The purpose of this article is to identify and discuss the difficulties that can arise when performing physiological-based research with firefighters.

Unfortunately, injuries do occur during exercise, and the legal implications that follow them can be quite significant. Taking small, reasonable precautions at the onset of a new personal trainer-client relationship can stave off significant problems down the road.

If you want to manage the performance of assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars, you better know what you’re doing. At the elite and professional levels of sport, strength and conditioning coaches are responsible for managing the performance of teams’ most valuable assets – The Athletes.

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This article describes how to use dumbbell exercises in the training programs for football athletes. It includes sample programs for skill position athletes and big skill position athletes.

Research on the benefits of using goals to increase athletic performance has shown that performance generally increases for athletes that use goals consistently. Learn how to move beyond generalities and see how a systematic goal setting approach can be paired with training athletes.

On-field success in sports requires the ability to solve sport-specific problems and utilize speed and agility within the specific context of the game. In this session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference, Ian Jeffreys explains how adding a task-based approach to an athlete’s speed and agility training can help ensure optimal transfer from training to game performance.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to “pump iron” to build muscle. In this session from the NSCA’s 2015 Personal Trainers Conference, Nick Tumminello explains that to build muscle you need to create a training stimulus that elicits the three mechanisms for muscle growth. In other words, building muscle is not about the specific exercises you do, it is about the specific stimulus you create.

Repeated sprint ability (RSA) may be one of the most important factors to consider when developing strength and conditioning programs for high-intensity repeated sprint sports. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 Coaches Conference, Ernie Rimer reviews the latest science behind RSA, compares the pros and cons of RSA protocols performed in the laboratory and in the field, and suggests methods to improve RSA.

It is paramount for tactical facilitators to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion, as well as grasp when it is safe to return to normal activities after an injury such as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This session from the 2015 TSAC Conference covers the foundational knowledge that tactical facilitators should know in order to help minimize potential complications associated with traumatic brain injuries.