When working with athletes who play team sports, your main goal as a strength and conditioning coach is to ensure that your athletes arrive at a competitive peak in a predictable way, Dave Hamilton says. No matter the athlete's level - college or elite - training loads impact the ability to perform. As coaches, we need to remove the subjectivity and use monitoring tools that are effective.

This article discusses what muscle dysmorphia is, the ways in which adolescents can fall victim to it, and how to intervene when body image becomes distorted.

The innovative technology found in portable BFR training systems can help tactical personnel achieve greater strength and hypertrophic gains, as well as optimize training programs and overall performance.

The exercises mentioned in this article are a small sampling of the drills available to the strength and conditioning coach when using rope drills. By adding these movements to a swimmer’s dryside training, swimmers can gain muscular endurance that will complement wetside training.

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In this session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference, Nelson Ayotte—the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the St. Louis Blues National Hockey League (NHL) team—explains how to design and implement a specific energy systems program at the elite level. Ayotte demonstrates the characteristics of each of the three energy systems and their trainability, and explores how to understand the energy demands of a sport by analysis of its characteristics, competition intensity, and duration of efforts and recovery periods.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Essential of Tactical Strength and Conditioning explores the neural and muscular adaptations to training over time.

This Kinetic Select excerpt from the Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Fourth Edition describes the results from electromyography (EMG) studies on the neural adaptations to anaerobic training.

Emerging evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acids may play a beneficial role in preservation of, and increases in, skeletal muscle mass. This is of particular relevance to the elderly who display age-related declines in muscle mass and function.

Dr. Lonnie Lowery spoke at the NSCA's 2012 National Conference and provided tips on how to maintain energy levels in youth athletes.