Dietary fat has both long-term and short-term effects on an athlete and athletic performance. “Fat loading” as a strategy to improve athletic performance remains unproven.

This is the third and final article of a series on strength training practices for rowing and will focus on the energy systems development of rowing athletes.

The following information provides an overview of what microdosing (MD) is, the limitations in utilizing it as a programming method, and the structure of an MD training session along with examples of in-season and off-season training microcycles.

This article will explore the wide-ranging benefits of photobiomodulation therapy (PBM), specifically in the context of NCAA athletes, and how it has the potential to become a vital tool.

As Director of Sport Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Heather Farmer spearheads comprehensive integration efforts. This includes ensuring every stakeholder, from sport performance staff to academic advisors, has a seat at the table. Farmer also outlines developing an internship and graduate assistantship program to meet staffing needs and offer opportunities for practical experience. She recounts how leveraging relationships — not data — has been her key to scalability. Additionally, Farmer recognizes that to make an impact, she must meet athletes and sport coaches where they are, which she uncovers through “highlights” and “hurdles.” She suggests that sport scientists with strength and conditioning backgrounds, like herself, are uniquely equipped to excel due to their communication skills. Farmer and McMahon also discuss avoiding “analysis paralysis” and how to incorporate data to elevate the student-athlete experience — an unignorable factor as athletes bring an element of “self” in the age of name, image and likeness (NIL). Reach out to Heather by email at: heather.farmer@unlv.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

Develop a better understanding of the brain’s role on exercise and recovery for the tactical athlete, and learn how to identify and implement heart rate variability (HRV) markers for prescribing recovery strategies. Presented by Mark Stephenson, Director of the Human Performance Program at a special operations unit for the Department of Defense, at the NSCA’s 2016 TSAC Annual Training.

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.

In this session from the NSCA’s 2018 TSAC Conference, Josh Hagen explains the importance of having an understanding metrics and how to implement monitoring for tactical athletes to influence training for optimal performance.

This excerpt explains the role that lactate plays in exercise metabolism and how that information is useful for athletes to predict things like pacing, fitness, and efficacy of training programs.