Two factors that determine running speed are stride cadence and stride length. Because athletes propel themselves forward only when their foot is in contact with the ground, the stance phase of the running stride should be the focus of speed enhancement programs.

Understand why the strength and conditioning basics work, how they work, and how they elicit the desired performance outcomes. In this session from the 2016 TSAC Annual Training, Brandon Stone identifies buzzwords like mental toughness, work capacity, and regeneration, as well as how those are integrated into training the program at the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

Despite an incidence of approximately 3.8 million sports-related concussions per year, prevention of this injury remains quite challenging. Neck strengthening may limit transmitted forces to the head and mitigate trauma to the brain. In this session from the 2015 NSCA Coaches Conference, Tad Seifert reviews current evidence-based data in neck strength and its association with concussions.

During 2018 TSAC Annual Training, the NSCA’s own Tactical Strength and Conditioning Program Manager, Nate Palin, discusses his personal and professional take on running in the military setting. Here Palin identifies the pros, risks, and shortcomings associated with run-centric physical training for special operations forces, as well as discusses more safe and efficient strength and conditioning alternatives to running-based fitness programs for these tactical operators.

This article provides recommendations and advice from a former active-duty Infantry/Military Intelligence Officer in the United States Army on the transition to becoming a tactical strength and conditioning coach.

Ankle injuries are very common and their incidence potentially can be reduced or prevented if the person has a better sense of foot position if proper footwear is worn while exercising.

This article covers the anatomy and mechanics of spinal stabilization and how to properly brace for both maximal and sub-maximal lifts. Because of the forces that are generated by, and transmitted through, the body during resistance training, having a sound understanding of stabilization is paramount for safe and effective training.

Rob Orr, co-lead of Bond University’s Tactical Research Unit, explains the differences in load carriage requirements and contexts between different tactical forces, and how to prepare tactical personnel for load-carriage tasks. This session from the NSCA’s 2018 Tactical Annual Training also looks at how to employ fitness assessments to determine future load carriage requirements.

This article is from the perspective of the Battalion Commander, 1st Tank Battalion, in an effort to share with other TSAC-F what did and did not work while implementing the Marine Corps’ Force Fitness program.

It is important for coaches to understand the relationship between commonly measured variables (e.g., displacement, velocity, and force) and their relationship to the derived variable of power.