The CSPS Online Practice Questions were developed by NSCA and are representative of the nature, scope, and difficulty of an actual CSPS exam.

This is the NSCA’s Coaching Podcast, where strength and conditioning coaches share their experience, lessons learned, and advice about how to thrive in a highly competitive profession.

Completion of the following assessment will renew your current status within the NSCA Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC) Program

Great S&C coaches do more than design programs—they lead people to achieve their best and most consistent performances.

Developing safe and effective exercise training programs requires the application of abundant training variables and the implementation of appropriate progression for each variable. Importantly, the outcomes of each training program are the product of these variables and their progression, so practitioners are keen to select methodologies and overload strategies that effectively support their target training outcomes. One such training variable is mechanical loading, which describes the forces of gravity, resistance, and muscle contraction and how these forces affect musculoskeletal adaptations. Numerous research articles and texts have been published regarding mechanical loading and its effects on exercise adaptations; however, these findings can be arduous to organize, which requires additional time investment by professionals. Developing a succinct system is critical because practitioners face clients and patients with a wide range of physical skills and challenges, and having an easily referenced loading guide may assist them in designing appropriate strength and conditioning or rehabilitation programs. Thus, the purpose of this review is to define and describe the mechanical loading continuum and its individual components to better assist the practitioner in identifying appropriate exercise modes and progression strategies.

Completion of the following assessment will renew your current status within the NSCA Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC) Program

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.

Choose your path with new 2026 NSCA Performance Summits. Join us at one of four specialized strength and conditioning events across the U.S. and earn 0.8 CEUs.