The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) announces today the release of the organization’s newest textbook, the NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science. This cutting-edge publication brings together many of the world’s top experts from the sport science field to build a definitive resource for the profession.

This article details the rationale for making the eight main movements the foundation of tactical strength and conditioning.

Tendinopathy is a pathological condition that occurs when a tendon is repeatedly injured and degenerately breaks down. Specific exercise programming may help prevent tendinitis from occurring.

This consensus statement provides specific conditioning recommendations with the intent of ending conditioning-related morbidity and deaths of collegiate athletes.

Interest is growing in warm-up procedures that involve dynamic activities and sport-specific movements that maximize active ranges of motion at different movement-specific speeds while preparing the body for the demands of sport training and competition.

As Director of Sport Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Heather Farmer spearheads comprehensive integration efforts. This includes ensuring every stakeholder, from sport performance staff to academic advisors, has a seat at the table. Farmer also outlines developing an internship and graduate assistantship program to meet staffing needs and offer opportunities for practical experience. She recounts how leveraging relationships — not data — has been her key to scalability. Additionally, Farmer recognizes that to make an impact, she must meet athletes and sport coaches where they are, which she uncovers through “highlights” and “hurdles.” She suggests that sport scientists with strength and conditioning backgrounds, like herself, are uniquely equipped to excel due to their communication skills. Farmer and McMahon also discuss avoiding “analysis paralysis” and how to incorporate data to elevate the student-athlete experience — an unignorable factor as athletes bring an element of “self” in the age of name, image and likeness (NIL). Reach out to Heather by email at: heather.farmer@unlv.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

This article provides some practical applications to minimize the negative effects associated with a long intensive ice hockey season on ice hockey athletes.

William Kraemer, PhD, CSCS,*D, spoke at the 2012 National Conference on the compatibility of training programs, addressing common problems and solutions.

Potentially, an instability training program that first involves static balance and then progresses to dynamic balance activities would improve intrinsic balance. This improvement in balance would increase movement confidence, releasing the neuromuscular system from a stiffening strategy to more unimpeded motion, force, and power development.

This excerpt from Developing Power explains how to use bands for variable resistance training.