Learn about the pros and cons of popular diets, and how each diet will impact the training of your clients. In this session from the 2016 NSCA National Conference, sports nutritionist, Marie Spano explains the key factors that determine dieting success, and shares resources to help your clients decide which approach is best for them.

Robert Dos Remedios

This episode of the NSCA’s Coaching Podcast features the 2024 NSCA College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, Brijesh Patel. Patel shares decades of wisdom and experience with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, including valuable lessons to support a fulfilling strength and conditioning career and avoid coach burnout. Learn about the journey of the 2023 Quinnipiac University National Champions Men’s Ice Hockey Team from the strength and conditioning coach’s perspective. Patel explains how program resources and support from administration can make or break the success of a program. From lessons on mentorship to putting in the work in support of professional development, this is an episode you will not want to miss. Connect with Brijesh online at coachbpatel.com or by email: brijesh.patel@qu.edu| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs Also, here is the link to nominate a colleague or mentor for an NSCA Coach of the Year Award!

Athletes are highly vulnerable to pervasive supplement marketing and are largely unaware of how real, whole–food solutions stack up to some of the most popular supplements on the market. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 Coaches Conference, sports dietitian Lara Gray presents a variety of nutrient profile comparisons between top–selling sports supplements and whole–food options that can alternatively provide sustainable, cost–effective solutions to common training goals.

This short excerpt from Developing the Core details the importance of training the core musculature in tennis athletes.

A comprehensive but realistic battery of tests can reveal those who are sufficiently fit and athletic to immediately assimilate into training with the least possible likelihood of failure or injury. The Occupational Physical Assessment Test (OPAT) was designed to identify those individuals and screen out those who require further physical development.

The body’s system can be observed by blood testing to help achieve desired results whether training for a competition, pursuing an individual goal, or improving general health.

Expectations for strength and conditioning coaches now extend far beyond the weight room. Athletes and sport coaches demand better data, deeper insight, and stronger performance. Faith Brown, Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning at George Mason University, supports women’s basketball and volleyball while collaborating with the Patriot Performance Lab. Brown describes balancing teams, testing, and athlete monitoring as a “circus act.” At the heart of her coaching is one goal: be the coach she wishes she had as a college track athlete. She demonstrates ways strength and conditioning coaches can contribute as scientists, creating impact and value outside the weight room walls. Brown shares how GPS, heart rate monitoring, and force plates support workload monitoring. However, she believes that technology should only be used when it answers a real question. Learn how to turn data into better training decisions, translate sport science so sport coaches buy in, and reach out to other coaches to refine your program. Connect with Faith on Instagram: @faithsabrown, LinkedIn: @faith-brown, or by email: fbrown20@gmu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs From the Episode: Explore NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science, a foundational text defining the field and the role of sport scientists in high-performance environments. It also supports preparation for the Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) certification exam.

Should personal trainers include the crunch exercise in an exercise program? The answer should always be, “it depends;” however, arriving at the best answer requires a process.

This article outlines a potential learning course intended for students in undergraduate criminal justice and homeland security majors to improve their physical health literacy and health-related behaviors.