This is my story of how a strength and conditioning coach influenced not only one of Pakistan’s up and coming cricket team’s approach to fitness and lifestyle, but also that of the wider community.

One challenge is to critically examine your own successes and failures to find a way to attribute the outcomes to something you can control and can change for the future. This could be as small as how you deal with a single person, or it could be a more in-depth examination of how you provide feedback to athletes and how you work with your own staff.

Deloading is widespread, but its application is often inconsistent and undervalued. That gap caught Lee Bell’s attention after discovering there was no consensus definition. Bell is a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University who focuses on the deloading, overtraining, and overreaching spectrum. He explains how overtraining and overreaching are sometimes used synonymously. That confusion is compounded further by associations with overtraining syndrome (OTS). Instead, Bell frames overreaching as a “window of opportunity” when used intentionally. For example, a planned overreach can be functional or non-functional based on recovery. Bell also examines opportunities and tradeoffs in modern periodization models. He contrasts flexible and fluid approaches with more traditional, rigid programming; each approach has implications for athlete trust and recovery. Looking ahead, Bell envisions a collaborative approach to sport science driven by coaching needs. He reflects on recent coaching survey data and the key themes that emerged for the future. Hear his perspective on next steps in velocity-based training, individualized periodization, and variability. Reach out to Lee via Instagram: @lee3ell and LinkedIn: @lee-bell| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs → Read the SCJ article co-authored by Lee Bell referenced in this episode: A Practical Approach to Deloading: Recommendations and Considerations for Strength and Physique Sports.

In this first of a five-part series, Rachel Balkovec—the first female strength and conditioning coach in the history of professional baseball—provides an overview of her journey and how she got into professional baseball. This video starts with her recruitment by the University of New Mexico and includes her journeys to the Dominican Republic.

This article provides an overview of the sporting demands of the bobsled competition in the Sochi Olympic Games, and how the theoretical basis of training attempted to meet these requirements.

The purpose of this article is to provide personal trainers reading the strength and conditioning research the knowledge necessary to better understand the statistical data commonly reported in research manuscripts.

This article discusses the importance and impact a qualified fitness professional on the fitness and readiness of soldiers for the United States Army.

The purpose of this article is to present a sample injury prevention program with a specific emphasis on lower body posterior chain development throughout competitive and non-competitive college lacrosse seasons.

The purpose of this article is to describe the content and format of a collegiate introductory strength and conditioning course to induce behavioral changes in college students for lifelong physical activity and fitness.

This article provides an understanding of the role the core plays during execution of athletic movements, as well as provides evidence-based concepts that help to strengthen the core and maximize movement performance.