The NSCA has twelve committees, each of which was established by the Board of Directors to meet the needs of the NSCA. Learn more about how our committees serve Certification, Conferences, Leadership, Inclusion, Fellowship, and Training (L.I.F.T), Education, Finance, Membership, Nominations, Research, State/Provincial Directors, and Women. Applications for committees are accepted from October 1 to December 15 each year.

Velocity-based training (VBT) is an increasingly popular programming strategy used by strength and conditioning professionals to develop their athlete’s ability to express force rapidly. To implement the varying forms of VBT effectively within their training regimes, strength and conditioning professionals need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of strategies, such as predicting 1 repetition maximum using the load-velocity profile, modulating training loads using the load-velocity profile, and controlling training volume using the magnitude of velocity-loss. The aim of this review was to highlight these strengths and weaknesses and then provide practical examples of when each programming strategy may be most effectively implemented.

Maximal force can be expressed across a range of conditions influenced by the external load and the time available to express force. As a result, several distinct and specific strength qualities exist. Conversely, some expressions of maximal force are similar and can be categorized as a single quality. Therefore, strength assessment systems must be sophisticated enough to isolate and measure each quality while minimizing redundant information. This article presents a contemporary, evidence-based and practical framework that reduces the many strength and speed-strength metrics into 5 distinct qualities. Alongside this, we present case examples of the application of strength diagnosis.

Access the video collection for the 2019 Hammer Strength Clinic.

Adam Feit, PhD, CSCS*D, RSCC, offers practical insight on understanding and motivating human behavior in Autonomy-Supportive Coaching: A New Perspective on Training Athletes. After this engaging video, you will be able to: Review the benefits of satisfying athletes’ and coaches’ basic psychological needs. Explain how specific coaching behaviors can help or hinder athlete and coach performance. Understand how to create an autonomy-supportive training and coaching environment.