This article from NSCA Coach explores how beet juice and nitrate supplements can enhance athletic performance. Learn more about nutrition and exercise physiology online at NSCA.com.

Nutrition and dietary intake are key factors for exercise and sport performance. While a substantial body of research highlights the impact of nutrition on exercise, many dietary and nutrient recommendations are based on research studies only conducted in men. However, the distinct physiological, neurological, and hormonal changes across a woman’s life cycle significantly affect nutritional needs. This narrative review explores key recommendations for calories, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and select supplements, highlighting the absence of sex-specific guidelines in current dietary frameworks for strength and conditioning female athletes. The review synthesizes current literature to provide practical guidance for coaches, sport dietitians, and health practitioners to optimize both performance and health outcomes for female athletes.

As some of the most influential people in athletes’ lives, coaches can play a powerful role in keeping sport clean by helping athletes understand and act upon their anti-doping responsibilities. These Coach’s Advantage videos cover the latest anti-doping information.

The purpose of this article is to discuss creatine supplementation for athletes by addressing supplementation for athletic performance, recovery, cognition, brain function, safety, contraindications, and other special considerations.

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the research on multi-ingredient pre-workout supplements (MIPS) and help practitioners become educated consumers when evaluating the various formulas and products on the market for making recommendations to clients or athletes.

This article discusses the background, statistics, mechanisms, timing, dosing, influences, and practical applications for the use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid.

This TSAC column reviews oxidative damage in tactical populations and examines the role of dietary antioxidants in health and readiness. Visit NSCA online to learn more on nutrition research and tactical performance.

This excerpt will briefly discuss the importance of exercise, dosage of the supplement, efficacy, body mass changes, and adverse effects of creatine.

Consumption of dietary protein by athletes is a common intervention to maximize gains in muscle and strength, and to improve body composition. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current research on the optimal amount of dietary protein for resistance training athletes.

Omega-3 fatty acids not only have positive impacts on the eyes, heart, brain, and joints, but also on muscle tissue. Omega-3 is a very important nutrient that can help an individual achieve optimal health and performance.