt to the new challenges created by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

Access the video collection for the 2019 Hammer Strength Clinic.

From the 2022 NSCA’s Coaches Conference, Paul Comfort discusses micro-dosing strength training in athletes and provides some preliminary research comparing it to a more traditional training approach.

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Purchase the 2024 RSCC renewal course. - Achieve a minimum of 70% to renew your RSCC designation and earn 0.6 CEUs towards your certification.

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.