From the 2023 NSCA Tactical Annual Training, Lee Margolis discusses the physiological outcomes of the body during periods of low glycogen availability in regard to military operations.

Manual resistance training (MRT) can be an effective, low-cost, and easy-to-perform training modality. It can be performed in many situations regardless of space, equipment availability, and performance level.

The physiological response to breath holding includes bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction, which contrasts with that of exercise which includes tachycardia and peripheral vasodilation. This raises the question as to what the physiological response is to breath holding during exercise. During low-intensity exercise, the breath holding response of bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction prevails over the exercise response of tachycardia and peripheral vasodilation, but nevertheless the exercise may be sustained. Due to the lack of availability of extrinsic oxygen (O 2 ) from the atmosphere during breath holding, the energy demands can be met by increased reliance on intrinsic O 2 stores (i.e., O 2 that was in the body before the breath hold) via increased O 2 extraction at the muscle compared with exercise while breathing, or increased contributions from anaerobic energy systems. During high intensity exercise of short duration, the exercise response may prevail over the breath holding response due to the increased parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic drive of higher intensity exercise. If breath holding during high-intensity exercise was sustained for long enough, the breath holding response may eventually overcome the exercise response, although this may be difficult due to the inverse relationship between exercise intensity and breath hold duration.

This article explains Fartlek training as well as how it can be programmed and individualized for different clients.

The daily energy requirements of tactical personnel are highly variable, depending on gender, body composition, activities performed, age, and environmental conditions.

Recent research has developed new ways of approaching macronutrient ratios that challenge the conventional way of thinking. This article takes a look at what is usually recommended for athletes, as well as different lower carbohydrate variations.

This PTQ article shares strategies for personal trainers about the treatment and prevention of the female athlete triad. Visit NSCA online to read more on youth fitness and health news.

Oxygen uptake (or consumption) is a measure of a person’s ability to take in oxygen and deliver it to the working tissues, and the ability of working tissues to use oxygen. During low-intensity exercise with a constant power output, oxygen uptake increases for the first few minutes until a steady state of uptake is reached.

Knowledge of metabolic rate can help athletes as well as health-conscious people improve their exercise performance or obtain the fat-to-lean-mass ratio optimal for their personal situations. Two examples of how this works follow.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, Second Edition briefly reviews the role of oxygen uptake in exercise.