Get to know the 2024 NSCA Assistant College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, Kenna Smoak-Minnici. After accepting her award at the 2024 Coaches Conference, she connects with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the unique coaching rigors at the prestigious military academy, Army West Point. The episode goes beyond the demands of sport-specific training to developing student-athletes and leaders for sustained success in the military. Smoak-Minnici highlights the role of family along her journey as an athlete and strength and conditioning coach, as well as the importance of always pushing yourself to go beyond the norm. Connect with Kenna on Instagram at: @kenna_minnici or LinkedIn: @kenna-smoak-minnici | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Did you enjoy the episode? Don’t forget to nominate a deserving strength and conditioning coach for an NSCA Coach of the Year Award at NSCA Awards.

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.

The purpose of this article is to emphasize the critical need for a nutrition strategy that aligns with the specific demands inherent in the sport of soccer.

Ground-based free weight lifts, especially the explosive Olympic-style lifts, are highly recommended for athletic conditioning for the core muscles. They can provide a moderately unstable stimulus to augment activation of the core and limb muscles, while still providing maximal or near maximal strength, velocity, and power output.

This excerpt from Strength Training describes the hormone response to exercise and their functions within the human body.

This excerpt provides a brief snapshot of the use of carbohydrates in resistance training exercise sessions.

Most law enforcement officers are physically taxed, mentally exhausted, and emotionally overwhelmed. As such, a complexity exists with a requirement to match the need for physical fitness in a demographic that lives their lives in a potential state of general exhaustion.

Dr. Tim Suchomel, Assistant Professor at Carroll University and Wisconsin State Director for the NSCA, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the emerging role of sport science in strength and conditioning. Topics under discussion include Suchomel’s growing involvement with the NSCA, as well as weightlifting derivatives and their benefits for more individualized performance adaptations. Find Dr. Suchomel on Twitter: @DrTSuchomel or Instagram: @drtsuchomel or NSCA Sport Science and Performance Technology Special Interest Group | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

In order to effectively prepare an ice hockey player for the season, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the specific demands of the sport.

This book excerpt reviews functional isometrics as a way to build strength at the weakest point in the range of motion.