This article is intended to provide an understanding of the demands of football from a bioenergetic perspective and provides a framework in which strength and conditioning professionals can design conditioning plans that focus on preparing athletes for competition.

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

In this session from the NSCA’s 2015 Hockey Clinic, San Jose Sharks Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Mike Potenza discusses how to create a program that can help re-assimilate an injured hockey player’s body back to pre-injury functions and movements, and eventually back to competition. Potenza also covers the structure of an off-ice reconditioning program, the members of the performance team, methods for building a “return to skate program,” and reintegration procedures for the athlete.

Opinions about the best functional exercises will always differ; however, science, logic, and a systematic approach will reduce confusion and debate. In this session from the 2014 NSCA Personal Trainers Conference, Gray Cook presents an interactive discussion that will provide you with the tools to elevate your skills with exercise choice and program design.

This article explores what a facility-level culture may look like, identifies some of the expected benefits of purposely developing that culture, and discusses some misalignment between what coaches say they want the culture to feel like and the message the athletes are likely to receive.

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.

The purpose of this article is to investigate a few important considerations for the ice hockey goaltender: common injuries, specific physical characteristics and conditioning, and the mental game.

The hip hinge and squat exercises, and their variations, are used in many strength and conditioning programs to develop athletes of many sports. The listed progressions are examples of practical implications used to develop athletes, but there may be additional practical and effective methods used by strength and conditioning coaches for similar purposes.

This infographic shows how implementing backward running into a strength and conditioning program can be used as an injury resistance tool, enhance muscular functions, and increase metabolic demands for athletes.

This article builds upon two other client assessment tools (breathing and posture, as seen in Personal Training Quarterly Issues 5.3 and 6.1, respectively) and discusses ways to assess client movement.