Because a client’s functional abilities will change in each of the tissue healing phases, the fitness professional must understand the time it takes to heal and the science behind each phase in order to prescribe safe exercises for clients in those phases.

David Crump, Owner of Spark Fitness and a business consultant, discusses the importance of utilizing systems to improve the customer experience.

Deloading is widespread, but its application is often inconsistent and undervalued. That gap caught Lee Bell’s attention after discovering there was no consensus definition. Bell is a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University who focuses on the deloading, overtraining, and overreaching spectrum. He explains how overtraining and overreaching are sometimes used synonymously. That confusion is compounded further by associations with overtraining syndrome (OTS). Instead, Bell frames overreaching as a “window of opportunity” when used intentionally. For example, a planned overreach can be functional or non-functional based on recovery. Bell also examines opportunities and tradeoffs in modern periodization models. He contrasts flexible and fluid approaches with more traditional, rigid programming; each approach has implications for athlete trust and recovery. Looking ahead, Bell envisions a collaborative approach to sport science driven by coaching needs. He reflects on recent coaching survey data and the key themes that emerged for the future. Hear his perspective on next steps in velocity-based training, individualized periodization, and variability. Reach out to Lee via Instagram: @lee3ell and LinkedIn: @lee-bell| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs → Read the SCJ article co-authored by Lee Bell referenced in this episode: A Practical Approach to Deloading: Recommendations and Considerations for Strength and Physique Sports.

By understanding the means by which athletes encounter risk, strength and conditioning professionals can integrate exercise programs that may offset one of the steps toward injuries.

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.

This infographic reminds coaches of the importance of in-season strength training programs for maintaining physical capabilities and sport performance, while decreasing the overall risk of injuries in athletes.

In this session from the NSCA’s 2017 TSAC Annual Training, Rob Hartman identifies areas of focus for programming conditioning, and provides insight into how to utilize percent-based programming for conditioning both aerobic and anaerobic efforts.

When choosing whether to purchase new technological advances, strength and conditioning coaches should consider price, practicality, and credibility in order to maximize the training of their athletes.

Joe Drake, owner of Gravity and Oxygen Fitness, discusses his philosophy on training the core and provides some examples.

The aim of this article is to provide those working with tactical populations an introduction into tracking training load to mitigate injury risk while concurrently optimizing fitness.