To become a Certified Special Population Specialist® (CSPS®), candidates must sit for an exam that will test their knowledge in four areas: Basic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status, Condition, Disorder or Disease; Client Consultation; Program Planning; and Safety, Emergency Procedures and Legal Issues. Exams are hosted in testing centers around the world. Read on to learn more about how the CSPS® exam is structured.

This article highlights the benefits of exercise for adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It also provides practical recommendations for high school strength and conditioning coaches working with ADHD student-athletes.

This article discusses utilizing long term athletic development (LTAD) as a framework for accountability and explores the benefits personal trainers can use to measure success.

Learn why the NSCA has joined the Smart Heart Sports Coalition to advance emergency action plans, AED access, and CPR training that save young athletes’ lives.

Read the NSCA’s commitment to safer youth sports as we endorse Project Play’s ACL Pledge, advancing evidence-based education and training to reduce injury risk.

This article briefly reviews the importance of the stretch-shortening cycle in power production.

Ground-based free weight lifts, especially the explosive Olympic-style lifts, are highly recommended for athletic conditioning for the core muscles. They can provide a moderately unstable stimulus to augment activation of the core and limb muscles, while still providing maximal or near maximal strength, velocity, and power output.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently recognized the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as one of the first organizations to join the National Youth Sports Strategy (NYSS) Champion℠ program. HHS released the NYSS in September 2019 in response to Presidential Executive Order 13824, which called for a national strategy to increase youth sports participation. The NYSS is the first Federal roadmap with actionable strategies to increase participation in youth sports, increase awareness of the benefits of youth sports participation, monitor and evaluate youth sports participation, and recruit and engage volunteers in youth sports programming.

Football is a high intensity collision based sport that has an inherent risk of injury in both competition and practice. The focus of ACL injuries and the development of injury prevention programs have been key in the development of youth athletes to keep them participating in sport with reduced risk of injury.

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