This article gives a firsthand account of working in a few of the United States Army’s earlier human performance and injury reduction programs as a strength coach and active-duty physical therapist.

This PTQ article shares a real-world story to give inspiration and practical advice on creating your own sport performance business. Visit NSCA online to read more on athletic performance and professional development.

This article aims to provide a good understanding of sleep health and the way it affects high performance populations.

With the need to be ready under any circumstances from operational missions to physical training, understanding how the adrenal gland functions is important for any tactical athlete. The adrenal gland mediates performance and can have a negative effect on the body’s physiology when exhausted. It is vital to understand the interventions needed to obviate the negative effects and enhance the positive aspects of such physiological function. This session from the 2015 TSAC Annual Training sheds light on this important physiological system that impacts both physical health and functional performance.

This article describes how introduction of evidence-based practices requires today’s fitness professional to raise the bar of his or her education and analytical experience by actively and consistently using techniques of research in order to perform their job as a fitness professional.

Lee Burton

Learn about the unique culture that comprises tactical performance, to include the unit-specific subcultures within it, and how to adopt both intuitive and research-based methods to more strategically impact military personnel. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 TSAC Annual Training, Nate Palin explains effective and ineffective approaches to influencing the physical training within a tactical setting.

In this article, three considerations are discussed to aid in addressing successful rehabilitation and return to work: 1) targeting the injury site using a combination of physiotherapy, physical therapy, and tactical strength and conditioning; 2) workplace engagement; and 3) using available tools that may assist in determining appropriate approaches.

Strength and conditioning professionals should consider mental skills training when creating a training program to maximize performance. Developing mental skills is a very long and challenging process; however, the benefits are worth it. Utilizing these skills will put the athlete in a position to succeed in sport, as well as life.

This article defines and reviews the allostatic load theory in tactical personnel.