This NSCA Coach article describes how to manipulate movements, lifts, and rest periods in a way that controls time, space, and flow efficiently to creatively enhance athletic performance.

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Specificity of training involves an analysis of physiological, anatomical, and psychological needs for an activity. This article explains how to create a well-designed program that takes exercise specificity into account.

Jim Davis, the Director of the Good Athlete Project, identifies usable methods for effective, research-based methods to motivate a unique group of athletes. In this session from the NSCA’s 2018 Coaches Conference, Davis explains how to distinguish between effective and ineffective motivational techniques, and how to design individualized strategies to get the most out of your athletes.

In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 TSAC Annual Training, Brad Nindl provides an overview the current state-of-the-art physical performance optimization programs, and recommendations for program design based on these programs.

Your career can accelerate when you ask, offer, and say yes. For Morgan Smith, that approach led to a postdoctoral fellowship with the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Stanford University. Smith recalls how coaching sparked her interest in the science behind performance. Working across academic and practical settings, she encountered challenges with research feasibility firsthand. Today, she focuses on blending coaching with sport science. At Stanford, she began by building relationships and trust within the athletic department. She describes collaborating with coaches and staff to identify research interests, gaps, and low-burden contributions. Smith also highlights opportunities to support club sports, campus recreation centers, and community programs. These roles can help fund education while building your resume, network, and practical skills. She reinforces the value of education as a time to maximize experience and explore interests. Discover how to gain applied experience early, drive cross-department buy-in, and cultivate relationships that move your career forward. Reach out to Morgan on Instagram: @goldenmo_ and LinkedIn: @morgan-smith-sportsscientist | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs | Learn more about the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at: humanperformancealliance.org. Interested in bridging coaching and sport science? The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) credential can help you expand your qualifications, open new career paths, and strengthen organizational collaboration.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical appraisal of peer-reviewed articles on the effects of load carriage on cognitive function among military personnel.

The purpose of this article is to identify considerations that are to be taken into account when designing and implementing an annual training program for firefighters, as well as to discuss strategies for implementation.

Learn how to increase the body’s use of fat as a fuel without compromising the use of carbohydrates for higher-intensity training. Mike Nelson, PhD, explains how combining specific nutrition and exercise together affects the use of fat as a fuel, in this session from the NSCA’s 2017 Personal Trainers Conference.

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.