Taurine is a well-known free amino acid that has gained prominence in recent years despite its little or no role in protein formation. Few studies on the ergogenic effect of taurine exist with inconsistent results. The answer to the question of whether performance markers demonstrate the benefit of taurine remains unclear. This study aimed to reach a consensus about whether taurine supplementation is effective on aerobic (time to exhaustion [TTE], maximal oxygen uptake [V̇O2max], and rating of perceived exertion) and anaerobic (power outputs, fatigue index, jumping, and blood lactate level) performance outputs. Google Scholar, PubMed databases, clinical trial websites, and gray literature were reviewed until November 2021. Mean differences (MDs) were pooled using random or fixed-effects models according to the heterogeneity degree of the related output. Although 18 studies were detected for the meta-analysis between 2001 and 2021, 16 studies were grouped. Only randomized controlled trials (single or double-blind) were considered. Taurine supplementation had a significant effect on vertical (MD 5 3.60; 95% confidence interval [CI] [2.32 to 4.89], p , 0.00001) and countermovement (MD 5 8.50; 95% CI [4.78 to 12.22], p , 0.00001) jump performance when compared with a placebo group. Taurine supplementation had no significant effect on the V̇O2max level and rate of perceived exertion (respectively, MD 5 20.54 mL/kg/min; 95% CI [26.84 to 5.75], p 5 0.87; MD 5 20.24; 95% CI [20.74 to 0.27], p 5 0.35) when compared with a placebo group. Overall, it looks to be effective for jumping performance and TTE. Taurine supplementation may be useful for people who want to improve these performance outputs.

Omega-3 fatty acids not only have positive impacts on the eyes, heart, brain, and joints, but also on muscle tissue. Omega-3 is a very important nutrient that can help an individual achieve optimal health and performance.

This article briefly explains the two principles necessary for muscle growth.

Learn how diet and strength training in the absence of aerobic exercise can be used to improve body composition through simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 Personal Trainers Conference, Todd Miller demonstrates how to use body composition and metabolism measurements along with popular food tracking apps and activity monitors to design individualized diet and exercise strategies. CEUs available.

The ketogenic diet, while controversial and a highly polarizing subject, has demonstrated promise as an alternative dietary strategy for weight management.

This article describes how introduction of evidence-based practices requires today’s fitness professional to raise the bar of his or her education and analytical experience by actively and consistently using techniques of research in order to perform their job as a fitness professional.

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.

All sports nutrition professionals should be able to answer basic nutrition questions. However, athletes with complex nutrition issues should be referred to the appropriate resource as explained in this book excerpt.

This excerpt briefly explains nutrition periodization for different training cycles to help maximize performance for endurance athletes.

This article seeks to provide personal trainers with eight brief modifications that clients can benefit from if they suffer from both acute and chronic lower back pain (LBP).