This excerpt from NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training discusses the importance of education on proper running surfaces, appropriate footwear, and the benefits of cross-training in addressing overuse of the knee.

Decompressing after a workout, practice, or competition is a beneficial habit that can be achieved through breathing. This article provides an overview of the autonomic nervous system and guidelines for how to use breathing to calm, or balance, the brain and body.

The NSCA has built a collection of resources to help our community of strength and conditioning professionals and athletes safely return to training and adapt to the new challenges created by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

This article will briefly discuss physiological and psychological adaptations, as well as review general guidelines for beginning aerobic and resistance training exercise during pregnancy.

This article discusses the ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) scales and how to educate older clients to utilize them, as well as how to monitor and safely progress their training intensity.

Eating a diet rich in leucine and supplementing HMB may be beneficial for tactical athletes as long as they are following the recommended guidelines.

The aim of this article was to systematically review and provide practical recommendations, where possible, for recovery strategies that are currently in use in soccer-specific practices among adult male professional players. A systematic search was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines on Web of Science, SPORTdiscus, Scopus, and PubMed databases. The effects of cold-based recovery techniques on performance recovery and attenuating the muscle soreness were evident. Complementarily, some evidence was found that favors foam rolling and massage and compression garments. The active recovery and electronic recovery instruments presented little evidence supporting their usefulness in accelerating the recovery process of soccer players.

This PTQ article discusses current research examining the relationship between training volume and muscle hypertrophy and provides guidelines for optimizing training outcomes. Visit NSCA online to read more on exercise science and sport performance.

The goal of this article is to define some of the basic physiological responses to acute and chronic altitude exposure and to provide some evidence-based, practical guidelines when approaching training and racing at higher altitudes.

Little information is available for personal trainers in regards to differentiating the requirements and responsibilities of working as an employee or an independent contractor. Personal trainers and gym owners would benefit from understanding professional guidelines, details, and general knowledge of these two options.