This article provides a first-hand account of the usage and benefits of dumbbell training programs with athletes.

This article is intended to provide an understanding of the demands of football from a bioenergetic perspective and provides a framework in which strength and conditioning professionals can design conditioning plans that focus on preparing athletes for competition.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) 64th Annual Meeting was held in Denver, CO May 30 – June 3, 2017. Overall, there were more than 50 presentations with a military focus, an indication of the importance of this research. The following is a review of some of the presented research.

Velocity-based training (VBT) is an increasingly popular programming strategy used by strength and conditioning professionals to develop their athlete’s ability to express force rapidly. To implement the varying forms of VBT effectively within their training regimes, strength and conditioning professionals need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of strategies, such as predicting 1 repetition maximum using the load-velocity profile, modulating training loads using the load-velocity profile, and controlling training volume using the magnitude of velocity-loss. The aim of this review was to highlight these strengths and weaknesses and then provide practical examples of when each programming strategy may be most effectively implemented.

This infographic briefly explains the effects of horizontal jump training, vertical jump training, maximal strength training, and explosive strength training on change-of-direction ability in junior team sport athletes.

This article provides a few key tips on how to perform the deadlift more efficiently and safely. Some helpful coaching cues—such as keeping the head slightly up, activating the lats, and pushing the knees out—can assist a tactical athlete in executing the deadlift while increasing strength over time.

This article discusses using the principle of specificity as an important component in tactical training programs to enhance performance, decrease injuries, and improve functional longevity of a tactical athlete.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Guide to Sport and Exercise Nutrition briefly analyzes some of the research behind creatine and its application to sport performance.

The purpose of this article is to propose a training model for the aging firefighter to improve the athletic qualities of aerobic fitness and muscular strength so that they may remain healthier longer into their careers.

In this session from the 2015 NSCA TSAC Conference, Matt Wenning explains the sumo deadlift, a foundational exercise for maximal strength development and a tool that is essential to the tactical population due to its movement pattern. The ability to learn proper technique and progressions with this exercise can help to improve a tactical athlete’s performance and decrease the likelihood of injury because it trains major muscle groups and multiple joints at the same time.