Research on the benefits of using goals to increase athletic performance has shown that performance generally increases for athletes that use goals consistently. Learn how to move beyond generalities and see how a systematic goal setting approach can be paired with training athletes.

Roger Marandino, Director of Research at Catapult, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about his experiences as a strength coach at the youth, collegiate, and National Football League (NFL) level. Topics under discussion include the struggles he faced as a young coach, his advice for making a big impact on a small budget, interviewing skills, and the new opportunities arising in the strength and conditioning profession.

This is an excerpt from NSCA's Essentials of Sport Science by NSCA -National Strength & Conditioning Association, Duncan N. French & Lorena Torres-Ronda.

Athletes must be able to express strength, power, and speed in multiple directions, and it may be beneficial to emphasize horizontally based movements in strength and conditioning programs.

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Self-myofascial release (SMR) treatments can enhance joint range-of-motion and restore movement function. This infographic summarizes the results of a study that looked at the effects of different durations of SMR on athletic performance.

Defining the Elite New-Age Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Athlete

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Some research has found that static stretching can have detrimental effects on subsequent performance. This is not to say that static stretching should be eliminated from an athlete’s program, but it should be sensibly incorporated into the daily training regimen since chronic stretching can enhance the range of motion around a joint and potentially improve strength and power performance.