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.

As Director of Sport Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Heather Farmer spearheads comprehensive integration efforts. This includes ensuring every stakeholder, from sport performance staff to academic advisors, has a seat at the table. Farmer also outlines developing an internship and graduate assistantship program to meet staffing needs and offer opportunities for practical experience. She recounts how leveraging relationships — not data — has been her key to scalability. Additionally, Farmer recognizes that to make an impact, she must meet athletes and sport coaches where they are, which she uncovers through “highlights” and “hurdles.” She suggests that sport scientists with strength and conditioning backgrounds, like herself, are uniquely equipped to excel due to their communication skills. Farmer and McMahon also discuss avoiding “analysis paralysis” and how to incorporate data to elevate the student-athlete experience — an unignorable factor as athletes bring an element of “self” in the age of name, image and likeness (NIL). Reach out to Heather by email at: heather.farmer@unlv.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

In this session from the 2019 Tactical Annual Training, Stefan Pasiakos identifies mechanisms by which military operations degrade muscle mass and performance, defines warfighter nutrition requirements, and discusses ethical and efficacious androgen therapies to enhance warfighter lethality.

The four components of the coach-athlete relationship are closeness, commitment, complementarity, and co-orientation. Coaches should seek to deeply understand the value of each category and how to maximize these reciprocal characteristics with their athletes.

This article discusses the effects of instability on force and velocity throughout the body.

This infographic summarizes the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s (NSCA) position statement for resistance training for older adults and the benefits, program suggestions, and considerations specific to them.

Understand the overall process of exercise and recovery and learn to identify the four key areas of stress and recovery. In this session from the 2017 NSCA Coaches Conference, Michael Naperalsky also explains how to classify various modalities and strategies as “effective,” “promising,” or “inconclusive,” and how to measure recovery.

This article will provide some conditions and standards with specific tools personal trainers may consider using in their initial interview with potential clients.

From the 2020 NSCA Delaware State Clinic, Gordon Jeter and Terique Boyd discuss socioeconomics and how it ties into social issues within the field of strength and conditioning. They also provide actionable pathways for coaches to address these issues and expand the scope of available resources to help provide better educational and occupational opportunities.

Stress and Management