This NSCA Coach article examines the effectiveness of cupping therapy and assesses whether its benefits are evidence-based. Visit NSCA online to read more on athletic performance and sports recovery.

What training approaches are efficient and effective at developing functionality and resiliency at the core? The answer lies within an intelligent, systemic, multi-method approach to training the core, including an eclectic set of training tools to individualize specific needs of athletes.

Athletes must be able to express strength, power, and speed in multiple directions, and it may be beneficial to emphasize horizontally based movements in strength and conditioning programs.

The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist (CPSS) specializes in the application of scientific processes to improve individual and team athletic performance and decrease injury risk. The CPSS may be either a generalist, working across the breadth of scientific disciplines, or a specialist practitioner, who has training and/or applied experiences predominantly within one or more specific scientific discipline area(s) relevant to sport science and sports performance.

If one is a very active individual or a competitive athlete, what are the positives and negatives of donating blood, platelets, and plasma?

This article aims to describe the development of the sport scientist role and clarify the common qualifications and responsibilities therein.

The NSCA is offering a new book that contains a holistic overview of the knowledge and skills required to support athlete and team performance as a modern-day sport scientist. Learn more here about this new resource.

Physique versus Sports Nutrition: Are they Contradictory?

Adequate nutrition generally promotes training adaptations and thus optimal performance. Adolescence is characterized by a pubescence growth spurt, increasing energy and nutrient needs. Most team sports literature focuses on male athletes, with little on adolescent female team sports. Adolescent female athletes are at an increased risk of inadequate energy, and micronutrient intakes because of the pursuit of high fitness levels, and society pressures. This may cause hormonal irregularities, delayed development, poor bone health, and increased risk of injury. This review synthesizes information on the nutritional needs of adolescent female team sport players for performance and health.