Learn to identify and understand the key factors of movement competency and skill acquisition, and how to develop an effective motor learning process using foundational movement patterns. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 Personal Trainers Conference, Joe Sansalone explains how improving motor control and foundational movement patterns leads to optimal one-arm push-up skill acquisition.

This session from the 2015 NSCA Coaches Conference is designed for the strength and conditioning coach who deals with a wide variety of sports. Scott Charland highlights how the needs of athletes in different sports are similar and shows how it is possible to operate an effective, consistent, and comprehensive strength and conditioning program with minimal staff.

Heart rate variability (HRV) testing is at the forefront of a wave of cutting-edge assessment tools that are becoming available to the personal trainer. In this session from the 2015 NSCA Personal Trainers Conference, Carmine Grieco provides an overview of the physiological background and dynamics of HRV, including the most current supportive evidence, with an emphasis on the practical application for personal trainers.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to “pump iron” to build muscle. In this session from the NSCA’s 2015 Personal Trainers Conference, Nick Tumminello explains that to build muscle you need to create a training stimulus that elicits the three mechanisms for muscle growth. In other words, building muscle is not about the specific exercises you do, it is about the specific stimulus you create.

On-field success in sports requires the ability to solve sport-specific problems and utilize speed and agility within the specific context of the game. In this session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference, Ian Jeffreys explains how adding a task-based approach to an athlete’s speed and agility training can help ensure optimal transfer from training to game performance.

One of the universal challenges in running a small fitness business is finding new ways to generate traffic. In this session from the 2015 NSCA Personal Trainers Conference, Josh Leve reviews the results of a survey of thousands of owners, fitness professionals, and coaches to identify best business practices. There is no better strategy to grow a business than leveraging the combined experiences of others.

In this session from the 2016 NSCA Coaches Conference, Matthew Chandler explains how to implement the core lifts (cleans, snatches, squat variations, deadlift variations) for high school athletes throughout a multi–sport demographic. Coach Chandler explains adjustments that can be utilized with groups that have mixed ability levels in order to maximize the understanding and execution of each lift.

Despite an incidence of approximately 3.8 million sports-related concussions per year, prevention of this injury remains quite challenging. Neck strengthening may limit transmitted forces to the head and mitigate trauma to the brain. In this session from the 2015 NSCA Coaches Conference, Tad Seifert reviews current evidence-based data in neck strength and its association with concussions.

Molly Binetti, Women’s Basketball Performance Coach for the University of South Carolina, and return co-host for the 100th episode of the NSCA Coaching Podcast, Scott Caulfield, Director of Strength and Conditioning for Colorado College, talk to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about coaching philosophy. Topics under discussion include navigating strength and conditioning careers, creating value, and building a better weight room environment for athletes. Find Molly on Twitter: @CoachBinetti or Instagram: @mbinetti22 | Find Scott on Instagram: @coachcaulfield | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This TSAC Report article discusses the training load of GPS technology and blood lactate monitoring for first responders. Visit NSCA online to learn more about tactical fitness.