This article is intended to assist tactical facilitators in the construction of a well-designed tactical return to duty program to help combat against the musculoskeletal injury burden that exists within tactical professions.

This article provides a brief overview of the physical demands of table tennis, plus recommendations of specific strength and conditioning exercises to improve table tennis performance.

In this session from the NSCA’s 2015 Hockey Clinic, San Jose Sharks Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Mike Potenza discusses how to create a program that can help re-assimilate an injured hockey player’s body back to pre-injury functions and movements, and eventually back to competition. Potenza also covers the structure of an off-ice reconditioning program, the members of the performance team, methods for building a “return to skate program,” and reintegration procedures for the athlete.

Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) models have provided a youth sport framework for more than 2 decades, aimed at improving skill progression, training outcomes, and athlete preparation. Although influential, traditional LTAD approaches are limited by their sport-centric orientation, linear design, and focus on elite performance, leaving them less relevant for most youth and adults who do not pursue competitive sport. In response, we propose reframing LTAD as Long-Term Activity Development (LTActD), an accessible and flexible model designed to promote lifelong engagement in physical activity, including recreation, exercise, and sport. LTActD emphasizes 5 dynamic phases—Explore, Develop, Apply, Sustain, and Thrive—that accommodate diverse pathways, periods of inactivity, and opportunities to re-enter active living at any age. Represented as a curvy road, the new model underscores that participation in physical activity is rarely linear, more like a winding journey shaped by health, motivation, environment, and social context. LTActD bridges sport science and public health, positioning physical activity as a lifelong resource for health, independence, and fulfillment. LTActD offers a practical framework to empower individuals of all ages and abilities to discover meaningful ways to move, re-engage, and embrace active living throughout the life course.

NSCA Member Spotlight: Meredith Butulis shares how the CSCS helped bridge physical therapy, strength and conditioning, and athletic confidence. Read her story.

Coaches can also benefit from understanding the concepts of positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative punishment as they relate to motivation. Although coaches use a mixture of both reward and punishment, using rewards and a positive approach is arguably the best approach because it focuses on what athletes should do and what they did right.

Get NSCA’s Essentials of Tactical Strength and Conditioning, Second Edition — a trusted resource for TSAC-F® exam prep and military and public safety training.

How can tactical athletes ensure they are getting enough protein, what is the best timing for protein intake, and what should they look for in a protein supplement?

This article from Personal Training Quarterly reviews tart cherry supplementation and its role in strength training. Visit NSCA online to read more on athletic performance and sport nutrition.