The purpose of this article is to provide personal trainers with a review of common muscle extensibility tests of the lower extremity.

This Personal Training Quarterly article presents alternative ways of teaching the squat technique. Visit NSCA online to read more on exercise science, health, and fitness.

Firefighting is a profession that has the potential to be extremely demanding, both physically and mentally. More specifically, these tactical personnel must be physically fit to perform their occupational requirements, all while they are exposed to daily stressors. This is likely to include everything from physical strain and shift work to interrupted sleep and witnessing potentially traumatizing events. Failure to prepare and mitigate these occupational demands can have long-lasting implications to overall performance as well as health and wellness. Unfortunately, many of these elements often go unaddressed. As such, considerations for collaborative and overarching cross-disciplinary allied health teams should be made. Human performance optimization (HPO) is a model that has been successfully adopted by the U.S. military to enhance the overarching health, wellness, and performance of soldiers. This article proposes the utilization of a similar HPO model by providing a rationale for how it can be used to reduce premature morbidity and mortality, as well as increasing overall readiness and resilience within the firefighting profession.

This column will explore specific investigations that evaluate the impact of PA and fitness on mental and physical health outcomes among firefighters and law enforcement officers.

This article reviews the recommended exercise prescription the author uses when training special populations.

This article consists of five assessments that could be utilized by the tactical facilitator to measure upper- , lower- , and total-body power in law enforcement officers (LEOs). Although the focus of this article is LEOs, the assessments could also be used for other tactical populations.

This excerpt breaks down the optimal positions of the body during acceleration and deceleration.

This article will analyze and compare squats with different loading positions to draw out practical applications for the personal trainer.

Learn, participate and network with colleagues at (location) while earning CEUs. Hosted by the state, provincial and regional directors, this local event brings cutting-edge research and application to your backyard.