This article discusses how first responder organizations can optimize their training programs through scientific techniques, including the measurement of training load.

Tactical 2019

Every fitness professional should strive to become a leader in the fitness industry. This will ensure continuity across the field of fitness and assist in the establishment of standards of professionalism.

Patrick McHenry, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Castle View High School in Castle Rock, CO, and member of the NSCA Board of Directors, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about high school strength and conditioning and his growth in the NSCA from a volunteer to an NSCA Board mMember. Connect with Patrick on Twitter: @strengthcentral and Instagram: @ptmchenry | Find Scott on Instagram: @coachcaulfield and Twitter: @scottcaulfield

HRV is thought to provide objective insight into understanding fatigue, “trainability,” and “readiness” to perform in athletic populations. Evolving access to HRV data may enhance the understanding of individualized fitness and training responses in tactical athletes.

While acute inflammation is a normal response to high-intensity training, chronic inflammation results in depressed immunity and impaired muscle response. Learn about nutritional strategies to help balance exercise-induced inflammation to optimize performance outcomes.

Athletes in field and court sports require reactive agility—they must accelerate, decelerate, and change direction in a constantly changing environment. These requirements result in technical differences between sprinting in a field or court sport and sprinting the 100-m.

This article provides a list of items that affect the ability to develop and retain quality fire fitness trainers and provides possible solutions to common challenges for program managers that make decisions for a facility or agency.

Although most resources on program design review the foundational scientific principles of training, they often fail to provide practical strategies that strength and conditioning professionals need in order to apply these principles successfully. To help bridge the gap between science and application, this article provides a simple and practical, step-by-step system for applying the scientific principles of training into the program design process.

The article discusses the talent crisis that is currently plaguing United States first responders, public safety agencies, and military organizations, and concludes with highlights of select successful programs.