This article aims to bring awareness to the importance of sleep and recovery for first responders, as well as providing strategies to optimize sleep specific to their occupational demands.

Dr. Sara Erdner, author of “Dear Coach: What I Wish I Could Have Told You, Letters from Your Athletes,” talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the coach-athlete relationship. Topics under discussion include coaching education, giving athletes a platform to be heard, and what truly builds mental toughness and resiliency. Find Dr. Erdner on Twitter: @doc_serdner | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

The following article provides a list of tests that could comprise a fitness assessment to measure overall fitness and health prior to, during, and after an academy training program.

Competence, autonomy, and relatedness are three keys to promoting a more intrinsically motivated athlete. These components can be combined in nearly limitless ways, which is especially important for the long basketball season.

This article will discuss specific measures of stress that can be monitored, as well as coping skills to mitigate the negative effects of stress.

Female athletes in the United States have made great progress in sports since Title IX was enacted in 1972. Despite the progress they have made, female athletes have yet to gain full recognition for their athleticism and their achievements. The purpose of this article is to break down the stigma female athletes have received over the years and shine light on the differences that make female athletes a reward to train.

This excerpt from the Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th Edition gives a quick glimpse into some of the implements used in strongman training.

This article will detail example resistance training and aerobic conditioning sessions that could be used by a female recruit in the lead-up to their academy program.

This PTQ article reviews the research comparing injury rates across major resistance training styles and ranks them from the safest to the riskiest and provides practical recommendations to improve training safety. Visit NSCA online to learn more about bodybuilding and strength training strategies.

The extent to which a special operator’s training schedule can be planned in advance is often limited due to their unpredictable operational demands. However, there may be opportunities to plan for specific training during certain periods.