Athletes have sought out intermittent fasting as a strategy to optimize performance. However, it is important to critically evaluate the research available in order to establish specific recommendations and determine if intermittent fasting is safe or effective.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Guide to Sport and Exercise Nutrition briefly analyzes some of the research behind creatine and its application to sport performance.

Expectations for strength and conditioning coaches now extend far beyond the weight room. Athletes and sport coaches demand better data, deeper insight, and stronger performance. Faith Brown, Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning at George Mason University, supports women’s basketball and volleyball while collaborating with the Patriot Performance Lab. Brown describes balancing teams, testing, and athlete monitoring as a “circus act.” At the heart of her coaching is one goal: be the coach she wishes she had as a college track athlete. She demonstrates ways strength and conditioning coaches can contribute as scientists, creating impact and value outside the weight room walls. Brown shares how GPS, heart rate monitoring, and force plates support workload monitoring. However, she believes that technology should only be used when it answers a real question. Learn how to turn data into better training decisions, translate sport science so sport coaches buy in, and reach out to other coaches to refine your program. Connect with Faith on Instagram: @faithsabrown, LinkedIn: @faith-brown, or by email: fbrown20@gmu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs From the Episode: Explore NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science, a foundational text defining the field and the role of sport scientists in high-performance environments. It also supports preparation for the Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) certification exam.

This article discusses how first responder organizations can optimize their training programs through scientific techniques, including the measurement of training load.

The goal of this article is to understand contralateral and ipsilateral loading, how to set-up loaded carries, electromyography activity during exercises, and how to apply these exercises into the strength training program.

The movement pattern utilized when flipping a tire is similar to the movements required during firefighting. Learn not only how to flip a tire, but how to assess functional power output among firefighters through the use of tire flipping.

This article discusses lactate testing as a cost-effective alternative way to create advanced exercise prescriptions, as well as opening the possibility of being a new biomarker of metabolic health for personal trainers.

Strength and conditioning coaches can safely and effectively integrate strongman training into youth strength and conditioning programs by following established programming guidelines and available research recommendations.

This article aims to share practical application strategies that strength and conditioning coaches can use in fostering a positive change in their athlete’s performance by understanding intrinsic and extrinsic performance motivation and how to adopt an autonomy-supportive coaching style.

This article looks at the four phases of the rowing stroke: the catch, drive, finish, and recovery. A sample resistance training program that addresses all four phases is included.