This article discusses lactate testing as a cost-effective alternative way to create advanced exercise prescriptions, as well as opening the possibility of being a new biomarker of metabolic health for personal trainers.

This NSCA Coach article summarizes key findings on coach-focused strategies to help educators use resistance training to support healthy youth development. Visit NSCA online to read more on mental health and youth sports.

The purposes of assessment are to gather baseline data and to provide a basis for developing goals and effective exercise programs. Gathering and evaluating the various pieces of information give the personal trainer a broader perspective of the client. The process and the data collected assist the trainer in identifying potential areas of injury and reasonable starting points for recommended intensities and volumes of exercise based on the goals and fitness outcomes.

The effects of alcohol on athletic performance vary depending on quantity, demographics, and type of exercise, making it difficult to determine specific recommendations. From an athletic performance standpoint, the acute use of alcohol can influence motor skills, hydration status, aerobic performance, as well as aspects of the recovery process.

This article provides practical suggestions that personal trainers can use to help their clients become and stay motivated to stick with their exercise routines.

This article highlights four non-traditional calf exercises that can immediately be used in strength programs for improving calf strength while also increasing ankle dorsiflexion mobility.

Potentially, an instability training program that first involves static balance and then progresses to dynamic balance activities would improve intrinsic balance. This improvement in balance would increase movement confidence, releasing the neuromuscular system from a stiffening strategy to more unimpeded motion, force, and power development.

The purpose of this article is to identify and discuss some barriers and benefits of training initiatives among professional firefighters.

In this session from the 2019 NSCA National Conference, Professor and Chair of the Department of Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina, Shawn Arent, discusses different nutritional strategies for optimizing performance versus optimizing body composition. He also reviews the current research for various nutritional approaches and trends in nutritional recommendations.

This article briefly explains different squat variations, as well as how they differ from a physics and biomechanics standpoint.