Chronic fatigue, stress, sleep deprivation, unhealthy diets, and pain can be commonplace in most departments. The tactical facilitator should try to keep their action plans simple and achievable to help prevent injuries and optimize performance.

This article is the eighth in a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning communities. On this occasion, the focus is on new research presented at the 2016 NSCA National Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 7 – 8, 2016.

The purpose of this article is to discuss creatine supplementation for athletes by addressing supplementation for athletic performance, recovery, cognition, brain function, safety, contraindications, and other special considerations.

This article examines ways that personal trainers can take steps in order to effectively reduce the risk of clients suffering a training-related injury.

Concurrent training (CT), which combines resistance exercise and energy systems conditioning, is the default approach to preparation in high-intensity intermittent (“stop and go”) team sports. This review provides an overview of CT, emphasizing its complexities and challenges in managing fatigue and optimizing performance. These complexities are specifically compounded by the variability in game demands across the season, where the presence of intensified and nonintensified competition periods necessitates a flexible and adaptive training approach. In this context, there are essential training variables to consider, including intensity, volume, session order, and recovery intervals between sessions. In addition, nontraining variables such as travel, sleep, and nutrition play a role in the fatigue experienced while training and competing. These variables interact to influence acute performance and training adaptations and can be strategically adjusted by strength and conditioning practitioners. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive understanding of fatigue management for practitioners in team sports, emphasizing the complexities and challenges of CT and offering simplified practical recommendations for adjusting training variables within any given microcycle.

This Personal Training Quarterly article discusses blood biomarker monitoring as a vital tool in overtraining syndrome diagnostics and recovery. Visit NSCA online to read more on fitness news and exercise research.

This article discusses using the principle of specificity as an important component in tactical training programs to enhance performance, decrease injuries, and improve functional longevity of a tactical athlete.

The goal of this article is to overview the most evidenced-based recovery strategies that are promoted in United States Air Force Special Warfare.

This article discusses the impact and importance of resistance training with kids on their mental and physiological health and well-being.

Athletes have sought out intermittent fasting as a strategy to optimize performance. However, it is important to critically evaluate the research available in order to establish specific recommendations and determine if intermittent fasting is safe or effective.