Scaled Scoring Explained. Why does the NSCA use scaled scoring?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are commonplace in business and sport. They offer an objective means to link data and processes with performance outcomes. Yet, their application in sports performance, particularly team sports, is not without issue. Here, we review 4 key issues relating to KPI application in team sports; lack of a universal definition, complexity of performance, drifting from on-field performance goals with off-field targets, and agency issues across different key stakeholders. With these issues relating to sports performance KPIs in mind, we propose a complementary approach to help practitioners focus on implementing the conditions that create performance environments and opportunities for success in a complex sporting environment. Ongoing process trackers (OPTs) are quantifiable measures of the execution of behaviors and processes that create the environments, cultures, and conditions for successful performance outcomes. This approach equips sports science practitioners with key questions they can ask themselves and their team when starting to select and use OPTs in their program.

What does LTAD mean and how can parents get more involved with their child’s athletic development? Rick Howard provides an overview of youth development, important concepts to understand, ways to impact physical development, signs of overtraining, and further resources that are a great refresher for coaches and can be passed onto parents.

Are you looking for assistance in studying and preparing for the NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT) exams? Check out NSCA Exam Prep Live Clinics! These in-person educational clinics are offered in three formats: 1.5-Day, 2-Day and 3-Day options with a blend of classroom lecture and hands-on training.

This article introduces a periodization model designed for beginner to elite perinatal athletes, emphasizing trimester-phased training aligning with gestation, delivery, and postpartum needs. Amid progressing global recommendations on perinatal exercise and increasing female participation in high-intensity and strength training, the primary aim is to propose an evidence-based, structured approach to training that consolidates these trends. The physical and psychological demands of labor mirrors that of an athletic endeavor. As such, this article explores emerging evidence supporting maternal and fetal safety and benefit of high-intensity training, allowing pregnant individuals to prepare in accordance with the task ahead. Training phases parallel to preseason, in-season, peaking, and recovery shift in focus based on the physiological need and biomechanical necessity within the pregnancy timeline. This translation of science to practice underscores the potential for tailored training programs to positively impact maternal, fetal, and neonatal health, urging further research and unified guidelines in this evolving field.

Give your athletes that competitive edge with the 2021 Professional Baseball Strength & Conditioning Coaches Society’s (PBSCCS) Virtual Clinic powered by the NSCA. Identify strength training, conditioning and wellness best practices for the baseball player.

Resistance training or strength training has become one of the most popular forms of exercise, because it is the only method capable of improving physical fitness and increasing muscle mass simultaneously. Among the variables of training, the relationship between intensity and volume has been extensively addressed to enhance exercise induced muscular hypertrophy. For many, mechanical stress is seen as a factor of greater relevance and, because high loads promote greater mechanical tension and high intensities are traditionally used to increase muscle mass. However, evidence has shown greater safety and similar results through training based on lower intensities and increased training volume. Thus, this narrative review aimed to search the current literature for evidence on using different training loads to promote muscle hypertrophy. An extensive nonsystematic literature review was conducted in the PubMed, Google Scholar and Scielo databases. It was possible to conclude that the use of high and low intensity promotes similar results in muscle hypertrophy in all groups, leading to the belief that there is greater safety and adherence to the use of lower intensities compared with close effort to concentric failure.

Before registering for the CPSS™ exam, you must first complete an application, submit your eligibility documents, and receive permission to test. Begin this process in advance of your desired testing date, as applications may take up to 30-days to process.

Take part in the NSCA Women's Committee Mentorship program and become a mentee by filling out this application. Mentee Qualification Criteria: ● Identify as female ● Open/ready to learn/proactive