Isolated muscle training methods do not necessarily transfer to better sports performance, because technique as well as strength contributes to successful performance. Resistance training for dynamic sports must involve ground-based movements that incorporate the coordinated stabilizing and dynamic functions of multiple muscles.

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.

The ability to manage the adaptive response, handle accumulated fatigue, and capitalize on the aftereffects established from training is central to the training process.

Research shows that the appropriate integration of resistance training into the endurance athlete’s training can result in significantly better performance when compared to classic endurance training plans that focus only on aerobic endurance.

Athletes in field and court sports require reactive agility—they must accelerate, decelerate, and change direction in a constantly changing environment. These requirements result in technical differences between sprinting in a field or court sport and sprinting the 100-m.

Joe Denk, Applied Sport Scientist and Strength and Conditioning Coach for Naval Special Warfare, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about immediate and actionable sports science data for tactical athletes. Topics under discussion include the dynamic of working with tactical athletes, how resiliency and recovery are connected, and how technology has enabled coaches the ability to implement training programs effectively from a distance. Find Joe via Email: denkjc@gmail.com| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Matt Wenning a renowned power lifter and strength and conditioning coach who has over 12,000 hours of experience as a Division I college strength coach in a variety of sports, including football, track and field, swimming, baseball, as well as United States Army Rangers, firefighters, triathletes, and general populations. Matt talks to the NSCA’s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield. Matt’s discusses the obstacles he had to go through both academically (undergrad and grad school) and physically (powerlifting) to get where he is today.

Acceleration and maximum speed are terms used in speed development programs, and when developing a program, it is vital to differentiate between the two. This allows coaches to target their training to the capacity most important in their own sport.

This excerpt from Developing Power discusses implementing plyometric training in a program to develop lower body power.

NSCA Member Spotlight: Lee Brown shares his path into tactical strength and conditioning, firefighter research, and how NSCA engagement has elevated his career.