This excerpt from NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science highlights the importance of quantifying training load for both programming and monitoring an athlete’s progression or regression over time.

This excerpt from Developing Speed looks at how a fundamental understanding of the biomechanical principles that affect speed can assist coaches and athletes in developing running speed.

The purpose of this article is to present normative data that has been previously collected for the 75PR, use the data to create informed training practices, and support the need for further research of this particular topic in law enforcement.

The purpose of this article is to provide the strength and conditioning coach with a template on how to integrate the clean and power clean into athletic training programs.

This PTQ article focuses on the use of the back squat along with innovative technology to measure velocity during lower body lifts. Visit NSCA online to read more on personal training news and athletic performance.

Acceleration-Specific Strength and Power Training

Acceleration and maximal velocity are two factors that are key for any position in football and can determine success in many situations out on the field. This article will review several aspects of sprint mechanics and training to enhance linear (straight-ahead) speed for football players.

This excerpt breaks down the optimal positions of the body during acceleration and deceleration.

Elite sport often gets more attention, but youth training gives strength and conditioning coaches an earlier chance to build athletes’ competence and confidence. Kelli Brightwell specializes in youth development and brings more than a decade of sports training experience, including four years at Michael Johnson Performance. Brightwell defines peak height velocity as the period during which height increases fastest. She then explains why its timing can differ among teammates of the same age. So what should strength coaches test, and what do the results mean? The answer changes with each athlete’s maturity and training experience. Brightwell addresses the growth-spurt “awkward phase,” when familiar movement patterns can break down as an athlete adjusts to a changing body. She also considers how sport sampling can expand children’s range of physical skills and help them discover what they enjoy. Learn how maturation can affect movement, testing, and programming — and why young athletes need foundations before specialization.

Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity, so this phase of sprinting is critical for changing directions as rapidly and efficiently as possible. Optimal technique for linear sprinting in the acceleration phase involves four factors that maximize stride length and frequency.