After almost leaving the profession entirely, Ashley Kowalewski landed her role as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at the prestigious Louisiana State University. Listen as she recounts the strength and conditioning coach who inspired her as a high-level athlete at Oklahoma State University, diverting her path away from pursuing a physical therapy career. Explore how her early experience as an NSCA intern and working with adaptive sports under the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee expanded her network and strengthened her coaching. Discover where to tap into access points that can build mentors in your corner and the importance of being relationship-oriented in a field where collaboration is key. Kowalewski also speaks about checking her ego after a difficult career experience and the challenge of starting again at the intern level. Learn her guiding principle of providing over proving and how high-quality leadership can elevate a program’s impact and staff longevity. Connect with Ashley on Instagram at: @ashleykowalewski or by email: ashk@lsu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

High standards improve the quality of professionals working within the fitness industry. This article provides steps that may help to increase income for personal trainers.

This article discusses the benefits of utilizing evidence-based training approaches supported by current strength and conditioning research with law enforcement officer recruits.

This article gives a firsthand account of working in a few of the United States Army’s earlier human performance and injury reduction programs as a strength coach and active-duty physical therapist.

Before implementing an agility training program, baseline measures of change of direction ability should be assessed. This article presents norms for three tests that can be used to assess change of direction ability.

Bryan Mann, from the University of Missouri, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about the future of velocity-based training, work-life balance, and getting a PhD while being a full-time strength and conditioning coach.

This book excerpt discusses how to maximize sprint quality during training sessions.

High knee drills help develop coordinated front-side mechanics and are often used as part of a warm-up. This article details several high knee drills that you can use with your athletes.

This excerpt from the Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th Edition gives a quick glimpse into some of the implements used in strongman training.

This article provides essential guidelines for athletes beginning a strength and conditioning program that ensures safety and productivity of the training sessions.