NSCA certifications can help differentiate you from the competition while joining the ranks of some of the top experts in the industry. Learn about the strength and conditioning certifications offered by the NSCA.

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.

Introducing the National Strength and Conditioning Association's new Certified Special Population Specialist (CSPS) credential, established in 2012 to address the fitness needs of individuals afflicted by chronic or temporary health conditions.

One resistance training variable that may be altered to achieve desired outcomes is the range of motion used in training. Generally, the strength and conditioning field has accepted that using a greater range of motion in strength training exercises results in more substantial muscle hypertrophy outcomes. However, this theory has proved to be inconsistently supported in the literature, and to date, no sufficient explanation exists to explain this phenomenon. This review article seeks to outline a novel approach for potentially describing the disparities seen in range of motion research with respect to hypertrophy outcomes by applying the unique length-tension curve of each muscle being examined. As will be discussed in the review, virtually all the results from range of motion studies in various muscles have corresponded to each muscle’s length-tension curve; muscles that are active on the descending limb of the curve appear to garner greater hypertrophy from using larger ranges of motion. Conversely, muscles that are not active on the descending limb exhibit similar adaptations despite alterations in range of motion. A novel hypothesis for applying this information to resistance training programs will be presented and discussed.

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Prepare for your CSPS® with confidence. Explore study timelines and optional NSCA Exam Prep resources — like the textbook, study guide, and practice questions.

This award is given to a TSAC educator and practitioner who has made noteworthy contribution to the teaching and practical application in the field of tactical strength training and conditioning. Qualified nominees must be a certified member of the NSCA with a CSCS AND TSAC-F certification.

This continuing education opportunity explores a variety of topics as they pertain to sport psychology and coaching. To earn your CEUs, it will be necessary to review several articles and pass a 50-question quiz. Please note: this quiz awards 1.0 CEU (10 contact hours).