The purpose of this article is to address the key elements when designing a training program for firefighters, provide evidence for utilizing circuit training, and suggest recommendations on how to incorporate circuit training into the training program.

The first in a planned article series to review essential considerations of each Functional Movement Screen (FMS™) pattern, this article will examine the FMS active straight leg raise (ASLR).

The second in a planned series to review essential considerations of each Functional Movement Screen (FMS) pattern, this article will examine the FMS hurdle step pattern in finer detail.

This NSCA Coach article explores how combining strength and plyometric training can improve volleyball hitters’ vertical jump and power. Visit NSCA online to read more on athletic performance and sports science.

The goal of this brief review is to describe what classifies as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and summarize the potential benefits for various populations: athletic, general, and clinical.

Most law enforcement officers are physically taxed, mentally exhausted, and emotionally overwhelmed. As such, a complexity exists with a requirement to match the need for physical fitness in a demographic that lives their lives in a potential state of general exhaustion.

This article in NSCA Coach examines whether athletic coaches, educators, and institutions are adequately prepared to support athletes through athletic retirement. Visit NSCA online to learn more on LTAD and coaching strategies.

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.

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.