This article is part of 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.

Mental Toughness: What Is It and How Do We Train It?

Mental Toughness: What Is It and How Do We Train It?

In this video from the NSCA's 2014 TSAC Conference, Jay Merlino discusses "how to train your trainers" in the sense of figuring out the best way to communicate knowledge; not only programmatic insights, but implementation of the actual program as well.

Knowledge of metabolic rate can help athletes as well as health-conscious people improve their exercise performance or obtain the fat-to-lean-mass ratio optimal for their personal situations. Two examples of how this works follow.

CC 2020

This article reviews the basics of the Olympic lifts, including strength base, skill transfer, snatch progressions, and clean and jerk progressions. This article also covers several suggested practices for strength and conditioning coaches to fine-tune and progress learning and coaching of the lifts.

Sheri Walters’ journey to Director of Sports Medicine at Texas A&M University reflects a career defined by innovation, collaboration, and comprehensive integration. Walters discusses the "arms race" in collegiate athletics and how Texas A&M shatters silos through unit alignment and being intentionally present. Drawing from her EXOS experience, she highlights the impact of integrating sports medicine with strength and conditioning. Walters employs research-based cross-body training to maintain strength, prioritizing long-term rehabilitation over limb symmetry index testing. She explains how her Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) and Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) credentials enable her to elevate rehabilitation and speak the language of sport performance professionals. Walters underscores the importance of getting student-athletes back to team strength and conditioning as soon as tissues can tolerate it to promote physiological and psychological healing. She also shares how strength and conditioning coaches can optimize return to performance and reduce reinjury risk. Email Sheri at swalters@athletics.tamu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Catch Sheri’s session on bridging the gap in the collegiate setting LIVE at the 2025 NSCA Coaches Conference! Register to watch online at NSCA.com/Coaches. Fascinated by the intersection between strength and conditioning and sports medicine? Join other professionals in the Sports Medicine/Rehabilitation Specialist Interest Group (SIG) to discover more resources and engage in discussion.

Why are some behaviors so easy to change while others are so excruciatingly difficult? In this session from the 2015 NSCA Personal Trainers Conference, Annette Lang explains how to identify specific components that have contributed to success—or lack thereof—in changing behaviors and ultimately, habits.

This article examines the effects that are commonly experienced by people who have undergone knee replacement surgery as well as the exercises that can help them regain functionality.