In this session from the NSCA's 2023 Personal Trainers Virtual Conference, Ashley Hodge, MBA, CSCS and owner of Ashley Hodge Fitness, discusses program design considerations for optimally building the glutes and discusses the biggest mistakes in glute training and how to avoid them.

The NSCA Education Recognition Program (ERP) recognizes regionally accredited academic institutions for their educational programs that have met, and continue to meet, educational guidelines recommended by the NSCA. ERP recognitions are good for three years and schools are eligible for renewal following this three-year period.

The 3-minute all-out exercise test (3MT) was developed over a decade ago and enables the estimation of time for onset of momentary fatigue for a given speed or power output exceeding critical speed (CS) or critical power (CP), respectively. The 3MT has been validated for conducting high-intensity interval training, used with load carriage prediction and prescription, and validated for shuttle running. These prescriptions are novel because they allow for standardizing exercise intensities relative to metabolic parameters as opposed to a percentage of a given maximum or reserve. Research was identified using leading search engines (e.g., PubMed, Google Scholar, and Research Gate) and citations to similar articles. The objective of this review article was to summarize research that emerged on the CS/CP concept with emphasis on applications since the advent of the 3MT. The review concludes with application of the CS/CP concept to the frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise for exercise prescription.

Mark Stephenson explains the systems of stress response for tactical personnel and the cognitive influence on decision-making and reaction time.

In this video from the 2022 NSCA National Conference, Chris Bailey discusses monitoring, quantifying, and other relevant research in regard to asymmetries in sport performance.

Gain a deeper understanding of how to safely train and program for the shoulder joint with Lee Boyce

The physiological response to breath holding includes bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction, which contrasts with that of exercise which includes tachycardia and peripheral vasodilation. This raises the question as to what the physiological response is to breath holding during exercise. During low-intensity exercise, the breath holding response of bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction prevails over the exercise response of tachycardia and peripheral vasodilation, but nevertheless the exercise may be sustained. Due to the lack of availability of extrinsic oxygen (O 2 ) from the atmosphere during breath holding, the energy demands can be met by increased reliance on intrinsic O 2 stores (i.e., O 2 that was in the body before the breath hold) via increased O 2 extraction at the muscle compared with exercise while breathing, or increased contributions from anaerobic energy systems. During high intensity exercise of short duration, the exercise response may prevail over the breath holding response due to the increased parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic drive of higher intensity exercise. If breath holding during high-intensity exercise was sustained for long enough, the breath holding response may eventually overcome the exercise response, although this may be difficult due to the inverse relationship between exercise intensity and breath hold duration.

From the 2023 NSCA Tactical Annual Training, Ian Bonder and Andrew Shim review micro-dosing programming strategies and benefits for the tactical population.