Todd Miller, PhD, CSCS, TSAC-F, FNSCA and professor at George Washington University discusses body composition measures and techniques and understanding body composition ranges and their effect on health and performance in this session from the NSCA's 2023 Personal Trainer's Conference.

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is one of the most frequent injuries experienced by athletes of all levels. Because so many variables are at play, there is a great deal of controversy about how and why this occurs. In addition, there are various suggested appropriate steps to take to return to sport in the fastest and safest possible way. However, a major issue in injury recovery and return to sport practices is the lack of a gold-standard method or a consistent course of action that an athlete should undertake after suffering an ACL injury. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to review the literature to determine evidence-based methods for return to sport after ACL reconstruction and provide practical recommendations to guide the process.

Interest in investigating minimalist footwear (MF) has grown exponentially in recent years. This article systematically reviews the benefits of MF for physical fitness, biomechanical factors, and injury incidence in middle and long distance runners. A systematic review of PubMed and FECYT (Web of Sciences, CCC, DIIDW, KJD, MEDLINE, RSCI, and SCIELO) was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines before 26 April of 2022. From the 583 studies initially found, 23 were included in the qualitative synthesis. The use of MF induces improvements in running economy and stride frequency in middle and long distance races and reduces the oscillations of a runner’s center of gravity and support time. From a biomechanical viewpoint, MF enhances forefoot support and increases knee stability, leading to greater foot and ankle mobility. In addition, MF reduces impact load at the knee joint.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to synthesize the literature and provide a robust estimate of the correlations between lower-body, multijoint, isometric and dynamic neuromuscular assessment variables and snatch (SN) and clean and jerk (C&J) performance in competitive weightlifters. A comprehensive search through 3 electronic databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) returned 12 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses were performed on Pearson’s correlations between SN and C&J performance and 15 variables from 5 neuromuscular assessments— countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), isometric midthigh pull (IMTP), back squat (BS), and front squat (FS) one repetition maximum (1RM). The FS and BS 1RM exhibited nearly perfect correlations (r 5 0.93 to 0.94), whereas the IMTP peak force exhibited very large correlations (r 5 0.83 to 0.85). The IMTP force at 250 ms exhibited very large correlations (r 5 0.77 to 0.78), and the CMJ and SJ peak power exhibited very large to nearly perfect correlations (r 5 0.88 to 0.92). These findings illustrate the importance of lower-body maximal and time-limited force-producing capabilities in weightlifters. Moreover, each assessment offers at least one variable that exhibits a correlation of .0.70. Therefore, these assessments may be used to gauge weightlifting performance potential.

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.

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.

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.

Although fatigue is commonly experienced in many highly demanding occupations (e.g., military, first responders, etc.), it is poorly defined. Fatigue can strongly affect occupational performance by negatively influencing the ability to interact with the world by altering the capacity to think, move, feel, see, and speak. The first step in fatigue risk management strategies is to establish a context. The context of this narrative review is to specifically describe and discuss the 6 overarching types of occupational fatigue: cognitive, physical, burnout, emotional, visual, and vocal fatigue, and how each affects varying occupations. Furthermore, fatigue type can be influenced by several intrinsic factors, such as sleep deprivation, circadian alignment, ultradian process, sleep homeostasis, and health factors. Similarly, extrinsic factors influence fatigue, such as workload, shift work, and environmental issues. Understanding the types and contributors to occupational fatigue may help clarify the context of occupational fatigue and serve to guide future occupational fatigue management.

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.

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.