This article provides methods used by tactical facilitators, related research articles, and professional interviews to demonstrate how physical conditioning facilitates the transition from practice to duty for service members, including law enforcement and fire and rescue personnel.

This article examines training from collegiate lacrosse programs and how this data can be used to develop data-informed recommendations and refine current approaches towards preparing military and tactical personnel for the Army Combat Fitness Test.

This article explores the concept of how lifestyle behaviors encouraged at the high school-level could affect fitness during adulthood, with a focus on both sport and strength and conditioning participation.

The path to the top is not always linear. For Jill Costanza, it included returning to school and stops in collegiate and military performance before becoming Director of Sport Science and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach with the National Football League (NFL) Detroit Lions. Costanza describes today’s sport science landscape as a “Wild West,” where definitions differ by perspective. Her focus centers on assessing the athlete and program effectiveness against the demands of the game to identify holistic interventions. She outlines how intentional systems, a clear communication funnel, and data visualizations help athletes and stakeholders understand the “why,” build buy-in, and tap into competitiveness. Addressing common misconceptions, Costanza clarifies that elite athletes can still have foundational qualities that need rewiring. She emphasizes movement quality, proprioception, and breathing while adapting for individual needs and neurological fatigue. Learn how to build sport science systems, turn insights into action, and keep progressing on your professional path. Reach out to Jill by email at: jill.costanza@lions.nfl.net | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Football Special Interest Group (SIG) and explore 24 other specialized communities designed to support your development on the Special Interest Groups page.

Similarities and overlaps exist between the realm of sport psychology and the profession of strength and conditioning coaching. This article provides a basic introduction to sport psychology and provides some guidance for preliminary directions; ideally, it will help strength and conditioning coaches find effective people and resources to help them in their coaching pursuits.

Understand why the strength and conditioning basics work, how they work, and how they elicit the desired performance outcomes. In this session from the 2016 TSAC Annual Training, Brandon Stone identifies buzzwords like mental toughness, work capacity, and regeneration, as well as how those are integrated into training the program at the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

This column outlines a combat readiness framework that integrates physical conditioning to strengthen cognitive performance. Visit NSCA online to learn more about tactical training and mental health.

This article is the eleventh in a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning communities.

This book excerpt is an overview of the fundamentals to sprinting mechanics and technique. It also covers starting, acceleration, drive phase, recovery phase, and deceleration.