Courteney Benjamin discusses the importance and warning signs a strength and conditioning coach should know to help prevent sudden death in their athletes.

Coaching elite mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes demands creativity, adaptability, and a global mindset. Gavin Pratt, Senior Director of Strength and Conditioning at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Performance Institute, shares insights from his international career. Pratt reflects on preparing athletes for the Chinese National Games and managing strength and conditioning at the world’s first MMA academy in Shanghai. Applying a systems-based approach, he tackles MMA’s unique challenges — including unpredictable training schedules, diverse personalities and backgrounds, session intensity, and load management. Driven by passion rather than prestige, Pratt emphasizes he’s never been a "tracksuit hunter" — someone motivated primarily by titles or status. He highlights MMA’s innovation potential, especially when using individualized technology based on athletes' force or velocity deficiencies. Pratt contrasts the United States’ expertise in speed, agility, and change of direction with Australia’s early adoption of sports science. He also provides valuable interview advice to help coaches communicate effectively under pressure. Discover practical strategies to elevate your coaching impact. Connect with Gavin via email at gpratt@ufc.com and on Instagram: @gav_pratt | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs If this episode sparked your interest in MMA and other combat sports, take the next step by joining the NSCA Combat Sports Special Interest Group (SIG) on LinkedIn. Connect with a global network of professionals shaping the future of performance. Inspired by Nick Barringer’s recommendation? Register early to save on 2025 NSCA Tactical Annual Training. Catch Barringer’s talk on performance bloodwork and more nuggets of wisdom.

Dr. Joseph Weir, PhD, spoke at the NSCA's 2012 National Conference about how to critically evaluate the science behind strength and conditioning research.

Ankle sprains are an extremely common injury of both sports and everyday life. In the post-rehabilitation setting, it is important to first identify and then address deficits in ankle, hip, and knee range of motion and strength.

Respected strength coaches Mike Stone and Meg Stone spoke about periodization and programming for strength power sports at the 2012 NSCA Coaches Conference.

Athletes must be able to express strength, power, and speed in multiple directions, and it may be beneficial to emphasize horizontally based movements in strength and conditioning programs.

In this video from the NSCA's 2014 Movement Performance Clinic, Gray Cook, OCS, CSCS, introduces the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), and discusses the importance of testing and assessing your athletes' and clients' ability to move well.

This article provides a brief overview of the physical demands of table tennis, plus recommendations of specific strength and conditioning exercises to improve table tennis performance.

Football is a high intensity collision based sport that has an inherent risk of injury in both competition and practice. The focus of ACL injuries and the development of injury prevention programs have been key in the development of youth athletes to keep them participating in sport with reduced risk of injury.

The purpose of this article is to make the case for implementing non-traditional sports into training programs that prepare youth for participation in traditional American sports and bridge the gap between pedagogy of physical education and strength and conditioning youth coaching.