This article provides a blueprint and “mini-macrocycle” that will assist the personal trainer in creating a program design for older adults by offering organized templates, direction in selecting exercise components, and the creation of volume controls specific to the client’s needs.

For Keith Swift, coaching is completely effort based, but it starts with camaraderie and education. As Director of Strength and Conditioning at Wofford College, his philosophy is clear: educate, heal, and enhance. While playing collegiate football and studying exercise science, Swift learned early to question the “why” behind training and encourages his student-athletes to do the same. At an academically rigorous institution, his educational focus fits right in, fostering curiosity, technical precision, and peer coaching. Swift shares how his experiences across professional baseball, the private sector, and collegiate programs each shaped his foundation while making it his own. Amid collegiate challenges — from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer portal to the growing authority of student-athletes — Swift holds firm that “there is no substitute for hard work.” His goal is simple: help student-athletes leave with both a degree and a championship ring, setting them up for success in sport and life. Reach out to Coach Swift on Instagram: @worqueowt and @wofford_strength, Twitter/X: @CoachSwift93, LinkedIn: @keithswift, or by email: swiftkd@wofford.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Discover how salaries have evolved across collegiate athletics and other work settings in strength and conditioning in the 2025 NSCA Salary Survey at NSCA.com/Salary.

Recent research has developed new ways of approaching macronutrient ratios that challenge the conventional way of thinking. This article takes a look at what is usually recommended for athletes, as well as different lower carbohydrate variations.

This article discusses using the principle of specificity as an important component in tactical training programs to enhance performance, decrease injuries, and improve functional longevity of a tactical athlete.

The snatch is one of the most technically demanding competitive movements. This article focuses on barbell trajectory (or bar path), motor control, and the height of the bar relative to the athlete’s body.

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.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, Second Edition briefly reviews the role of oxygen uptake in exercise.

Hydration, footwear, and exercise frequency are only a few of the essentials to safe participation in cardiovascular activity. Make sure to include all six essentials in your program to ensure safe participation.

This excerpt from Developing Power explains how to use bands for variable resistance training.